Read this in a day! Great read as have been KL Slater's previous books. This was a particularly interesting topic with echos of the killing of James Bulger. I enjoyed the unfolding of the secrets that occurred throughout the book and how the early experiences of the characters shaped their later personality development. I wouldn't say the 'twists' were shocking as I did guess them however, still an enjoyable read.

Really enjoyed this. Great storyline. Good characters. Quite a lot of stories in one. Sort of a stacking Russian doll set of mysteries. Good ending. Will definitely look for more from this writer.

The Silent Ones by K.L. Slater is another gripping read from an author who consistently hits it out of the park with her addictively readable psychological thrillers. If I had not done so already, I would be adding every one of this author's novels to the top of my 'to be read'' list.

Maddy and Brianna are ten-year-old cousins who are accused in the brutal attack of an elderly neighbour. The girls remain silent during questioning, doing nothing to help themselves. But is there more going on here than the girls' seemingly random attack on an 81-year-old woman? The girls' mothers, sisters Juliet and Chloe, are also looked at by police, and the secrets of a dysfunctional family are brought to the forefront. This is a multi-layered mystery that alternates between present events, and the troubling shared past of Juliet and Chloe, and both are woven together seamlessly, culminating in explosive revelations.. I will be the first in line for Ms Slater's next release.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this fabulous ARC.

Well, this book came as a nice surprise. Juliet is on antidepressants, stressed and obsessed with building a successful clothing business. She is consumed by the time she spends on it, to the detriment of anything else in her life. Her business partner is her sister, Chloe. The sisters are not as close as Juliet would like. Chloe seems distracted lately and is becoming less and less involved in helping to run the business. The story is told from the stressed Juliet’s perspective. After reading many books of psychological suspense, we expect her to be an unreliable witness.

I found the writing easy to follow, moved along at a good pace, filled with tension, and difficult to put down. I thought I could easily see the twists coming, but was I ever wrong!. (not even close)!

Juliet is married to Tom. They have a young son, Josh and a 10-year-old daughter, Maddie. Juliet’s mother is a horrible person who is hateful to her. Their mother dotes on Chloe and her daughter, 10-year-old Brianna, who live with their parents. Their father tries to keep the peace, but is ineffective, and follows his wife’s commands.

To add to Juliet’s anxiety and depression, her 5-year-old brother was killed when he was put in her care while she was ill. Her family has never forgiven her for that. Juliet has a best friend, Beth, who helps with the clothing store and with child care. Chloe resents her, although she, herself has been neglecting the shop. There is a lot of family drama here.

One fateful day, Maddie and Brianna leave the grandparents’ house and decide to visit an 81-year-old lady who is suffering from dementia. Brianna seems like a brat with Maddie her follower. The plan is to play a trick on the old lady. The girls are seen coming out of the house with the woman’s blood on their clothing. The mortally wounded woman was well respected in the community.

The girls are taken into police custody and may be charged with murder. The parents are distraught. This puts further strain on the sisters’ relationship, as Chloe starts to put the blame on Maddie thinking that her beloved Brianna could do no wrong. The community, social media and the press are blaming the parents. Josh has to be taken out of school.

The two girls refuse to say a word, not to the parents, nor to the police who question them, or even to the kindly child psychologist who is called in to find out what happened. She is supportive of the girls. I found the parts about the psychologist’s personal life and new prospective romance very distracting, but found nothing in the plot is unnecessary filler.

As Juliet’s emotional stress increases, the legal system further incriminates Maddie. You feel nothing could get worse. Wrong! What is happening with the business? Is Tom having an affair? The tension and suspense were pervasive, and the resolution unexpected. This was a clever if far fetched plot.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this enjoyable ARC in return for an honest review.

Excellent book once again from kl Slater, started reading this Friday and just finished it today. I was so gripped that I took my kindle everywhere I just couldn't put it down highly recommend this book.

I was grabbed from the beginning to the end by another K L Slater story.

I read in this suspenseful winner in one day. My interest was in both the present day story as it unfolded and the past of teenage Juliet and Chloe.

I realized that eventually the cousins who were suspects in Bessie's death (Brianne and Maddy) would talk. However, the suspense only mounted from there. As the reader waits for forensic evidence, and a witness, a surprising number of unexpected twists occur. A brilliant plotline together with a wonderfully written story captures the reader early and keeps them enthralled.

The entire book had a splendid thriller/suspense feel throughout; it also reminds the reader to "live for today", too.

Highly Enjoyable

Many Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a superb read !

Sat and read this book in an afternoon, couldn’t put it down. Full of twists, really kept me guessing all the way through! Definitely worth a read!

I will rate The Silent Ones by K.L. Slater 3/3 stars. This was not the "gripping" psychological thriller as I thought it would be by the title and what the cover suggests that it is. The story was only interesting in the very beginning with the first chapter being told from the eyes of one of the little girls and towards the end. Let me emphasis what I mean by providing my honest opinion as follows:

What I didn't like about the story:
The fact that the girls, cousins Maddy and Brianna, remained "silent" for half of the book. Ohhh, that honestly grinded my gears. I understand the title of the book is The Silent Ones, but really, did that mean they couldn't speak or rather refused to speak for an entire half of the book? Being silent could've also meant that they had made a pact to keep a secret which would've made the book a whole lot more interesting.
I also didn't like how the storyline dragged on forever with the girls being held at the police station being questioned. I was honestly bored to tears.
I would've preferred that this story had of being told through the eyes of the little girls to get their take on what was happening around them. That would've been a way more interesting point of view.
Dana's point of view was unnecessary. Her character bored me, as well..

