Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I haven't had the opportunity to read this before, and I am so glad I finally did! This was such an entertaining read, I finished it in one sitting! It was a great read, and I will definitely read some more of Ms Staincliffe soon!
TB

This book was a real page turner for me. The lead characters, Donna and Jade, are very likeable and come across as being more 'down to earth' than some other detective novels would portray them. This for me was a huge bonus, and really made you feel a connection to the characters and the outcomes of the situation they were having to face.
The story was gripping from the start, and the suspense kept building throughout. I struggled to put this book down, and will definitely be looking to read any future books by this author!.

Donna and Jade are called to a scene where a dead baby has been found by a homeless woman. Nobody seems to know who gave birth to the child. No one seems to want to help to get the truth. Will Donna and Jade be able to find the mother of the child? Will they be able to get justice for the baby?
It was wonderful to meet these two characters again. Whereas in the first book, I found that Jade really grated on my nerves, in this second book, I found I understood her much more and grew to really like her.

I have never read a cath staincliffe book, this was the first but it won't be the last . I loved this book from the storyline to the characters. The story line was quite sad but also realistic . I felt for evie and charlotte and it is all too often what it is like today . The way the story was written I felt like I knew the characters and could visualise them and their surroundings. Can't wait to read another cath staincliffe book

I’ve read a few books by this author and really enjoyed them, and this one was just as good as her others. I liked the fact that the 2 main female characters weren’t the normal ‘super intelligent perfect’ coppers but were normal everyday people with problems just like everyone else which made the story more lifelike. A good read.

Fast paced with great characters and a good storyline . Didn’t realise this was the 2nd book in a series .. will now need to go back to read the 1st

I've never read any of Cath Staincliffe's books before although I loved Scott and Bailey on the television.

Really brilliant book, great characters to get your teeth into.

I really roared through all 304 pages.

I'm going to read all her back catalogue.

Quiet Acts of Violence is one hell of a book!

Fantastically written, realistic characters and a dark story. Everything I need from a story and more! I loved the contrast between Donna and Jade, what a fantastic pair of characters. It’s been a long time since I’ve met a pair like this! I don’t want to give too much away regarding the plot but everything is done perfectly, I felt like I was within the scenes.

I’ve just ordered the first book in this series I loved Quiet Acts of Violence so much! I bet you do the same!

This book was my first foray into the work of Cath Staincliffe and I must say I was mightily impressed.

Homeless Colette discovers a dead baby, triggering a disturbing murder investigation that features the return of DI Donna Bell and the volatile DC Jade Bradshaw of Manchester police. As the detectives find lies and obstruction at every turn in a town whose community is balanced on the precipice of poverty and hardship, the two must follow their instincts and draw on all of their reserves to solve the case.

Both Donna and Jade were defenceless against the devastation that the investigation had on their personal lives. Both characters are very well put across by Cath Staincliffe, Donna's assiduousness contrasting wonderfully with Jade’s detachment and unmindfulness.

This timely piece of crime fiction is written with compassion and sincerity in a story that incorporates tragedy, child exploitation, rape, assault, suicide, abuse, lies and deception. The up-to-the-minute plot alongside the hard hitting and gritty narrative help to make Quiet Acts of Violence a standout story. An emotional, very highly recommended read.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Little, Brown Book Group UK/ Constable via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

First book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
This story has a great storyline, well drawn characters and a solid mystery that kept me guessing.
Can't wait to read another story by this author.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have read all this authors books and she never ever fails to disappoint. This had a great storyline, lots of twists and good characters. I loved it.

This was my first read by and it certainly won't be my last, it had me hooked from start to finish.

This was an hard hitting, powerful emotional roller coaster but I enjoyed the ride!

Just goes to show you that nobody really knows what goes on behind closed doors!

Can't wait to see what happens next.

I'll read anything by Cath Staincliffe - she's never let me down. Quiet Acts of Violence is the second in a series featuring DI Donna Bell and her young DC Jade Bradshaw - both very welcome additions to the ranks of the police procedural. Both Donna and Jade have their issues, but Jade has more than most, and I loved how this was handled.

The story concerns the investigation into the death of a very young baby, named by the police as Rosa - after the street where her body was found, distressingly, in a bin. As the police strive to uncover what happened to Rosa - and where her mother is - the investigation takes some surprising twists and turns. Quiet acts of violence behind closed doors, indeed.

I don't want to say too much for fear of spoilers, but this was a brilliant read with genuine heart, and I very much look forward to reading more about DI Bell and DC Bradshaw.

Thanks to Netgalley for the preview of this book. It was a really good read. It grabs your attention. I read it in a few hours as I was unable to put it down. I don't want to give away too much about this book but I will say if you don't read this you are missing out

