Interesting, absorbing and well written. Susie Steiner is a keen observer of everyday life and the psychological impact it has on others.
All the characters are true to life and we can all identify and relate to what she writes. The monotony of everyday living, of working full time, looking after kids, running a house, getting on with your partner. What happens when immigrants take over your next door house? Anti immigration demos.
Plus there is plenty of drama and a murder mystery to solve. Well worth the read.

A series I've heard so much about that when I spotted this one I was determined to read it!

DI Manon Bradshaw, despite working reduced hours, finds the case of the latest body found hanging from a tree lands on her desk. With a new Chief in the station, it's all hands on deck to find out if this is suicide or murder. It's fairly obvious that some of those questioned know things they're not telling - but why? And can Manon and her team get to the bottom of things before more bodies are discovered?

What a fantastic book! There is a great mix of professional and personal lives in this and some bursts of humour along the way - all entirely in keeping with the story. Having assured my husband he would get an undisturbed night's sleep due to my reading a crime thriller, the first scene I read after lights out involved a young officer from Glasgow and I couldn't prevent a burst of laughter!

This is an excellent crime novel, targeting current concerns within the UK and none of it whitewashed. I really need to try and find time to read the first two books as I feel I'm missing out if I don't. Full of well-crafted characters and a gripping story line, this had everything I could possibly want - crime investigation, colleagues, friends, family and the unexpected giggles at the most inopportune moments. All well-written and one I'm happy to recommend. 4.5*.

Another great book from Susie Steiner featuring Manon. Susie's stories are always full of twists and turns and surprises and this is no different. Great to see how Manon is developing as a character.

I loved this book, and read it in a day because I couldn't put it down. A compelling story, great characters (I love Manon and want to read more about her) and a well-written book, with some nice witty touches. I will be recommending Susie Steiner to everyone.

I love, love, love Manon Bradshaw - the perfect mid-life detective, with as much going on in her own domestic life as she does in her work life with the police. Susie Steiner writes so much more than just a crime novel - she writes really great characters, and great plot outside of the main plot. This can be read as a standalone novel - however I do recommend for maximum Manon love reading the first two ahead of Remain Silent.

In Remain Silent we are introduced to the world of Eastern European immigrants - who escape Lithuania on the promise of earning good wages in the UK, but who find themselves abused and subjected to practices of modern slavery. When one is found in apparent suicide the police are not convinced he necessarily took his own life, and instead find themselves investigating the gangs behind the scenes. Modern, relevant, and hopefully helpful in getting people to understand the reasons why people do travel from overseas to work in the UK, often illegally - that was often blamed as the reason that BREXIT happened.

But above all - read this for Manon - the BEST detective out there for me. I would read everything Susie Steiner wrote with Manon at the helm.

People trafficking – a vile and disgusting practice.

DI Manon Bradshaw is returning home with her young son, Teddy when she happens to look up and see a body hanging from a tree. It's the body of a young man. Unwashed and wearing boots. There is a note attached to the body. Translated from Lithuanian, it says; The dead cannot speak.

Manon Bradshaw's boss, Detective Superintendent Glenda McBain feels that as Manon discovered the body, she should lead the team. Something she's not done since the birth of Teddy. However, she's delighted to be back with her original team especially working with DS Davy Walker.

There is already a considerable police enquiry called Operation Pheasant in Wisbech into people being trafficked from Lithuania, Rumania, and other countries from "Old Russia". The conditions in which these people are kept. The way they're treated and the places they're expected to work are appalling.

The storyline had a massive impact on me. I know that we have people trafficked working here in the UK, I didn't know how badly they are treated. Especially upsetting for me is the fact that the gang leaders withhold their passports and wages. There is no escape unless those trafficked find the courage to speak to the police. However, as the book's title shows, those trafficked are too terrified to place their families in harm's way, so refuse to talk to police.

Susie Steiner is brilliant at allowing her readers to go from intense moments of darkness to make the reader laugh out loud, thanks mainly to Manon Bradshaw's extravert nature and the people around her supporting her as she tries to solve the case. The author has managed to draw the victims with so much empathy. It made them real, and I was able to fully sympathise. Likewise, the police are drawn showing warts and all. I'm so pleased I never chose to join them – the working hours are crazy.

I am certainly looking forward to catching up with Manon Bradshaw. Susie, please write another novel soon. You are a brilliant author.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

Although when I requested this, I didn't realise it was in a series, it definitely worked as a standalone novel. It was exactly the type of police inspector thriller I love - twists and turns along the way, a really poignant message on a topical issue of immigration, and some real-life behind the scenes humanity of a police officer. I have already ordered the others in the trilogy to catch up on what I've missed!

This is the third Manon Bradshaw book and I'd say the best. The very serious background to the story - the way in which migrant short-term labourers are treated in the UK, plus the rise of right-wing nationalism - are wonderfully counterbalanced by Manon's take on middle age, career, marriage and raising children in a series of ongoing family and work crises.

