This is quite a difficult review for me to write when I read the description for this book I assumed it was a mystery thriller that would have me second-guessing characters and delving through many twists and turns until I discovered “whodunnit”. Whilst there is the mystery of what happened to Nessa it kind of plays second fiddle to an exploration of the relationship between the Kinsella’s and their relationship with the island and its inhabitants.

Ordinarily, I don’t think this slight imbalance between description and content would have been an issue for me however due to personal circumstances the domestic abuse depicted in this book hit a little too close to home and I found it really quite difficult to read at points. In turn, this has somewhat clouded my reading experience of the book and I wanted to be honest about it, if I had realised that there were such themes in this book I would have maybe shelved it for a while longer.

The atmosphere was definitely fitting, I usually enjoy a mystery with a remote setting and that is something that the author has excelled in, I could really feel the desolation of the island and its community.

I did enjoy getting to see the events through other people’s perspectives in the form of interviews by the documentary makers, it was interesting to see what it was like looking into the lives of the Kinsella’s but it also fed the mystery aspect a little more. As the book nears the three-quarter mark these snippets help to build the tension as the question of what happened to Nessa becomes a more prominent part of the story.

Admittedly I did feel a little more invested in the book when it’s concentration swung back around to the release of the documentary and what actually happened that fateful night. I have to say that I was intrigued by the ending and it definitely made me think a lot more about what had happened throughout the rest of the story.

I believe this will be a book that a lot of people will enjoy, I would say it is more of a character study than a mystery thriller but it has some strong themes and I can appreciate the commentary that the author makes on them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for a free review copy of this book.

This is a ‘locked room’ murder mystery but set on an Island.

On a stormy night, the Kinsella’s are hosting one of their parties. The next morning the body of 21 year old Nessa Crowley is found in their garden. An investigation follows and although the murderer is not found, the islanders have decided it was Henry Kinsella.

10 years later two young film makers arrive on the island to film a documentary about the murder.

The book is written in first person through Keelin Kinsella, wife of Henry, who is subject to psychological abuse by her husband and also in the form of interviews with the islands residents. As well as that we have flashbacks to the night of the party which eventually reveal what occurred that evening.

Although it is marketed as a murder mystery, that is more of a background story. The main storyline for me is Keelin and how she escaped from a marriage of domestic violence with her son Alex, only to find herself in a similar situation but this time is it not physical abuse it is psychological abuse by her new husband Henry. Control over what she eats (he likes her to stay very thin and regularly weighs her), who she speaks to, all of her passwords, the family finances, what she wears, how she styles her hair .... the list goes on. This subject is sensitively written.

I found the book a little difficult to get into but it improved at around 20% in and I’m glad I stuck with it.

Very much enjoyed this read! Great setting, intriguing premise and fascinating characters. I did get slightly confused between characters at times in the beginning but once I got into it, I thought all the characters were really well done.

Firstly I'd like to thank NetGalley for gifting me an eARC for an honest review! I also got a hardcover copy from Tandem Collective UK.

I didn't expect this book to take me two weeks to read. I also stopped to read a book I was more interested in (ACOWAR, can't really blame me there). I just felt the pacing was very slow throughout the book. I wasn't very interested after reading 40 pages but I thought I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and see what happens. This book was 'advertised' as a thriller and well it isn't a thriller. It's more crime fiction/murder mystery than a thriller. I wasn't really satisfied with the ending either. It did clear up some issues that were raised earlier in the book but still I wanted a real 'twist' that had me shocked. This ending just had me disappointed. I don't think this book needs to be as long as it is. By the last 10 chapters I was just reading to get it finished rather than wanting to read it.

Having said all of this, I do think that Louise O'Neill dealt very well with the topic of domestic violence and all the different ways this can occur. She wrote Henry really well because I really didn't like him at all. The Tandem Collective question cards really got me thinking and I thought they were very well thought out. I really feel sorry for Keelin. She is very trapped in a marriage that will destroy her inside out. I also enjoyed the setting and how Irish culture is so prominent in the book. If you enjoy drawn out murder mysteries then you will love this book. Sadly, it wasn't really for me.

