The Silence by Katerina Diamond
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 7th June 2023
Published: 8th June 2023
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Gail wakes in the middle of the night to everyone’s worst nightmare.
She can’t move, can’t speak and a stranger is standing over her. Then everything goes black.
Gail knows she didn’t dream it. Or him. But the police don’t believe her.
That was two years ago. She has tried to move on, forget what happened.
Until she meets his next victim.
This woman’s story is identical to hers. And the attack happened exactly one year later.
There is one week left until he will strike again.
Now the silence is broken, there is no telling what he will unleash…
A totally gripping and twisty crime thriller that will take your breath away. Fans of K. L. Slater and Rachel Abbott will be hooked from the very first page.
MY THOUGHTS:
He's got away with it...but now time is up...
I am a big fan of Katerina Diamond so was excited about the prospect of reading her latest book. But for the purposes of a clarity and awareness I feel a trigger warning is appropriate.
**TRIGGER WARNING**
It needs to be said that this book is about rape and features incels (involuntary celibates)
While rape features heavily throughout the story, it is sensitively done though the entire concept of it does come across with a sense of brutality and even violence, though to be fair this book is a lot less graphic than some of Diamond's other thrillers. I think out sensitivity it is less so. But some readers may find it confronting so if this is an issue for you then maybe pass on this one.
The story begins three years previously with Gail returning home after a tiring shift at work. She falls asleep after some mindless TV, awaking only to find a stranger on top of her raping her. She cannot move, she cannot see for something was draped across her face and she cannot do anything to stop what this monster is doing to her. Afterwards he makes her wash with bleach and takes everything he use from the scene, leaving no trace of evidence behind. It is like nothing ever happened. Except Gail knows that it did. She can feel it, she can remember every waking moment, she can taste it.
In the morning, she reports the assault to police where she is interviewed by DS Shona White. But when she takes it to her supervising officer, she is told that this is not the first time Gail has reported a rape that was deemed to be a false allegation. No one would believe her, the case was untenable and so Shona was told to bury it and let it go. And so Gail leaves feeling as though she has been raped all over again. Just like last time - they didn't believe her.
Three years on, Gail has tried moving on with her life but instead lives in the shadow of some semblance of what was once her life. She has been unable to hold down a job, becoming unreliable and unmanagable, even going as far as slapping a customer on one occasion. Now she has a night shift position at a hotel on the front desk and running room service because she only feels safe at home during the day when her neighbours are awake.
Gail frequents sexual assault support groups several times a week and it is there she meets Martha whose story of her own ordeal mirrors her own. As Martha tells her story Gail feels as if it is her own, reliving every horrifying moment. They decide to make a stand and not be victims any longer and so they try to draw out other survivors to his brutal assaults...because one thing they know - they were not the only ones. The police have washed their hands of it as there is no physical evidence not only linking a perpetrator to the assault but that that an assault even took place! Together they discover more consistencies that bring them closer to finding out who did this to them and the significance of the date on which they were raped two years apart.
THE SILENCE is a very dark read that can be quite uncomfortable to read at times. But it is compelling, addictive and held my attention throughout. Firstly, I must commend Diamond for tackling what is essentially a difficult topic to feature in plots. She did it with sensitivity, honesty and care. Her thrillers are known for being brutal and featuring graphic scenes but for the purpose of this one she reigned it in here.
The story unfolds through three main perspectives - Gail, Shona and the perpetrator. Gail's narrative is unusual in the sense that it is written with an almost second person narrative...like a diary to her attacker. She keeps referring to "you" meaning her attacker throughout her narrative. Shona's focuses on the investigation from when Gail first presented to her three years ago to now when she is now a DI. The perpetrator's retells his story from that of a child, the unjustness and unfairness of his peers and pretty much everyone around him, leading up to the present.
Unfortunately I found Gail rather irritating and barely likeable at times. I did sympathise with her but I liked her less as the story progressed. I get how she doesn't want to be seen as a victim any longer but the transition into vigilante was a tad far fetched and I felt took away from the main purpose. I liked Shona but felt she was made to tow the line when really she wanted to pursue the investigation from the start. She believe Gail, but no one else would.
I story as a whole was dark but cleverly told throughout. There are sufficient twists to keep you guessing but I had it all figured out by about chapter 5...although admittedly I was only guessing but it was my theory at the time but the more I read the more I was convinced I was right.
The ending I thought was a little abrupt and while I was engaged throughout I did feel there was something lacking that is usually present in Diamond's thrillers. But that aside, it is quite a good read despite its subject matter. A tense and chilling read from start to finish.
I would like to thank #KaterinaDiamond, #Netgalley and #AvonBooksUK for an ARC of #TheSilence in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
As a child, Katerina was an avid reader from an early age, with a particular affection for Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie.
Katerina is a big fan of television dramas, movies and world cinema. This led to her writing and co-writing several screenplays before joining a novel writing group. After beginning her first novel in 2013, Katerina entered a local writing competition and won. She is now the Sunday Times and Amazon bestselling author of a series of psychological crime novels set in Exeter.
Katerina burst onto the crime scene with her debut The Teacher, which became a Sunday Times bestseller and a number one Kindle bestseller. It was longlisted for the CWA John Creasey Debut Dagger Award and the Hotel Chocolat Award for ‘darkest moment’. The Teacher was followed by sequels The Secret, The Angel, The Promise, Truth or Die and Woman in the Water, all of which featured detectives Adrian Miles and Imogen Grey. The Heatwave is her first standalone thriller.
Katerina now lives in the East Kent Coast with her husband and children. She is a Sunday Times and Kindle bestseller.
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