Luke Balsys is a Lithuanian labourer persuaded, against his better judgment, into taking agricultural labourer jobs in the UK under a sadistic gangmaster. Being woken at 4am to get on a bus to a remote chicken warehouse for a 16 hour shift wasn't what he had in mind when looking for better wages and prospects. He is found hanging from a tree with a mysterious note in his pocket. Was it murder or suicide? Manon and side-kick Davey are tasked with finding out and it leads them into a murky, threatening and dangerous world.

Manon's personal life and attitudes had me laughing out loud ("Are you happy with Mark" asks her best friend. "Of course not! That's not a reason to leave though, is it!" replies Manon). "Is this your first body in a chest freezer? she cheerily asks the H&S inspector, who is about to throw up. And the classic - "I like cucumber, but I don't eat cheese" he says conversationally, while holding his willy - of a six year old boy at a birthday party. These are to be found all through the book and they are gold nuggets in what would otherwise be a depressing read about the awful lives the migrant labourers endure. Hovels unfit for human habitation, poor food, most of their money funnelled away as 'fees' and the threat that their families back home will suffer if they dare to complain or go to the authorities. On top of that there's the open prejudice of some elements of the local populace with their "Respect are country. Speak English" banners.

This book is a star, so much more that a police procedural because of the realistc characters, hard-hitting observtion and humour. I loved it!

Absolutely loved it! Manon Bradshaw is just perfectly imperfect. Her brilliance is only outshone by her quick wit and sarcasm, her life teetering on the brink of collapse but still finds time to be all: crime-solver, wife, mother and friend. Highly recommend the whole series.

Such a great series, I love Manon Bradshaw., one of my very favourite detectives. Compulsive, exciting, unexpected. More please!

I think I struggled with this one because I haven’t read the previous books in this series. I did enjoy this one but think I would have liked it more if I’d read the whole series. However it is a series thats on my list to read, so I’m hoping I’ll love this one more once I’ve read the whole series! I really liked the writing and the storyline had me gripped, so I’m looking forward to reading the previous books.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK, HarperFiction and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the first Susie Steiner book I have read and found that this is the third in the series. I didn't feel I needed to read the earlier books in order to enjoy this one, as there was already a lot of insight into all the characters. Having said that, the book was very enjoyable and I am very likely to go back and read the previous two titles.

As I started the book I wasn't sure I would enjoy it, but the more I read, the more enjoyable it became. Its the story of Manon Bradshaw who was working in the cold case department of the Cambridge Police Force. While on a walk she spots the body of a Lithuanian immigrant hanging from a tree with a mysterious note attached, she knows her life is about to change. Suddenly, she is back on the job, full-force, trying to solve the suicide--or is it a murder--in what may be the most dangerous and demanding case of her life.

This book has obviously been very well researched as was the plot of Eastern European workers from Lithuania and their harsh treatment in England, including the way they were brought into the country and both by their employers and the general public. It really helps you to understand the issues of modern slavery that are alive today an how bad things can be. It's really well written and a very enjoyable read.

Remain Silent is an intense police procedural novel which feels very timely in the current political climate of police protests and growing racial tensions around immigration issues.

The main character, Manon, has to juggle her career as a detective, her relationship with her partner, Mark, and parenting her children, Fly (teen) and Teddy (toddler). The reality of a working mum trying to be everything to everyone feels very real, and the issues are highlighted further when her two – very different – worlds collide, as she and Teddy discover a body in the park.

When it turns out that the dead body is that of a Lithuanian migrant worker, racial tensions rise from a simmer to a boil and Manon has to attempt to solve the case before everything bubbles over. Susie Steiner explores the issues here from all angles: the abused and exploited workers; the NIMBY neighbours, worried about their house prices; the protestors, the sympathisers, and the patriotic (on both sides). It all feels extremely poignant and relevant to current situations in the UK and US, making the realism feel bitterly authentic.

There are some possible triggers included in the story, including torture, animal cruelty and deliberate disfigurement, which could be upsetting for more sensitive readers. These topics are all relevant to the storyline and are handled sensitively, but with the intent to shock the reader with the cruelty and injustice of the relevant situations.

Despite following the clues, I still found myself surprised at the final reveal, and I do always love to ‘lose in a fair fight’ to a mystery! I read this book as a standalone with no problem at all, but if you enjoy a well-crafted police procedural with well-developed characters and exploration of deeper societal issues, then I would recommend you start with Missing, Presumed and work your way forward.


‘If we were on TV,’ she says, the breath in her lungs pumped and lively, ‘we’d be in an office with a giant interactive map on it and I’d stroke my finger across it to triangulate the locations. And we’d be wearing tonal outfits, Davy.’
‘Yeah, well, we’re not on TV, so I can offer you a biro and an Ordnance Survey map.’

– Susie Steiner, Remain Silent


Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

The book is primarily about making sense of life from all these different perspectives, with the murder theme bringing them together. Be prepared for digression - there's an epic two-page rant on marriage from Manon (partially contradicted a few pages later) - and for the grim backdrop of abused immigrant slave labour. But you'll wait a long time to read a more thought-provoking novel.

