The narration by Jonathan Keeble is excellent, but it's not enough to make me want to continue the series. I was a little disappointed by the missing child case that seemed too quickly solved and finished with though I could see why when time and effort was needed on the other case which expanded into a gruesome serial killer case. I enjoyed the way the character of the killer was written as they were very much the dark, sadistic and obsessed kind who's feeling for all but their obsession was seemingly muted. I was about to put up the review for book 3 when I noticed I hadn't yet put up the review for book 2.

For the first bit of this book he keeps telling Ruth he's going to "sort things out" with Monika, but then does his own thing. A bit too much focus on the main protagonists love lives perhaps, which occasionally affects their work. Ray Fallon also makes an appearance and it looks like Tom will never find any peace when it comes to his notorious cousin.Each holds a clue from the start and it is perhaps incompetant police work that fills the ensuing 200 pages. I was confused by the preamble which had reference to the USA, but this all made sense as the novel progressed. One thing I think it's worth mentioning for those of you who may be new to this series is this is the first time (that I've seen) one of these books ends on a cliff-hanger. The relationship between Tom and his daughter is shaping up to be an interesting one, as we keep learning more about her. As this series is shaping up to be a full series of rather short-but-enjoyable police procedurals, I couldn't help but wonder whether the focus was not a little too much on the personal lives of the main characters.

The story is set in the vicinity of Manchester, England, although the author has created a fictitious smaller town where the events unfold. The investigation begins when the body of a young American student is found in the backseat of a car during a large road accident, but it quickly comes to light that this was not how the young woman met her death. Some reviewers have said not, which puzzles me, because there is definitely a connection, but it’s not what you’d expect.This starts with two cases the first a missing child and the second a body found at the scene of a road accident that forensics said was dead prior to crash. Although the wtiting is taunt and there is urgency in the developing case I miss the time spent misleading the reader, entertaining the reader and using words to carry a more rounded story. I would much prefer for the author and the publisher to put a warning on the cover that this story is part of a series and not a complete ‘stand alone’ novel.

But for those whose idea of British literature is what's used by Jane Austen it creates a certain amount of confusion -- but a lot of local color. But it has a compelling plot and a villain whose psychology is horribly believable -- having been rejected by the woman he idolizes, he seeks out others who resemble her and tries to get them to "be" her, and when they can't measure up to his exacting standards he punishes them, eventually torturing and killing them. I've listened to MANY mysteries/thrillers and really enjoy this author's writing skills in this genre. I am really enjoying this series, getting to know the characters and enjoying how they solve the murders. I will keep reading because I like the characters Durrant has created, and it's interesting to see how they work to solve the cases they're investigating.

Don't be put off by the fact that it is a series of books as it works perfectly as a stand alone thriller. Born in Edinburgh to an English father and Scottish mother the family settled in a Pennine village between the counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire. Normally I don't go for this as I like to follow the investigation through the facts to its logical conclusion but it works well in Dead Silent so hats off to Ms Durrant for pulling it off.

Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH). Our two main detectives are still having problems finding any balance between work and private life and this series of murders isn’t making it any better. As I mentioned above, figuring out the who and the where was easier for me than in some of the other books, but the why I struggled with more. The detectives are hunting a serial killer, a missing child and trying to sort out their chaotic personal lives, where it's the old cliche of the job getting in the way of romance.I have not marked it quite so high as the previous book 'Dead Wrong' but it was a very strong 3 star rating and could of easily have been a 4. Also available are four books in the 'DI Greco' series - Dark Murder, Dark Houses, Dark Trade, and the latest - Dark Angel. Thrillers are usually fast paced but this just seemed to race towards the end at the expense of the story. Again we have descriptions of torture and gore but for me this didn’t detract from my listening experience.