Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for an honest review. I was intrigued by the concept of this book and the lovely cover, so excited to read this.
This is a slow-burning Psychological suspense novel narrated by the perspective of Paige, a freelance interpreter for deaf people. She’s called on to the scene of the murder of a deaf girl. Only surprise is that the deaf family are acquaintances of Paige, as the deaf community is small. She keeps this information to herself but over the course of the story she becomes too emotionally involved and starts to cross boundaries in her attempt to find the killer...The story also alternates from the family members’ POV with flashbacks to hours before the murder.
I liked that the author represents the deaf community and brings awareness to their lives and the way they live. The main protagonist was interesting, however I did find the pacing slow and while there were twists and red herrings murder storyline used too many familiar tropes, and parts of the book was cliched for me. I consume lots of crime books and shows, so for me personally I found the police procedural aspect in the first half of the book predictable. Had the writing cut 75-100 pages this could’ve been a tighter and more suspenseful read. At 400 it was overdrawn for me and I just wanted the story to switch up a gear. However this is just my opinion, and despite the flaws this is still an intriguing debut. I enjoyed the flashbacks to the hours before the murder, especially Laura’s and Elisha’s, which got across the messy family dynamics and conflict. It was the most suspenseful chapters for me and I wanted more of it. I look forward to what the author does next. 3/5

4 Stars from me

Such a clever story! I found myself truly quite fascinated by the introduction to the deaf community within this book - the deaf club, the signing during arguments (selfishly something I've never thought about before, but when we argue we shout over each other while walking away, stomping around, from different rooms etc but deaf people would have to have self restraint in order to keep watching and signing while arguing).

Paige and her sister were great characters, there was something quite sweet and naive about them and the way they set about trying to find the killer.

The elements of peril when Paige felt under threat were great and really unnerving. There were so many scenes were I was willing her not to do what she was doing! I devoured this book and just had to keep reading to see what happened next and ultimately which of these characters could murder a sweet child in cold blood.

The scenes with her love interests were fab too, again really quite sweet and I was routing for the policeman!

Overall, Nell Pattison, has created a clever little whodunnit style police procedural with the added dimension of a huge number of the characters and potential suspects/victims being deaf. I really enjoyed it.

Synopsis: If someone was in your house, you’d know. Wouldn’t you? But the Hunter family are deaf, and don’t hear a thing when a shocking crime takes place in the middle of the night. Instead, they wake up to their worst nightmare.

The police call Paige Northwood to the scene to interpret for the witnesses. They’re in shock, but Paige senses the Hunters are hiding something.

One by one, people Paige knows from the Deaf community start to fall under suspicion. But who would kill a little girl?

Was it an intruder?

Or was the murderer closer to home?

This mystery will keep you up all night – perfect for fans of The Silent Patient and Cara Hunter

A totally different story-line, set within the deaf community. Why would someone want to kill an 18-month-old child? The deaf community is torn apart by the murder which happened when the rest of the household was sleeping. Paige Northwood is a hearing sign language interpreter and she is called upon by the police to interpret when they are gathering information and interviewing suspects. There is little to go on and although Paige knows she shouldn't really be involved she needs the money and she is also intrigued by the case. I did enjoy the book but it was a little drawn out in places and my mind kept drifting off.

A good solid read but I did find it a touch slow going. Worth sticking with as the story line is so original and it's definitely a page turner

I liked the unusual storyline involving the deaf community, certainly gave me an insight. I really enjoyed the story and characters, was full of excitement and I never guessed the ending.

A gripping plot carries the reader through this murder mystery with twists and turns throughout the story. At stages these lead to nowhere but still keep the reader hooked.
The characters are interesting and because the family members are deaf this leads to a different dimension and exposes the challenges faced for them and the investigation team. The storyline is engulfed in suspicion through flashbacks to the present.
The interpreter becomes an unlikely focal point but this also gives a different viewpoint to the usual murder mystery. I recommend this book and thank you the NetGalley.

No big surprise with the ending. Reading this book was like running a marathon with no end in sight. The author kept going on and on about the same evidence and actually repeating herself.

This is a NetGalley read, thank you for this e-arc.

The Silent House is about a little girl that is murdered in the middle of the night and the mystery is built around her deaf family. An interpreter helps police with the case but soon becomes a target as well. This Avon Books UK book comes out March 2020.