Nessa Crowly was brutally murdered 10 years ago on a small Irish island. The prime suspect was Henry Crowley, a rich outsider who the locals depend on for the business he brings but who view him with suspicion. Henry agrees to be interviewed by a true crime podcast which brings the murder back into the spotlight. We also get to know his wife Keelin who grew up on the island, and who is harboring secrets of her own. Keelin escaped from a violent first marriage with her son Alex but as we delve deeper into her current relationship with Henry we start to see that things are not as perfect as they seem from the outside. A creeping sense of unease builds as Louise O'Neil gradually reveals the subtle ways Henry exerts control over Keelin. I certainly didn't guess who the murderer was, if you like twisty thrillers, you'll enjoy this.

I love books where the setting itself feels like one of the characters and that’s how the island of Inisrun felt. A place cut off from the rest of the world and deeply marked by the devastating murder years before.

As a fan of crime podcasts and documentaries I really enjoyed the format of this book. We got to know the island and it’s residents through the documentary style interviews and Keelin’s story was absolutely engrossing. This was much more than a simple murder mystery; it tackles some very dark subjects such as domestic abuse and I think it does so very well. Nessa’s murder, the mystery around it and the effect it’s had on everyone is at the heart of the book but it also shows how complex and troubling relationships within a family can be, especially in the aftermath of a trauma. Keelin’s relationship with her son Alex was one that I really felt. How much Keelin needed him after all they’d been through together really stuck with me.

If you think After The Silence will be a simple murder mystery then you will be mistaken. It’s a dark, griping and sometimes highly disturbing look at some very damaged and flawed people. Just my kind of book.

After the Silence is a whodunnit book with several suspects. Ten years ago Nessa Crowley was brutally murdered at a birthday party at Henry and Keelin Kinsella's house on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. No one has ever been convicted of her murder. Now a crew of Australian documentary makers have arrived to try to uncover what happened on that fateful night.

This is an atmospheric novel with a well drawn cast of characters which you will love to hate. The premise of the story is good, and while it is well written the execution was lacking somewhat as it was difficult at times to keep up with the jumps in time.

This is the first book I have read by Louis O'Neill and I will certainly seek out more of her work. Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus for the advance reader copy.

This was presented as a murder mystery, but I wasn’t enamoured by this aspect of the book, it was almost secondary to the story about Keelin’s relationships and a little predictable.

I found the stories behind Keelin’s relationships fascinating and the fact that, although she seems to have it all, she has actually fallen into another abusive relationship, albeit in a very different way to her first marriage where it was physical abuse. I was intrigued by the nuances behind the different types of domestic violence, Henry very much appeared to adore and pamper Keelin but it was a very sinister relationship in how he controlled her every move and decision.

Sorry to say that I found the little smatterings of Irish in it irritating and unnecessary (and I did understand them so not sure how someone who didn’t would find them).

All in all a good read and certainly very thought provoking.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good psychological thriller and After the Silence by Louise O’ Neill was a saviour among many meh books recently. It involves rich people and a murder. While you can predict where the novel is heading to, you are never sure. This is because the characters are blobs of unreliability. The heroine, Keelin, drinks, sometimes sleeps after drinking (is she drugged?), is a victim of abuse from her first husband. Her son is reserved, keeps to himself but we worry, as does his mother, whether he has genetically inherited violent traits from his biological father. Henry, the smiling villain—too good, too caring, too charming, lots of gaslighting, and overly possessive about phones and search histories. He can quote and win over feminists and is very worried about his public persona. O’Neill throws you into a sea of unreliability and I imagine she laughs as she sees the reader trying to make sense of the mystery.

Ten years ago, on the night of a wild party at Henry and Keelin Kinsella’s luxury house on the Irish island of Inisrun, there is a terrible storm which cuts the island off from the mainland. Nessa, one of the Crowley sisters, is murdered and everyone suspects it is someone from the island. The novel begins with two Australian documentary makers wishing to film the suspects and islanders about the ten year old crime. Old secrets, wounds surface. Oh my! This was a wild one!

