When ten-year-old cousins and best friends Maddy and Brianna visit a friend of their Nan’s on a school in service training day for a secret treat of lemonade and biscuits, their visit kick-starts a murder investigation. The girls are quickly apprehended and the evidence that they killed the frail old lady, Mrs Bessie, is clearly visible – they are both splattered with her blood. But neither of the girls will utter a word, not even to their Mums. Grandma and Grandad were meant to be babysitting and were shocked to discover their grandchildren were being kept at the police station. So the family gathers together to support the girls.
Their mothers, sisters are totally baffled. DCI Conor Neary brings in a civilian psychologist Dr Dana Sewell, who has been working with children at Maddy and Brianna’s school with the thought she may be the best person to get the children to break their elective mutism, but she too has no success. Neither girl will utter a word or even a whisper.
As the case builds up against Maddy and Brianna, their small community is incensed and gather together in a mob to vandalise their homes. Juliet’s business is attacked by an anonymous arsonist and is totally destroyed. Soon the news breaks nationwide and strangers join the angry mob. The girls and their immediate family have to be moved to a secure facility. Over just a few days pandemonium strikes the whole area as newshounds and cameras are greedy for updates. Gradually the family succumb to taking sides and Juliet and her husband Tom take the brunt of the action. What happens next is the result of the clever and imaginative author of this novel who is extremely skilled in this genre and has created an absorbing, intelligent and hugely believable story. You’ll have to get a copy of this book if my review has tantalised you into wanting to know how the embryo of this story is developed and how it reaches a shocking and evil conclusion.
Running alongside this story is a very powerful back story involving Juliet and Chloe’s life with their mother Joan, her husband Ray and their youngest child Corey. This story is equally as brilliant as the main story and introduces some of the main characters in Maddy and Brianna’s story. There are some really odious and manipulative characters in both stories. They are serial liars full of deceit and evil intentions. Alongside these are some really lovely characters that help drive both stories forward and develop the storylines right up to the end of the novel and after the two stories have been merged. Suffice it to say the fantastic storyboard is full of surprises and shocking twists. I can honestly say that I had not even considered the protagonist as a culprit, even though looking back Kim Stater did leave well disguised clues here and there.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Bookouture through my membership of NetGalley. I would like to thank them very sincerely for my copy, sent out to me in return for an honest review. I really enjoyed this novel and award it a very well deserved well deserved 4.5*.

WOW. This is an outstanding story. I was totally gripped from the beginning and on the edge of my seat throughout. Twists, turns, it has it all. AMAZING

I found this book a fairly quick read and it certainly had a good twist! The pace was good and I thought some of the characters were quite well developed for the genre. Often I find books of this genre have very weak characters but in this book it wasn't too bad at all.

I found it a bit strange that the author switched from first person for Juliet, to third person for everyone else. I think it would have worked better if everyone was in first person. This didn't take away from the story however.

I thought the ending was a bit rushed but overall the book was an enjoyable read.

The Silent Ones by K.L. Slater was a psychological thriller that had me hooked from the start and I read it one day as I did not want to put it down.
Two ten year old girls are accused of killing an old woman and are taken to the police station. Neither of the girls will speak to the police or even their family and no one can get them to tell the truth of what happened.
This story is full of secrets and lies. It also has a twist or two to keep you guessing.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

If I could give this book 6 stars I would, that's how good it is. The book starts with what seems to be a normal family, two sisters who work together and whose daughters are the best of friends. Gradually though the reader becomes aware of an undercurrent of resentment and secrecy leading to a finale with more twists and turns than a labyrinth. By inserting the occasional chapter from the past the author builds up the tension and anticipation leading to a shocking climax..Absolutely brilliant.

Review posted to Goodreads and Amazon and recommended on twitter.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book.

What a fabulously delicious book. This book has a fantastic story line, excellent characters and is just unputdownable. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and I enjoyed it immensely.

I'm a big fan of K.L. Slater and always look forward to read her books.

This is a brilliant psychological mystery thriller about two little girls who became accused of murdering an elderly woman they frequently visit.
What follows is a fascinating mystery full of surprises, twists, long buried secrets and betrayals.

Slater cleverly captures the dynamics of families in moments of crisis and how in the process of protecting your family you might unknowingly cause more harm. In short a highly recommended book.

