I thoroughly found myself enjoying Perfect Silence. So much so, that I was beyond happy to find out this was the fourth book in the series. I cannot wait to get a hold of the first three books! They are on my "to read" list even if I have to purchase them. That is how much I found myself enjoying the plot and writing of Perfect Silence. Helen Sarah Fields did a wonderful job writing this book.

The main characters were well thought out and complimented each other and the story really well. There was enough personal side stories that fell in line with the main story to help you get a better feel for the characters. Fields did a great job melding the personal lives, office politics, investigative work into this book. Also, I felt that this could have easily been a standalone book. There were a couple references to previous books, but not to where you would have been unable to understand the reference. Not once did I find myself misunderstanding something or confused. The plot moved at a good pace keeping you interested through the entire read. Towards the end you definitely found yourself on the edge of your seat. Plus, there was just enough detail for me to paint a great picture in my mind of what was happening.

I easily rated this four stars.

Once again another brilliant book featuring Detectives Callanach and Turner. A very different storyline and an ending that left me breathless and wanting more. I really enjoyed the humerous touches too.

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The body of a young girl is found dumped on the roadside on the outskirts of Edinburgh. When pathologists examine the remains, they make a gruesome discovery: the silhouette of a doll carved in the victim’s skin.

This was my first time reading anything from this Author. The author had me at page one. Great plot and had my attention the whole time. Excited to find out that this is a series and will be purchasing the other books. I would highly recommend this book to others.

I have loved all the other 3 novels from start to finish in this series and this one sure did live up to my expectations! I adored this book. The characters are very well written and there is a lot of tense action in this one!

This is the second book I have read by Helen Fields and I am a big fan! I love a great series....getting invested in great characters, and this series has it all!
I will be waiting patiently for the next instalment!!!

Another brilliant instalment in this well established Scottish series. A fast paced, twisted plot, great characters and just the right amount of humour combine to make this a must read

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books UK for this arc.

I loved this book!. And the good news.... Helen Fields has written 3 previous books in this series! Which have been downloaded to my kindle from Amazon. The housework can wait a while longer while I enjoy some serious binge reading.

This is a fast paced story, police procedural placed in Scotland. It's nicely twisted and pretty gory, but I also adore Angela Marsons' and Stuart MacBride's stories so gory doesn't bother me a bit. I loved the characters!
They were fantastic and very nicely balanced, especially Overstreet. I found the "bad guys" to be very plausible - their motivations and actions (please remember that I live in the USA, where crazy and gross are considered an art form).

One question, where do I send the licquorice?

Fantastic read. 4th in the series. Keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering whats next. A sure favourite

★I got an ARC from publishers through NetGalley and this is my honest uninfluenced review★

"If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother, his bloodguiltiness is upon him.”

What a book, ladies and gentlemen. What. A. Book.

I just spend the last five days reading all the series and honestly it was worth every single minute. Helen Fields just put herself on the top of my mystery-authors-list. If anyone needs a non-stoppable mystery, Helen is just the right woman. Her writing is great, the characters are amazing and the cases are just so interesting. I love how she shows us what's happening inside the culprits' heads too, which definitely makes everything way more interesting. Helen creates real page-turner mystery that one just can't put it down.

“Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death”

On this book, someone is cutting young women's skin to make rag dolls - that came with bible quotes inside. We don't know who is the culprit until the very end, and I need to say that it was extremely interesting to see how the case developed. Whilst Luc is after the killer, Ava is dealing with someone branding homeless-drug-users and she has to deal with some big man on the police board.

“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body”

Side note: my book came without a cover, so I nagged on twitter, then Helen answered me and asked if her rep could help and turns out the reason why I didn't have a cover it's because they wanted to realise it sooner, so can't complain about that, right? Between having the book or waiting 'til it has the cover, honestly, there's no choice at all. As soon as I got my ebook updated, I will post the cover on my bookstagram (@imallbookedup) as I'm used to.

On another side note, Helen used to be a lawyer, and as someone who is surrounded by lawyers, her jokes about them are just perfect.

Just wonderful !! This is for me the best book so far it this brilliant series, it just kept me gripped from start to finish. As always the writing was superb and I just love the interaction between Ava and the rest of the characters ... Excellent plot and very gory in parts and a book that was as we say “ unputdownable “ ..well recommended and a 5 Star read.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of another fabulous book in the Turner / Callanach series.

The story starts with Turner and Callanach attending the murder scene of a young girl, she has been mutilated and left to die on a remote roadside. The detectives discover she was living in a shelter for abused women but her parents deny the abuse claims citing depression and self harm

Soon a second woman with a trouble past goes missing, Lorna is a young mother with a history of drug abuse.