After the Silence was thrilling, messing-up-with-head read and while you know what’s going to happen before the actual end, you feel exhausted, helpless and very suspicious. Trust no one, not even the narrator. Every time I felt some sympathy for a character, they behave suspiciously, so I am wondering ‘Is this friendship a ploy’ , ‘What are they hiding’, and screaming in my head ‘Lies, lies lies.’

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Quercus Books in exchange for an honest review.

After the Silence is a quiet book. It creeps into your mind and sits there, a seed which continues to grow long after you've finished reading it. Before this, I have only read two books by Louise O'Neill, both of which I adored but neither of which were rooted in reality. It was interesting to see her style in a more grounded setting and I was pleased to see that the writing still managed to be beautiful and thought-provoking.

This is the story of Keelin, a woman living in the shadow of a murder accusation launched against her wealthy husband. Ten years prior, a beautiful girl named Nessa was murdered at their house party whilst a terrible storm raged on. Her husband Henry was considered to be guilty by everyone but could not be charged. Now in the present day, two filmmakers have come to the island to make a documentary about the dead girl. Told in the past and present, we soon learn that Keelin has some secrets of her own.

If you're looking for a typical thriller, this is not the book for you. The mystery is not hard to solve but it's also not really what the book is about. This is more of an exploration of Keelin's life, how she ended up with not one but two abusive husbands and how her life came to be the way it is. It explores the various facets of abuse through different lenses and also paints a picture of Irish culture on a small island. It is a deeply absorbing story and one I know I'll remember for years to come.

I only had two flaws with this book which stopped it being perfect. Firstly, I found it very difficult to tell what time period I was currently reading about. This may have been changed in the final copy but my ARC had no dates, only subtitles for some chapters which meant it was always a few paragraphs before I could tell when it was meant to be. The other thing is more personal taste but I feel the book ended too soon. There isn't really a concrete ending and things are left very open, and it was the plotline with Alex I found particularly frustrating with the way it ended (or didn't).

Apart from those minor niggles, After the Silence was an immensely enjoyable read. It wasn't the thriller I was expecting but I definitely loved reading it and I thought it had a lot of interesting things to say. If you like O'Neill's other work, this is a fantastic new addition to that and it's well worth the try for anyone looking for an absorbing story.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I adored the atmosphere of this book. Perfectly set in Inisrun with a dark storm set this twisty thriller brilliantly.

Two documentary film makes travel from Australia to Ireland to produce a film about an unsolved murder from ten years ago.

This is a great book and the atmosphere really draws you in to the small town trying to keep their secrets

My thanks to Quercus/riverrun for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘After the Silence’ by Louise O'Neill.

Publisher: “Nessa Crowley's murderer has been protected by silence for ten years. Until a team of documentary makers decide to find out the truth.”

This proved a fascinating combination of family drama and murder mystery. Its main character is Keelin Kinsella, whose family has lived on the Irish island of Inisrun for generations. Her second marriage to multi-millionaire Henry Kinsella had brought her financial security and apparent safety following an abusive first marriage.

It was the morning after a wild party on the Kinsella’s estate that the lifeless body of popular local girl Nessa Crowley was found in the garden. Initially thought an accident, it was later ruled a murder. Despite an extensive investigation no one was ever charged. Yet the islanders are certain that they know who is to blame.

Given the ongoing public fascination with the unsolved case of the Crowley Girl, an Australian documentary crew arrives on the island with the intention of finding evidence to finally solve her murder. Henry and Keelin provide the documentary makers with free accommodation and are more than cooperative with them, hoping to finally clear up the suspicion that had overshadowed their lives.

This was so much more than an intriguing murder mystery. Louise O'Neill explores not only the more obvious type of domestic abuse as experienced by Keelin during her first marriage and the cases that she deals with in her work as a therapist at a women’s refuge but the more subtle type of abuse that Keelin experiences with the seemingly perfect Henry.

We quickly see how controlling he is in terms of dictating how she dresses, what she eats and even watches, reads, and listens to. He also gaslights her and increasingly isolates her. Added to the way the Kinsella family is shunned by the islanders, this aspect of the story was quite heartbreaking as despite her apparent privilege and security, Keelin is a prisoner.

