Silenced by Anne Randall - BLOG TOUR

I am delighted to be today's stop on the BLOG TOUR for Anne Randall's Silenced, which was published on 3 September 2015 by Constable.

Silenced
By Anne Randall

Published by Constable/Little Brown (3 September 2015)

ISBN: 978-1472112330

Publisher's description
He buried his victim alive. And now he's escaped from prison and is on the run in the city.

Fiona Henderson, the daughter of the victim who'd descended into a world of silence following her mother's murder, has gone missing. Her sister Annabelle scours the city in a desperate attempt to find her. And then the body of a homeless person if found among the rubbish in a deserted alleyway.

As DIs Wheeler and Ross investigate, more suspicious deaths occur and a pattern emerges: the victims are all homeless. And so the police are pitched against a killer who is hellbent on a mission

to rid the streets of the vulnerable and dispossessed.

As Wheeler and Ross descend further into Glasgow's netherworld, their investigation reveals not only a flawed support system for the disaffected, but also a criminal class ruthlessly willing to exploit them. A city of double standards, where morality is bought and sold.

But it's when the killer begins stalking DI Wheeler, that she and Ross realise that the threat is now personal.

My verdict
Silenced is a gritty police procedural set in the Glasgow area.

The prologue sets the scene, with an unknown narrator communicating with a 'friend'. It's chilling and intriguing and left me tingling with anticipation. The rest of the book moves at a steady pace, covering interesting social issues, such as homelessness and mental illness, and (as expected) murder.

I have never been to Glasgow (or Scotland, even) and the author describes it vividly. She leaves no sense untouched, from 'scotch pies sat in pools of grease' to 'speakers that thundered heavy metal'. And then there's the weather, with Glasgow coping with a winter thunderstorm.

A gruesome killer is on the loose, having escaped from prison. His victim's eldest daughter has never recovered from her mother's tragic death and has now vanished, avoiding contact with her father and sister. Then there are series of suspicious deaths among the homeless community, which DIs Wheeler and Ross are sent to investigate.

These subplots don't seem related at first, but gradually come together by the end of the book. There are some good twists and turns to keep the reader guessing right up until the end.

I haven't read Riven, the first book in the series. I read this as a standalone and did feel I had missed some crucial information about some of the main characters' backgrounds. The author wrote her previous book under the name A.J. McCreanor. I would suggest that you read Riven first.

I received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

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