I would like to thank Netgalley and Quercus Books for a review copy of After the Silence, a stand-alone psychological thriller set on the Irish island of Inisrún.

Ten years ago Nessa Crowley was found murdered at a party in the grounds of Henry and Keelin Kinsella’s home. They came under suspicion but with no proof the crime remains unsolved. Now a documentary team is on the island revisiting the crime and secrets are about to be exposed.

I liked the premise of After the Silence which hints at the solution to a ten year old cold case and I further liked the limited cast of suspects, marooned on a island by the weather. Initially I found the novel intriguing but soon it got repetitive and wasn’t really about the murder but something else entirely.

I guessed the killer’s identity almost immediately but that doesn’t matter because the novel is all about how the Kinsella family reacted to the murder and how it has affected their lives in the ensuing ten years. The novel is mostly told from Keelin’s point of view with excerpts from the documentary interviews to provide a counterpoint. She is a sad woman with what appears to be depression and has become adept at keeping secrets. These secrets are slowly revealed to the reader, not the public, over the course of the novel. They explain some of the choices she has made and why she has allowed her husband to become so coercive and controlling. I didn’t find her story edifying or interesting and I struggled to get through it, so by the time the final twist came I couldn’t have cared less.

I liked the excerpts from the documentary, which I thought adds an edge that Keelin’s rather unreliable narrative doesn’t but I didn’t like the constant time switches between now and ten years ago. It’s hard to keep up with and makes for a choppy read.

This is a novel peopled by unpleasant characters. Some of their experiences may strike a chord, I can understand where Keelin is coming from, but that doesn’t make it a stirring read or make the reader identify with her.

After the Silence is not my kind of novel

A moving book that deals with all kinds of abuse
The writing was great,it flowed and told you the story as it did so
I loved the descriptions of island life and how a closed community works
A really tense thriller that builds and builds

A gripping, dark and exciting thriller that I read as fast as I could.
I loved the storytelling and the character development, how the author describes the relationship and the atmosphere.
The plot flows and kept me hooked and guessing what was going to happen.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

First off big ol content warning for domestic abuse - both physical and psychological and coercion/controlling relationship.

I'd recommend this to anyone who like true crime podcasts/documentaries (in particular West Cork) or fictional versions of them (Sadie comes to mind).

I'm broken. This was heart wrenching. This is not just a murder mystery but an exploration of domestic abuse and violence towards women, and how society and the media treat women as a whole...which is not surprising considering Louise O'Neill's previous novels. I think this novel brilliantly examines how abusive relationships manifest differently, and how easy it is for anyone to become trapped in one, regardless of circumstance or knowledge of certain behaviours. After the Silence also touches upon why it is women in particular who read/consume stories about true crime and crime fiction, especially when the stories are also concerning women - and why is the media so drawn to a particular type of woman (young, white, slim, beautiful) when it comes to telling these stories.

The premise of the book seems simple: two documentary makers come to the (fictional) island of Inis Rún off the cost of Cork, to make a documentary about the murder of Nessa Crowley, in hopes to find out who done it and/or gain closure for the family. She was found dead after a party celebrating Keelin Kinsella's birthday at 'the big house'. It's been 10 years since the murder, and while no one was convicted for it - Henry Kinsella, Sasanach and blow-in to the island was the prime suspect, and still treated as such by the islanders. The book goes back and forth from the months just prior to the murder, the filmmakers interviewing islanders and those connected with the case, and the present day as Keelin sees it. We also get snippets further into Keelin's past.

This book starts out as what could be a standard whodunit, but turns into a psychological and dark read. The characters and characterisation are brilliant - every character has their own place, and every one is fleshed out. It's a disturbing and uncomfortable read at times, but a fascinating one all the same. You <b>feel</b> this book rather than enjoy it -which is true of every Louise O'Neill book I have read (the first two...and the other two are glaring at my from my bookshelf as I type!)

It's well written, and you really get the feel of a closed community on a small island. I loved the use of Hiberno-English and Irish throughout the story. While it may cause others to need to check a word here and there in a dictionary it really added to the atmosphere of the book. Most of the full sentences that were in Irish were translated after the fact anyway, so I don't really know what people are complaining about...I have read many books set in America with Latinx characters using Spanish that I may not have understood but in context it's easy to figure out or look up. Mo stór (my darling) is never translated in the novel, but it is used as an obvious term of endearment in context.

Jeanette Winterson once said of O'Neill "She writes with a scalpel" and that still rings through with this.

A somewhat puzzling read from Louise O’Neill here, but I think that’s because I was expecting the focus to be more on the mystery.
Keelin Kinsella is a local girl, who has a seemingly successful second marriage to Henry. They are wealthy, and renowned for their shows of wealth. Locals on the island have never fully accepted Henry, and when one of the young triplets feted on the island is found dead after a wild party at the Kinsella’s people assume the hosts were involved. Ten years on, nobody has been charged with her death. People talk. Someone knows what happened, but it seems to be a mystery that will remain unsolved.
A couple of documentary makers come to visit the island and see if they can unearth new evidence. At the request of her husband Keelin befriends them and tries to influence the picture given. Of course we want to know why, and what she’s hiding.
While I spent a fairly substantial part of the book waiting to learn the truth about this event, it was evident that the focus was on those involved and uncovering the truth of their reality. From the relationship between Henry and Keelin and the details of their past, it was clear that this was not a healthy relationship. O’Neill deftly explores the reality of domestic violence and the ways in which those affected by it might respond/reflect on it.
When we eventually got to the uncovering of the evening in question, I had suspected that our obvious candidate was not the one responsible. It was evident that a number of those at the party knew the truth and chose to cover it up. However they justify their actions, there was a part of me that was so disgusted by the behaviour/attitude shown by certain characters that I was rather disappointed when we learned the truth.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this in advance of publication. (Requested it having already read it some time ago-different cover!)

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me turning pages as I tore through it – I had to see how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five