I read this in a single day, finding it a highly compelling novel.

What’s hidden behind closed doors is a thing that only the family really known, the outsiders can “suspect” something but the reality is always hidden behind them. This is a story about control and abuse, family and lies, secrets and death; because sometimes, after the silence of the death, the victim will find the voice they were searching for a long time. Ready?
This is psychological thriller, atmospheric and visceral, when a documentary team decides to investigate the Nessa Crowley’s case, a pretty woman that was killed in the Isrum Island, there were suspects, but no one was ever charged for the crime. Now, 10 years later, two journalists are going to Isrum to discover the truth, discover why someone would kill Nessa Crowley. They will center the investigation on Henry and Keelin Kinsella, the islanders always suspected that they were involved on the mystery and the victim’s body appeared on their garden, but the motive was never guessed. Maybe now it’s time to reveal the truth…
This is a mystery book, but the story is more centered on the main character’s life and their abusive marriage; I have to say, that the author, Louise O’Neill, did an amazing job portraying Keelin Kinsella, her character is strong but always being in toxic relationships, so it’s a really interesting perspective, seeing how a brave and intelligent woman can be moulded to someone’s will. Why she doesn’t stop it? Why she doesn’t leave? This book gave me an interesting perspective on abusive relationships, seeing that even if you are a strong and intelligent woman, the abuse is there and you can’t leave.
I don’t think the killing of Nessa is the main focus on the story, I will not complain either, I enjoyed the read, but I would had loved a little bit of suspense, it was too easy to discover the truth!
This is a good read, addictive and interesting, I am sure that you’ll not be able to stop reading once you’ll start. Ready?

Keelin Kinsella and her family live on a small island off the coast of Ireland. Keelin is a native of the island going back many generations, but husband Henry was an incomer, arriving in his teens with his wealthy hotelier family to set up a luxury resort. There’s always been an element of suspicion from the local population, so they are only too keen to blame Henry when local girl Nessa Crowley is found dead after a party at his house. Henry is never convicted of the crime, but the suspicion hangs over him and his family, who are accused of protecting him, for years and the case becomes a bit of a cause celebre and attracts attention from across the world.

The book is set ten years after Nessa’s death when two Australian journalists arrive on the island to make a documentary about the case. The Kinsella family decide to co-operate with the film, seeing it as their chance to clear their names and put their side of the story. The book includes snippets of the interviews the journalists carry out with locals and people who were at the party that night, and it becomes clear that many people have dark secrets and reasons for conveniently blaming Henry for Nessa’s murder.

There’s a dark undercurrent of abuse and coercion running through the book. Henry is a controlling, manipulative husband and Keelin, despite gaining a degree in later life and working with victims of domestic abuse, has a conflicted and dysfunctional attitude to her husband’s character. Throughout the book there are flashbacks to the early days of the Kinsella’s marriage and to the night of the murder. These are not always clearly signposted (at least not in my pre-publication Kindle version) and were rather confusing at first. The identity of Nessa’s killer when it’s uncovered at the end is predictable, but overall this was a character study of a deeply dysfunctional and unhappy marriage, rather than a straightforward murder mystery, so it was appropriate that there were no great surprises in the end. Not my favourite Louise O’Neill book (that would be Asking for It which blew me away), but still an interesting and thought-provoking read.

I've tried 3 times to read this book and something about the way it is written just doesn't grasp me. I will keep trying and hopefully return to it in future and update my review.

as a huge louise o’neill fan, i was excited to read after the silence. i’m usually not a fan of murder mysteries, but i knew that her writing would not disappoint, and i was right.

as is the case in all of o’neill’s books, i am in awe at how is she able to construct the most complex female main characters, who i alternate between wanting to slap or hug. i spent half of the book wanting to help keelin get away from the island, and the other half wanting her to stay there and suffer. it was a wild ride lol. keelin’s moments and thoughts of intense feminism are often paired with so much internalized misogyny, and it’s so believable that it made me angry lol. while reading this book, i felt so empowered by some of the things that were discussed, like the fact that women aren’t ‘allowed’ to age and the gravity of financial abuse and how may women experience it - it made me feel relief that these were not things that were merely in my head, but things that other people thought about and experienced. it’s a classic trademark of o’neill’s books, and i love it.

