جريمة في منزل الصم

Paige Northwood #1

by Nell Pattison, أدهم وهيب مطر (ترجمة)

بعد دراسة الأدب الإنجليزي في الجامعة، أصبحت (نيل باتسون) معلمة صف بعد أن تخصصت في تعليم الصم. ثم بدأت مهنة التعليم في مجتمع الصم منذ 12 عاماً وذلك في كلّ من (إنكلترا) و(اسكتلندا)، وتعمل مع الطلاب الذين يستخدمون لغة الإشارة البريطانية.
على الرغم من أن (نيل) بدأت تفقد حاسة السمع تدريجياً في عشرينياتها، إلا أنها رفضت وضع جهاز تحسين السمع. ولا تزال تعيش شمال مقاطعة (لينكولنشاير) مع زوجها وابنها. (منزل الصمت) هي روايتها الأولى.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Suspense, Disability

522 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2020

About the author

After studying English at university, Nell Pattison became a teacher and specialised in Deaf education.

She has been teaching in the Deaf community for 12 years in both England and Scotland, working with students who use BSL. Nell began losing her hearing in her twenties, and now wears hearing aids.

She lives in North Lincolnshire with her husband and son. The Silent House is her debut novel.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 3 out of 5]

As soon as I read the blurb, my fingers automatically click the request button and the next day I saw it on my bookshelf. So I got out urgently for ordering a tremendous, vivid flower bouquet to send the Netgalley office but unfortunately there is a new winery recently opened at the street (it takes 25 miles to drive but it is still in the vicinity according to LA rules.) and you may guess the end of the story. I ordered cases of new wines and came back home to read my book, writing a post it not to forget to order online bouquet after my next ARC COPY deliverance!

Here is the intriguing, mysterious, captivating plot: Our heroine is self-employed sign language interpreter usually works at schools or hospitals. But now her assistance is needed for the crime scene because 18 months old baby has been killed. And the parents of the baby are deaf so they have no clue about the killer of their child.

Paige’s moral dilemma creates a big conflict because her sister Anna is connected with the family and if she shares this information with the officers, they can take her out of the case immediately. But SHE WANTS TO HELP! She wants to know what kind of monster could do such a thing to an innocent, harmless baby!

As you can see, I was so excited to read finally different kind of thriller. Because lately I was really sick of reading about manipulative husbands, cheater wives, psychopathic, dysfunctional couples. So this book seemed like having a fresh, creative, brand new subject.
BUTTTT… I hate this word because something ominous and dislikeable comes after that…

The book is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo slow and boring!
I haven’t felt so much pain since I’d read Virginia Woolf’s “Waves” or Karl Max’s “Das Capital”( my major was political science so this book was my obligation!!!!)

I haven’t felt an agitating stomach ache since I’d watched “Aloha” and Mark Wahlberg’s “Transformer” movie (Actually I cried hysterically after I’d seen some scenes. How can a person push himself so hard to be the worst actor like Fifty Shades’ Jamie Dornan. At least Jamie Dornan was naked and gave us something- too many things actually- to focus on!)
Unfortunately the author doesn’t give us something concrete to hold on (a proper character development, background stories, motives, anything please!!!) and I got lost in too many cliché balloons, yada yada, bla bla voices on my head! I wanted to yell at the author “Cut to the chase please!”, but here we go again, another foreseeable, uninteresting twist is coming soon!

But I have to admit the ending that made me so happy! I even let my husband steal my chocolates (thanks to him I lost 10 pounds because for six months he has been consuming my chocolate intake!)! No you got it wrong! I didn’t like the ending of the book, on contrary I was happy because finally there was no page left and so I didn’t need to read it anymore!!!

My only stars come for the promising plot of the book. But slow pacing, undeveloped characters and not so witty and full of repeating disappointed me. My final result is THREE STARS for this book.

I wish I could like it and write good words about this book because it gave me so much hope with its original plot. Well, let’s stay “next time!”

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for sharing this ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review!