When i started reading this I thought it might not be my sort of book. But wow, I was wrong. Remain Silent is a brilliant, well plotted, excellently written book. I can't recommend it highly enough.

There are many people writing about the lives of women in their 40s and over: in newspaper columns and novels. These are the women juggling childcare and jobs, parents and children, marriages and old and new relationships, their appearance and clothes and fitness regimes, solidarity with their contemporaries with their own problems.

I recognize all this, and enjoy the teasing out of the issues, and particularly like it when writers are funny about these problems. I still wasn’t really expecting that the best description I’ve read of these times would come in a police procedural about a completely different subject…

This book is absolutely wonderful, but it is very strange: a book of two interleaved, and very different, halves.

The crime story it tells is horrendous: partly because it is not a crime novel staple – serial killers and revenge tragedies and killing sprees can be hard to read about, but they don’t happen very much in real life, you don't worry that they are happening outside your door. Susie Steiner’s subject is people-trafficking, and Eastern European immigrants brought into the UK (and of course elsewhere) and in effect working as slaves, doing dirty, unsafe jobs no-one else wants to do. They are entirely at the mercy of the gangmasters, living in squalid houses, their pitiful wages stolen from them. It is totally convincing, and absolutely horrible. I am often wary of real-life topics in novels: I spend my whole time saying ‘but is it true? Which bits are true? Is there novelistic licence, can I rely on the facts or are they exaggerated?’ But in Remain Silent I didn’t doubt for a second that Steiner had done her research and everything she wrote about these lives was true and authentic, and totally appalling. She also looks at the responses of some people who strongly object to immigration, and want to make their feelings known. The whole tricky question gets a good going over.




One of the immigrant workers has died, in strange circumstances, and DI Manon Bradshaw, our series heroine, comes to investigate. And this is where the other half kicks in: while conducting her engrossing careful investigation, we also follow her thoughts about her complicated life, her friends and children and relationships. And it is hilarious and absolutely spot on. One reviewer said there are ‘many underlying truths spoken lightly’, and that is exactly right.

There is a tour de force scene where Manon warns someone about what will happen if he breaks up his marriage: It’s not a major part of the plot, but her lecture is amazing – wince-making, totally ringing with truth, and laugh out loud funny. Similarly, she ponders elsewhere on appearances, feminism,
partnerships, with throwaway lines such as ‘the truth is, ill people are annoying. They don’t help much about the house.’

She is spit-out-your-coffee funny, like a superb standup, and all this is sewn into her very sad story. I could quote from her all day, but I wouldn't know where to stop.





I said this about a previous book, Persons Unknown
The book contains many features that sometimes concern me: multiple POVs, use of the present tense, and a lot of detail about personal lives and relationships of the series characters. But I loved the book, raced through it, enjoying every moment of the complex investigation, Manon’s sometimes foolish moves, and the fears and mysteries in her own home.
--you do have to keep an eye on the headings of the sections, to check which character we are following, and whether this is a flashback or not. But it was very much worth the effort.

I would have liked a little more detail about the ultimate fates of a couple of the characters, but what I really want is some hope for them...

Susie Steiner herself has been ill, and we can only hope that the deservedly-rapturous reception for this book has been some consolation after the year she has had.

Pictures of the Port of Klaipeda, the Lithuanian city where several of the main characters have come from, and where the investigation takes the police. Steiner herself explains at the end how she visited there herself in pursuit of her story.

I'm a newcomer to this author's work. I enjoyed Remain Silent. The female characters, led by DI Manon Bradshaw, are strong and well developed and the plot was very relevant to today's world with migrants in an extreme right wing town. It was a bit grim for me and while I sometimes enjoy reading about unlikeable characters I found myself feeling somewhat at odds with everyone. The saving grace (hence 4 stars!) was the set up at home for Bradshaw. Definitely one for fans.

Reckon I would have got more out of this if I had read others in the series first. Found it hard to engage with Manon, the main character, or her family so maybe I need to get the others and read through and then reread this one at the right point in the series.

This is the third in the Manon series but is just as well read as a stand alone book. Manon herself never disappoints, she is a quirky and very human person and as a reader I have become increasingly endeared towards her. The story itself is, as always, excellent. Susie Steiner takes us into the world of the immigrant worker and she covers this topic with great skill. The plot does not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed and woudl highly recommend.

# Remain Silent # Netgalley

This is the first book I have read of this author. Based in Cambridge where the body was found hanging from a tree. Thought to be suicide. How’re mammon thinks it could be murder. She sets about looking into it. DCI mammon’s. Is a new detective for me. She comes across as dedicated. Yet a person who likes to be alone. She’s a team player but works better alone. It’s a intriguing book. Some of the places mentioned I know pretty well having lived in that are. So well researched consistent flow. I did not have a problem putting the book down. When I don’t have a problem. It means ok a good read but not gripping. However if you like a crime thriller with a steady flow to it then this is a book for you.. A few twists and turns, however nothing really surprising me. I definitely would like to read a few more books by this person before I made my mind up if I would read a lot of her books. Sometimes you just need to read a couple of books to get the feel quite right.