i found the setting of the story to be a perfect backdrop to the unravelling of the mystery. asking for it and almost love are books by o’neill that are both set in small towns, but in after the silence, the isolated island along with the small town trope gave the mystery an ominous and creepy setting. while i do wish the mystery was the main focus of the book, i did appreciate the way the story unfurled and we came to know who the murderer was. it was not a huge shock, but i liked that because there are clues throughout the story that actually meant something, unlike most mysteries.

as much as keelin was an excellently crafted character, i felt like most of the other characters were not given as much attention. henry was a classic villain who felt a bit too evil at times, alex existed to move the plot forward, and jake and noah, who i thought would play a major role in the story, had a rushed and abrupt arc, which seemed weirdly heavy handed (especially in the case of jake so obviously trying to find a maternal figure in keelin). i was frustrated with how nessa’s character was dealt with, but i also understand that feeling that frustration is the main point of the story. nessa’s whole schtick was that she was the beautiful younger model that keelin felt an intense anger towards, and since most of the book is from keelin’s point of view, it made sense that we wouldn’t learn much about nessa.

My Recommendation
Two journalists arrive on an Island in Ireland to carry out a documentary on an unsolved murder ten years previously. The wealthy owner , benefactor and influential in resurgence of the island economy, living in the grandest and largest house on the island allows access to a cottage confident their investigation will finally clear him of any presumed guilt. Slowly interviews with residents , family of both the murdered girls family and friends, and critically the benefactors family whose home was where the body was discovered all slowly unfold a story of subterfuge, secrets and lies. A journey into the past reveals a young single mother, escaping an abusive relationship desperate for a safe haven, where all control for her life will be handed over to a third party as the price and cost for peace, safety and tranquility. An island traumatised by the murder of one of their own whilst balancing the need for justice against the perpetrator against the benefits supplied by the affluent family from the big house. A rich dysfunctional family living a life of deceit and lies in a community where nothing remains secret and weaknesses are exposed . Is it possible two young journalists can discover what a legal investigation failed to unearth. Alongside a riveting storyline are issues related to common assumptions of abusive relationships, coercive control through mind games and use of learned helplessness to form a crutch enabling a vulnerable person to survive the unthinkable. The final denouncement gives us an explanation of events leading up to the murder if no resolution for two families and an island torn apart by the catastrophic events a decade previously. Many thanks to author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

Louise O'Neill has such a unique voice and style of writing. Her characters are always unique and gritty and her stories always dark and thought provoking. Louise has managed to continue this despite her change of genre and this book is fantastic. A pacey psychological domestic thriller, you will not want to put this down.

I very much enjoyed reading this book! Loved the storyline, characters, suspense and how it was focused around highlighting the issue of domestic violence and coercive control in Ireland. A few typos in this copy that need to be sorted. Louise O'Neill is one of my favourite authors and she continues to get better in her writing. Love the suspense, build up/tension throughout this book. Kept me hooked and finished reading it within a few days.

Book review 3.75 stars rounded up

This was my first book by Louise O'Neil, and have to say she truly has a great gift for writing atmosphere. I loved the descriptions of the remote island setting, I was also really impressed with her character building.

The story is told through many povs and back and forth over different timelines, following the murder of local girl Nessa Crowley and questioning "whodunit"? To me... it was pretty clear who had indeed "dun it" from very early on, however the murder mystery almost reads as a secondary storyline to the main theme of toxic relationships and domestic violence. Its clear these topics were very well researched and were sensitively handled, even though they were horrifying to read. Emotional abuse, control, gaslighting and metal health are also at the forefront, aswell as an interesting look at the way society ans the media treat women in certain situations .

This was a solid domestic thriller, beautifully written. Many thanks to netgalley and quercus books and riverrun for providing me with a copy of After The Silence in exchange for my review