I thought this book was decent and the twist at the end wasn't too surprising but overall it was your average thriller/murder mystery. I felt that there was a lot of speculating dialogue that was repetitive and not adding to the story. By the end of it, it reminded me of a Scooby Do episode because of how the murder is explained in detail and didn't feel natural.

Again, overall i enjoyed the book for the most part. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys domestic thrillers and murder mysteries.

3.5/5

A gripping story, and an interesting idea to focus on the deaf community. I found it slightly off-putting that so much conversation was (obviously) translated, which slowed down the narrative, but I would still thoroughly recommend this book.

This book gripped me from start to finish. This is a 5 star read for me, it has everything I love in a thriller: an engaging plot, an interesting issue, and a whole host of characters that engage me (for better or for worse!). Pattison crafted fully complex characters that I could empathise with, doubt, question, and feel anger towards; a sign of a crafted writer. Moreover, this book engages with issues of the Deaf community that enlightened me, as it was something I lacked awareness of. This book not only was a great read but it was enlightening to see how interviews and police cases are done in relation to deaf people. What an utterly enthralling book - I can't wait to read the rest of Nell Pattison's work!

What a great debut novel from Nell Pattison. The plot revolves around the murder of an infant and its a who done it affair. As the majority of characters in the book are deaf it adds a different take on the investigation and things are a challenge for the BSL interpreter. Paige Norwood is brought in to interpret for the suspects and the family surrounding the victim which isn't easy as she is known to the deaf community and it makes her job difficult. She becomes involved and targeted and he sister's life is put in danger.

Lots of twists - without giving anything away I must admit I guessed who did it about three quarters in - BUT, I wasn't sure and I had to keep turning those pages to find out.

I found myself interested in learning about the deaf community depicted in this story as I knew little about communication and adaptations made for the deaf.

The novel has a dark side to it but I felt that some of the characters lacked something... and I would like to have seen more emotion. However all the characters carried their own secrets and each suspect was all linked together in the end.
Lots of suspicion and hidden truths. Was the murder done by a family member or by an intruder? A little slow in places but I would definitely pick up another Nell Pattison book in the future.
Thank you Net galley for this ARC

I enjoyed this book.
I am a fan of the thriller genre and this one did not disappoint.
I will definitely read any further books from this author.
It was different for me because the book revolves around being deaf and the difficulties/issues that can present. This is something I know very little about,so for me it was thought provoking.
Family and it's dynamics are at the centre of this book,how not only a disability,but broken relationships and the loss of parents can alter those dynamics and shatter your trust in one another.
There were several scenarios and possible outcomes being played out within the story,which kept me guessing or changing my mind about what had happened and who had 'done it'.
I would happily recomend this book to my family and friends as one to be read.

4.5 Stars

Shhhh…close your eyes and be absolutely still…

Hush…

No sound…no sound at all…

No ability to hear your worst nightmare happening in the room right next to you…

The murder of your child…

The silent screams…

The chilling discovery…

The horrifying truth…

Nell Pattison has created both a satisfying mystery in The Silent House as well as a thought provoking tale. With the integration of both the victim’s family and the suspects being part of the deaf community, the reader is told the story through an interpreter. Each suspect is hiding something, and while I thought I had all the clues linked together, the author ended up surprising me in the end. Well done! Highly recommend!


**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

The premise of this novel is interesting and also disturbing - the idea that someone could be in your house, murdering your own child, and you would not know because you are profoundly deaf. This is what happens to one couple who wake up to find their daughter murdered in her bed, while they slept.

The representation of the deaf community is very good in this novel and one that I have not encountered before. The story was also I triguing enough to keep me reading so that ultimately I wanted to know what had happened.

However, two huge flaws with this novel were the characterisations as well as the writing style. The characters lacked depth and emotion and sometimes behaved in ways which defied belief. The police are depicted as bumbling and ignorant in some cases, cardboard cutouts rather than real characters.

This novel does deal with such a terrifying and dark theme. Yet the writing style lessened the impact of this, the characters are not portrayed in the main the way characters would when faced with something so horrific, so traumatic. It leaves the reader feeling detached from something which they should feel emotionally invested in.

This novel is very readable though and like I say it was intriguing enough for me to keep reading, but it would have been a lot better with more depth, more emotion and more realistic characters.