The novel begins with the discovery of a new born baby dumped in an alleyway skip. The baby girl is discovered by one of the local homeless community. The lady is horrified when she sees the infant and takes the body straight to the local police. The case is given to DI Donna Bell, a caring and experienced team leader, a detective inspector with a family of her own. Her partner DC Jade Bradshaw is a young officer with the sad history of coming from a dysfunctional family background. She spent much of her childhood in different foster homes and is haunted by her unhappy childhood and lack of stability.
The case begins with enquiries whether anyone in the neighbourhood knew of any pregnant woman. This investigation yields no clues. The locality of the skip is a deprived area in the middle of a crush of houses built cheaply and close together, mostly rentals with small cramped gardens and a maze of surrounding alleys and rat runs. The clothes the baby girl was dressed in is found to be from a local chain store. She was found to have been smothered, partial prints suggesting an adult to be responsible. Curtain switchers and neighbours reported sounds of an aggressive agreement with a vehicle roaring off at speed.
With worries about the birth mother’s physical and mental health as well as who had committed the crime as the foremost points to concentrate upon, the investigation gathers momentum. Someone close by knows what happened but does not tell the truth of the matter. Donna sifts through the evidence and leads with her talented team and knows the truth is being obscured, lies abound and time is running out for the perpetrator.
This novel is full of thrills and spills, misinformation and pure drama. It’s a bit of a pun I know, but it is right up my alley. It is engrossing, well written, carefully planned and I really enjoyed it. There were some powerfully hateful characters, amoral and full of hatred and criminality. I really love this genre of novel and I have read many of Cath Staincliffe’s previous novels. She never disappoints me. Her research is meticulous and exhaustive, adding authenticity and really exciting material and true life factual information. This is a total contrast to my quiet life and it introduces me ideas that I could never even envisage in my most vivid of dreams. Cath’s ideas were used to create a new TV Drama and the popular ‘Scott and Bailey’ series was born, enjoyed by millions of police procedural/ thriller lovers. Issues included in this story are deception, poverty, suicide, a secret baby girl born to an invisible mother, mental health and family dynamics to name but a few.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Constable through my membership of NetGalley. Thank you for my copy sent in return for an honest and unbiased review. I highly recommend this as a very good read and my review ‘score’ is 4.5*

Bell and Bradshaw #2

A newborn baby is found dead in a skip by a homeless woman. She takes the baby to the local police station. Thrnrace is on to quickly find the mother and discover the truth surrounding the baby's death. DI Donna Bella and DC Jade Jade Bradshaw are the two leading police officers on the case.

We first met Donna and Jade in The Girl In The Green Dress. We learn more of their background in this story and not all of it is good. It covers many issues: mental health issues, homelessness and child neglect are just a few. It seemed like no one wanted them to get to the bottom of this case. The plotline is gritty but most of all it was realistic. The suspense builds throughout. The characters are all flawed which only made it feel more real. This is a beautifully and sensitively written story. I highly recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK and the author Cath Staincliffe for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read another one of this series which gave me an advantage because h of the detectives, Jade and Donna, have problems of their own which are not really explained in the first part of this book. This book is full of gritty reality, showing a side of life in Manchester where people are struggling to get by, financially and mentally. It is realistic though and true to life, there are good people.. Some parts are sad and made even sadder because you know that these things really happen in real life. So, if you are looking for a book where everything is neatly sewn up and only the baddies ome to grief, this is not the one for you.
The crime is a sad one, the perpetrators not immediately apparent, but as the story builds up, you come to understand how it all happened. The suspense builds up and, much as a police investigation, the pieces slowly slot into place . Lots of descriptions about the interviews an the way the detectives are thinking, which I enjoy. The end of the case feels a little rushed, but I will definitely read more of this series
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is the second in a new series by Staincliffe featuring DI Donna Bell and DC Jade Bradshaw both of whom work for the police in Manchester. I haven’t read the first novel, but it is fairly easy to pick up the fact that Bell is not only senior to but considerably older than Bradshaw, is married to a man who at the moment is unable to work and is therefore supporting both him and their five children. Jade, on the other hand, appears to be in her twenties and has come through the care system, an experience that has left her with considerable mental health issues of her own. Donna at one point comments Jade wasn’t wired like most people, the empathy gene missing or disabled, not perhaps a character trait you look for first when recruiting people to the police force.

The case that the novel is built around concerns the discovery of the body of a newborn baby in a waste bin by the homeless Collette Pritchard. Initially an appeal is put out to try to find the baby’s mother, for whose health there is considerable concern. However, when several days have gone by without any success and, given the fact that the post-mortem indicates the child was suffocated, Bell comes under pressure from her Chief Constable to turn the case into a murder enquiry. Certainly, house-to-house questioning conducted in the street where the baby was discovered throws up some interesting and suspicious characters, several of whom clearly have something to hide.

This is the first Staincliffe novel that I’ve actually finished. I have picked up her books in the past, but not really got on with her style of writing. However, this was highly recommended by somebody whose opinions I value and so I thought I would try her again. Unfortunately, I really didn’t get on any better with her style this time and, while it’s inevitable that a police procedural series will focus to some extent on the lives of the officers concerned, I thought that this actually became too central and the crime merely a device on which to hang the story of Bell and Bradshaw’s personal experiences. I’m sorry, but I won’t be going back for any further episodes.

With thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for the review copy.

I’d like to thank Little, Brown Books Group UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Quiet Acts Of Violence’ by Cath Staincliffe in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

A rough sleeper discovers a new-born baby dead in a plastic sack amongst commercial rubbish in Rosa Street. She carries the sack to the police station and a tragic new case commences for DI Donna Bell and DC Jade Bradshaw as they search for the identity of the mother and the reasons behind baby Rosa’s death.

‘Quiet Acts Of Violence’ is a harrowing police procedural novel detailing the death of a baby and the hard work involved in finding out why. The plot is heart-breaking as it covers child abuse and death, poverty and the manner in which the homeless, through no fault of their own, are treated. Donna’s private life with her husband and children comes to the forefront as does Jade’s struggle with mental health issues which is dealt with sensitively and with compassion. The characterisations are so vivid and true to life that they come across as real people. I’ve read many of Cath Staincliffe’s novels but this once stands out as one of the best and is worthy of five stars. I can wholeheartedly recommend it.