The Silent Girls by Ann Troup
Genre: Psychological Mystery
Read: 9th August 2018
Purchase: Amazon
★★★★★ 5 stars
THE SILENT GIRLS is the first book by Ann Troup that I have read, and I have to say that it will not be my last. The book is a psychological mystery with an historical twist - those I seem to love best as they delve into the past to make sense of the future, and not to mention solving historical crimes!
The prologue begins in 1964 and describes a convicted murderer being hanged and a murder taking place on the same day. The novel then moves to forty six years later where Edie arrives in Coronation Square to clear out her Aunt Dolly's rancid house after she has died suddenly. Edie hasn't been there for over 30 years and almost at once she is shocked to discover how the Square has declined and the squalor that her aunt had been living in.
Soon after she arrives at the Square, Edie inundated with a "murder tour" group gathered outside her front door. Aware of the Square's history does not endear her to the group or its guide and finds the fascination somewhat ghoulish. Before she was born, several young women were found raped and murdered in the Square - one right outside the door of her aunt's house which she now has to clear and get ready for sale. Although someone was hanged for the crimes 46 years previously, there is one person intent on discovering the truth about the murders and soon ropes Edie in, despite her indifference.
Soon after she began clearing the house - her Aunt Dolly appeared to have hoarded everything pertinent or not to her life - Edie finds a young homeless girl breaking in. Apparently eccentric old Dolly used to let young Sophie stay whenever she needed to, and her sudden death comes as a shock to the young girl. It's quite clear that Sophie has taken somewhat of a beating and Edie allows her to stay on the condition she helps her clear out the house. It doesn't take long for Sophie to make some discoveries in the rancid rubbish, whilst not aware of their significance only adding to the mystery. I liked Sophie, streetwise but with a heart. I enjoyed watching the relationship between her and Edie grow into an almost mother/daughter one - Sophie certainly needing a mother figure while Edie longed to feel wanted and needed - and it was clear they both gained from their relationship.
There is a plethora of characters in this story, some delusive whilst others are just evil. It seems most characters have a duplicity about them to which Edie is blind to, having just come from an emotionally abusive marriage and at her most vulnerable. Everyone in this story has secrets which are slowly discovered as the story, and its mysteries, are slowly unravelled. Lena, Sam, Lional, Matt - who can she trust? She can't even unload to her sister Rose as she is in the middle of a cruise, leaving Edie to tackle the squalor that was Dolly's house...and life.
Whilst slow to start, as the story progresses Dolly's house relinquishes more of its grim secrets and history and Edie begins to discover more about her family that she ever wanted to know. And before long it becomes apparent that Edie's life was built on a lie, and soon she doesn't know who she is anymore.
With a touch of 10 Rillington Place, THE SILENT GIRLS is an intruiging tale that will keep you turning the pages as you uncover the many twists of this mystery right up to the end. I must admit I figured out 'whodunnit' well before that stage but it didn't ruin my enjoyment as I devoured each moment and each chapter till the very last page. The final chapter was a nice touch - a real twist if you never saw it coming - with a closure you wouldn't expect.
Highly recommend even if it is not your usual genre because it is definitely worth the read.
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