There were some great confrontations in the book with Turner at odds with her superior officers. I really love Turner and Callanach and hope for romantic involvement to develop. We get more insights into their characters in this book and that of their colleagues Salter and Lively. This is a great police procedural series, a bit gory in parts with a great plot and great pace

4 stars

I read the Kindle edition.

DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach are called out to the scene of a young girl who has been murdered. She was found on a rural road outside of Edinburgh. The name of the young woman is Zoey Cole and she was eighteen-years old. She has been horribly mutilated and dumped by the roadside; left to die. Ava’s team learns that Zoey was living in a shelter for abused women. Her step-father beat her and broke bones and so on several times.

In the interview with Zoey’s parents, they deny any abuse and say that Zoey did the abuse to herself. That she had been depressed following the death of her father.

The second young woman to be kidnapped is Lorna Shaw. The reader gets to learn about Lorna’s treatment at the hands of the kidnapper. Lorna is a young mother who had a history of drug abuse and was living in a home for young mothers.

Meanwhile DC Salter and DS Lively are investigating knife attacks on homeless men. Ava wonders if the attacks are related to the murder and disappearance of the two young women.

When Lorna’s body is found, also on the roadside of a rural road, it is mutilated in the same manner as Zoey’s was. The police have made no progress on the case in spite of the number of people they have interviewed.

It is then discovered that the mutilations and murders have religious overtones. This gives the police some clues to follow. DC Salter and DS Lively are making progress on their cases as well. A locker key was found at the site of the latest assault that belongs to a boy who goes to a posh private school.

Another young woman is found to be missing and then murdered. The police are closing in as the killer kidnaps another woman.

As the killer is identified, the ending of the story is fast-paced and explosive.

This novel is both well written and plotted. It was slightly gory, for those who don’t care for that sort of thing. I liked DCI Ava and DI Callanach, and the rest of the team. I especially liked DS Lively. What a kick he is; irreverent, outspoken and always bucking authority, but never takes it too far. I liked the amount of background information given on the main characters. This is my first book by Helen Fields, and I immediately went to Amazon to look for other novels of theirs. To my surprise, this one wasn’t on their list. They showed it as “unavailable.” This is a good book and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys police procedurals, or just a good mystery.

I want to thank NetGalley and Avon Books UK/Avon for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read, enjoy and review.

When the body of a woman is found near Edinburgh, police are horrified to discover she has had the outline of a doll carved from her skin. DCI Ava Turner and Luc Callenach, who are assigned to the case, get an additional (and gruesome) clue, when an abandoned baby is found lying next to a doll made of human skin. The Baby Doll killer, as he’s dubbed, has obviously got an obscene and violent agenda, But what is it, and who will he target next? Not for the faint of heart, this was a delightfully creepy read

Thank you Net Galley. A great police procedural by Helen Fields. The protagonists are interesting and the supporting cast adds to the depth of the characters. An enjoyable read I could not put down to the end.

I enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure I would as I found Perfect Remains a bit of a slog, but I'm now going back to re-read it as this one was so very good. (It could just have been my attitude at the time).

The characters are strong, the story is very creepy and the twist is brilliant. If that is what you're looking for in a book then read this one. It had me gripped with the first abduction and kept me that way to the end.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books for an advance copy of Perfect Silence the fourth novel to feature Edinburgh based DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callenach.

When Zoey's body is found on a remote country lane nothing can prepare Ava and Luc for the horror they are about to see. Zoey was left alive but the horrific excision of a doll shape from both her front and back mean that she would never survive. When a doll made of Zoey's skin is found in the pram with the baby Lorna abandoned when she disappeared they realise they are looking for a madman. In the meantime someone is attacking homeless drug users, leaving a Z cut into their faces. Never has the team felt so busy.

I thoroughly enjoyed Perfect Silence which is a good mix of investigation, office politics and a little home life, not much obviously as they are so overworked. The Babydoll Killer, as dubbed by the press, investigation is horrible in what is done to the victims so I would want Ms Fields' imagination and the motive a bit hard to swallow in anything but fiction but the novel is well done and is a gripping read. I like that the team start with virtually no clues and gradually build a working hypothesis until they are in a position to develop a suspect. It might sound boring but Ms Fields injects a sense of urgency and positivity at each small development that had me hooked from start to finish. The Zorro case as they call the slashings is a different beast with the hierarchy, in the form of Superintendent Overbeck, showing much less interest. This leads to clashes which provide some of the best moments in the novel as Ava doesn't mince her words.

The characterisation is strong with DS Lively again providing the humour and Superintendent Overbeck the bite and a few surprises. Ava and Luc haven't changed much over the series and the will they/won't they scenario continues apace. Ava is hotheaded, compassionate and determined on justice whereas Luc is just there in this novel without offering much apart from support and strong investigative skills.

Perfect Silence is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.