This book’s premise is utterly terrifying and had quite the hook: a deaf family wakes up to discover a shocking crime. Did someone come into their home while they were sleeping and unable to hear the danger, or is one of them the culprit?

The story is told from the POV of Paige Norwood, who is a BSL interpreter hired by the police department to assist them in interviewing people involved with the case. She is hearing but grew up in a deaf household, so she has a unique perspective. I’ve always been interested in sign language and the Deaf community, and I think it’s pretty rare to have a book that delves into the subject, so I thought that was a wonderful aspect of this book. The author is obviously knowledgeable, and it shows.

I think things started out very promising, with lots of red herrings being thrown out there, but it felt like the characters could have had more depth, and for me the mystery kind of petered out at the end. Still, it was an enjoyable read, and I recommend it to people who like a mystery that isn’t too predictable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for an e-ARC of this book.

First the things I loved/liked: I absolutely loved the deaf representation in this book. Almost every character was deaf and it brought a lot of issues they face, especially when dealing with police and emergency situations to attention.
The writing was good, the dialogue in regards to the deaf characters signing, there was no indication who was signing or when they stopped signing and the other person started signing back. Assuming, that will be fixed up in the published copy though.
I really enjoyed each character and their flaws. It felt like everyone was fully fleshed out despite some not being on page long.

Now to what I disliked: I wasn't a fan of the ending, or of the misleading "hours up to the murder" segments. It was interesting until it all felt irrelevant. I also didn't necessarily enjoy the small romantic or "catching feelings" bits because it just felt shoved in and took away from the MC and the plot as a whole.

All together, this book was a decent and average thriller. Though I'm unsure if it's one I'll reread again, the basic plot and drag representation set it apart from some others I've read recently!

Paige is a sign language interpreter hired by police to assist in taking statements from a deaf family after one of their children is killed while everyone else slept. Since Paige is familiar with most of the local deaf community, she vaguely knows the family and of course gets too personally involved, which I never like. I also pretty much figured out the ending, but even so, I really enjoyed this. 4 stars.

The premise of this book was completely intriguing to me. A brutal murder of a young girl in her house, while her parents slept in the room next door. The girl's father, his girlfriend and her brother and (half) sister are all deaf and somehow an intruder had managed to get into their house and murder her in her bed without anybody hearing a thing....how?....why?...it was a real mystery. Paige Northwood is called in as an interpreter, working for the police to assist during interviews and quickly gets embroiled in the investigation, determined to assist the police in finding the killer.

The story started so well and I really enjoyed how the author built the picture of the background to the family and the various people involved in the story. Unfortunately, this was where the positives ended for me. I found the book somewhat tedious and felt like it was being dragged out. Paige's behaviour throughout the book was downright outrageous and unprofessional and that made the book less 'believable'. The 'reasons' given for some of her actions and some other events in the book just didn't ring true or me. And while the author did a good job of building the intrigue, I managed to guess almost halfway through who the murderer was....just not why. Maybe this was the intention, maybe not. Either way, it made me less inclined to want to finish the book and the only reason I continued to read was to find out if I was right.

An easy, quick read but too drawn out and fell short of the mark for me.

The Hunter family are profoundly deaf. So when a terrible crime takes place in their house in the middle of the night, they sleep soundly through it, not realising until the morning that their infant daughter has been brutally murdered. Paige Northwood, an interpreter fluent in sign language, is called by the police to help them communicate with the family and discover the truth about what happened. Who would kill an innocent toddler? And is the truth close to home than it seems...

Given the unique and original premise for this novel (which I found chilling), and the fact that the brutal murder of a child takes place within the first few pages, the last word you'd think I'd be using to describe this book would be boring. But I found it so dull, I almost gave up on it several times (if I'd have bought it rather than receiving a free ARC copy, I would have returned it). The plot is sluggish (other than the odd spurt of scurrilous activity), and the pace is glacial, but my real problem was with the characters. They were across-the-board vanilla, with nothing to distinguish one from another excepting whether they were deaf or not, and which kid(s) they were parent to. They didn't have a personality between them.

I genuinely found this one a real trawl to get to the finish, and by the time you get to the truth, I really didn't care any more. There's just nothing exciting or thrilling about this book at all, and I was so disappointed as I think the premise is great - this one ultimately just did nothing for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. The unfolding story as well as the characters kept me interested until the end.
Thank you to netgalley, Avon publishing UK and the author Nell Pattison for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.