What I liked about the story:
The backstory to the girls mothers', sisters Juliet and Chloe, past. That part was interesting. Learning about how awful their mother, Joan, treated Juliet and favored Chloe gave the story a little spice. I couldn't stand Joan or their lilly livered father, Ray. That man had absolutely no backbone at all. He allowed his wife to run over him and dictate everything that happened in their lives and used the excuse if her having anxiety and migraines to do it. She used the excuse of being "ill" to get out of parenting her three children and mostly not taking care of their youngest child, Corey.
The big lie that this family had was an interesting turn of events in the story. I was rather pleased to find out what really happened to little Corey. The results of the truth were way more favorable than the lie, but I hated how the family blamed Juliet for her little brother's death for so many years. That was downright just plain cruel.
As I mentioned earlier, the ending of the book was great. If the entire story had the same momentum as the last few chapters, this book would've been spectacular. It was lacking the mystery and "oomph" the majority of psychological thrillers that I read have. I was pleased to find out who the real culprit in Mrs. Bessie's murder was... I had my suspicions about this individual anyways. You can never be too trusting of your "friends" anyways.
The author did trick me at one point in the book. I was surprised that Juliet's husband, Tom, and her sister, Chloe, weren't in fact having an affair. You got me there. Clever, indeed.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in the exchange of an honest review.

The Silent Ones is yet another excellent thriller by KL Slater. It opens with an intriguing prologue. The murder is committed. But which one did it?
Chloe and Juliet are sisters but are very different. Juliet and her husband, Tom, live together with their children Maddy (10) and Josh (8). Chloe still lives with their parents, Joan and Ray, together with her daughter Brianna.
When Chloe and Juliet are told that Brianna and Maddy are at the police for an attack on an elderly woman, Bessie Wilford, neither believe their daughter capable of such a heinous crime.
One would expect that the 10 year old girls would tell everyone what happened, why they were at the house, try to justify what happened, or try to deny being there, or even blame the other one; but the girls are refusing to speak - not saying a single word to anyone. How will the truth be outed if the girls refuse to talk?
DI Conor Neary, the officer in charge, brings on board family therapist, Dr Dana Sewell, will she be able to assist?
It is not just the girls who have secrets, it appears every member of the family is staying silent about something in their lives.
An excellent read.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastic chilling read. K.L.Slater does it again an unputdownable multilayered kept me up reading late into the night,.Will be recommending to all my friends who love a tense page turner.j#netgalley #
Bookouture

Thank you to NetGalley, K.L. Slater and Bookouture for an Arc of the silent ones. I am a huge K.L. Slater fan because all her books keep me guessing until the end when the twist is revealed. I'm always so satisfied because I am always shocked at the twist. I love a good psychological thriller that just keeps you guessing and isn't super predictable. I had been waiting and waiting for a new book so when I got this one I read it right away.
Maddy and Brianna are 10 year old cousins who are arrested for a terrible crime. The mothers are in shock and know that to find out what is going on they are going to have to dig into their past. A past they wanted to leave dead and buried.
This book like all of her others had me on the edge of my seat and the twist had me reeling in surprise. I was sad I finished the book so fast because now I have to wait a long while for another new one. If you love psychological thrillers with great twists check this book out.

The Silent Ones by author K.L. Slater is yet ANOTHER great mystery/thriller by Slater! What a rush, many twists and the characters are developed well! I absolutely recommend this book!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Book releases July 24th 2019!

An absolutely spell binding and tragic Novel. Another absolute cracker from KL Slater. An absolutely fantastic psychological thriller and suspenseful story. A must read for fans of this author. She just gets better and better xx

Hi yep me AGAIN, review below for ‘The Silent Ones’ and next up is the new book by M.W. Craven ‘Black Summer’

2 Sisters, they run their own business, they have a daughter each, aged 10, they are best friends, they are all best friends, its a close knit family, life is good, no, life is great....

And then the 2 girls are accused of murdering an old lady in cold blood, they were there, there is evidence

Something very sinister and evil has happened

And its our job, as readers, wonderfully guided by the author to find out why, what, where and how these 2 young girls did such a dastardly deed

There is a major problem, the 2 girls
wont speak, not a word, to anyone..

The story follows the next tense 36
hourd as the girls families unravel and secrets, soooo many secrets come to light and what seems a loving extended family set up is anything but....

The characters are great, the awful Mum ( the girls Nan ) who takes to her bed with migraines is a classic character who I loved to hate, all are portrayed well and I got to know them quickly, the writing, as expected, reader welcoming and flowed from the first sentence

I devoured this book as it twisted and turned, led me to false conclusions and ( even though I read a fair bit ) shocked me, if I had been standing up I would have been hopping from foot to foot as the surprises kept coming

The atmosphere of the book is tense and the scene setting as the girls are interviewed portrayed brilliantly and all the other sub stories fit perfectly to make this an exciting psychological family thriller which in a busy market place manages to bring not just 1 or 2 but many new layers to a dramatic read

The endings are breathtaking and again had me foxed and managed
to bring together shock and emotion and something unexpectedly good out of this whole tragic affair

I LOVED it, enjoyed every page and K.L.Slater shows once again her story telling skills in this her 9th book

10/10 5 Stars