Thanks #Netgalley, #Bookouture, #K.L. Slater for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read this in one sitting, it was impossible to put down so make sure you’ve freed up your day before starting!

The Silent Ones is a perfect example of a thriller, an exciting fast paced storyline, well written realistic characters and a twist that you won’t see coming!
If you only read one book this year then make it this one. 5/5

I absolutely devoured this book. Literally didn’t put it down and read it in hours

Two ten year old girls are arrested on suspicion of murdering an elderly woman. The only problem is neither one of them will speak to anyone!

Such a well written book, if you like psychological thrillers then you’ll love this! It’s one of those books that once you start you have to carry on to find out what’s going on! Would highly recommend.

You won't see it coming! I loved this thriller and now will devour all of Slater's novels! Cousins Brianna and Maddy are ten years old and quite suddenly accused of the murder of an elderly woman they knew and occasionally visited. Their mothers, sisters Juliet and Chloe can't believe their daughters are capable of hurting anyone so chaos ensues as the girls are brought in for questioning. But as usual, there is more to the families than meets the eye, and soon we are embroiled in the drama as secrets from the past threaten to tear both apart. As a parent, what would you do to protect your children? Slater speaks to familial obligations, revenge, obsession, jealousy, and all of the emotions that permeate complicated relationships and families who may believe they are doing the right thing to hold things together but in actuality may be harming loved ones more than they know.

Juliet cannot believe it when her daughter Maddy and Maddison cousin are arrested for murder. Juliet and her sister scramble to make sense of what has happened to their daughters, a task made it even more difficult by the fact that the two girls refuse to say a word. Juliet is forced to delve into her own past and dig up secrets she never planned to allow to see the light of day in order to save her daughter and niece

Another amazing book by this fabulous author!! She’s has such an engaging writing style, I have loved every one of her books, and this is another amazing read! Loved it!

This didn't quite do it for me. The story was pretty flat, and only interesting in the very beginning of the book.

The Silent Ones is a fabulous thriller. A must read for the year. Well written and interesting characters. I could not put it down.

Another awesome read by KL Slater. KL Slater does it again. I can’t get enough of her books and devoured this one in a day.

This book was about lies and deceit from the past catching up. Two 10 year old cousins go out for a walk with no care in the world and end up being accused of murder. Did they really do it? Was it just a big misunderstanding? Who knows the girls are not speaking and no one can find out the truth.

I have to say that I just love this author and all the books she writes. This was one hell of a roller coaster ride. Each chapter brought something new and exciting to the table. I just couldn’t believe what I was reading and what would happen next. You have a great plot with characters that fit so well with each other. It really made the book worth reading. I couldn’t believe the twist in the end. The author did have clues throughout the book on what might be happening but I was still shocked with the all the surprises at the end. That’s what makes this a wonderful book. I can’t say enough good things about it.

Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

This book was incredible. The premise drew me in right away - would two little girls commit such a gruesome crime? How could it be otherwise when there is so much evidence against them? And why aren't they talking about what happened?

That's pretty much the gist of the story, but we see what happens through the eyes of their mothers, Juliet and Chloe. They are sisters and the girls, Maddy and Brianna, are 10 year old cousins. Juliet and Chloe work together in Juliet's business that she owns and spends all of her time managing. The situation with the girls affects that business in all the ways you would imagine, and so many more. Their family members are equally vilified by their small town, with everyone's minds made up about the girls' guilt from the very beginning. Isn't it always that way in small towns? The personal relationship between Juliet and Chloe appears complicated from the start and the more we read about their dysfunctional family, the more it makes sense. The two little girls aren't the only ones hiding their secrets in silence.

The story was so gripping that I read it in one sitting, I just couldn't put it down. You will find yourself thinking that you know exactly what is going on, but don't count on it... Trust me!

Children as murderers can be a controversial subject for a book but this was written so well and handled extremely carefully i thought. While i found some minor aspects hard to believe, overall i found this very enjoyable. The take on toxic families was well done and i was gripped until the end.

Kim Slater continues her winning streak with The Silent Ones. A psychological thriller about two sisters with two 10-year old daughters, a horrific killing and the girls aren't talking. Who did it, who's responsible - as the case unfolds family secrets begin to spill out and there are twists that you won't see coming. Very well done!

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.