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I was too much hyped up about this after reading the description and thinking about the thrill that the book would give me.
But this was such a huge disappointment.
It's the writing style I would say that could not make me interested enough to continue on. The character development is really weak and unsettling. They are rather unconvincing. The so called plot is rather weak as well. For a murder mystery the scenes were not adding up and are not holding up for anything interesting. It sounds rather clichè and the characters seem like they have a on-off switch as when to keep quiet and when to be extremely scared. Sorry, I just couldn't enjoy this one at all.
Thanks #NetGalley for the advance copy for in exchange of an honest review.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This debut mystery has an interesting and unique premise with a sign language interpreter employed by the police to translate for a deaf family whose young child, Lexi, was found bashed to death in her bed. With the father, stepmother and two siblings all deaf no one heard anything during the night.

The interpreter, Paige Northwood, has normal hearing but grew up in a deaf household and learnt to sign and translate for the rest of her family. Although she knows the family from the local Deaf Club, the police find it hard to book available interpreters so allow her to be involved in all the interviews with deaf family members. The novel is voiced from Paige's perspective with her thoughts on who might have killed little Lexi, so that the police investigation is more hidden than usual in this type of novel.

Despite such a promising beginning, the rest of the novel was rather slow and dull. Little progress was made in eliminating suspects and it felt like we were going round in circles not getting anywhere and failing to build any suspense, until close to the end when it all suddenly fell into place. The characters were underdeveloped and it was difficult to warm to any of them. Paige was somewhat flaky and overemotional (for a professional used to dealing with confidential situations) and her supposedly close relationship with her sister Anna was not evident. I enjoyed learning more about the deaf community and their issues in dealing with the hearing on a daily basis in this promising debut and, with stronger plot and character development, would read a follow up novel. 3.5★

With thanks to the publisher Avon Books for a digital copy to read via Netgalley

[Bridgett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't love this book.

The dialogue was not good, the pace repetitively plodded along, and I figured out the antagonist within the first few chapters. I was also really tired of Paige, our protagonist, getting "bile" in her throat. (I think she must have an undiagnosed gastrointestinal issue.) Speaking of our protagonist, both she and her sister were horribly annoying...I couldn't stand either. Further, Paige's voice read way older than she actually was. I would have guessed she was in her fifties.

That's really all I have to say about The Silent House. The premise sounded so promising, but I was disappointed...and frankly, bored.

Available now.

**Many thanks to Edelweiss and Avon for my advanced copy.

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a thriller with deaf characters, and this is the first book in the Paige Northwood series. I enjoyed the fact we follow an interpret for dear people. I felt the characters where developed, and I also cared about most of the characters. I have to say I felt the story line was a little bit hard to follow and felt break because the fact at the end of some of the characters had flash backs. I wish they would had done a character flash back before the murder then a character on present day. If they did that I think the story line would be easier to follow. I loved the ending, and I totally did not see that ending coming. I was kindly provided an e-book of this book by the publisher (Avon) or author (Nell Pattison) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though the myster surrounding the murder of a young girl in her house is a strong hook, it's the fact that this debut novel focuses on a deaf community makes it a riveting read.

The police call interpreter Paige Northwood to the Hunter's family home, everyone is so shocked by the terrible crime that has taken place.
But as Paige starts to form a bigger picture, she starts to suspect that the murderer must know the family quite well...

While the plot drags slightly in the middle section, it was interesting to get a glimpse of the lives from people who are unable to hear.
It certainly gave me a better understanding.

Thankfully the conclusion was strong and very rewarding after all the twists and turns.

[Ceecee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The blurb for this book sounds really interesting but sadly it doesn’t prove to be as intriguing as I hoped. Following the murder of Lexi, a little girl, Paige Northwood is asked by the police to the the BSL interpreter as the father Alan, ‘stepmother’ Elisha and mother Laura are all deaf. The story is principally told by Paige in the present day but also backtracks to various characters before the murder.

The start of the book does grab your attention and draws you in and it’s unfortunate that this momentum is not maintained. I really like that many of the protagonists are deaf as it’s a different perspective. I have a family member who is profoundly deaf so that resonates with me. The trolling that the father Alan receives on social media seems very relevant too as nuggets big, small, slanderous are shared for everyone’s edification.

However, I’m not sure this book quite knows what it wants to be. Is it a crime drama or is it about Paige? There are so many ‘maybes’ and thoughts from the inside of Paige’s head and some are not very illuminating and there are a lot are tangents. The plot is slow and repetitive - there are only so many times a reader wants to go over the same ground. Despite threats to Paige I don’t get the feeling of menace or tension. The characters need further development as they are a bit like cardboard cutouts and I can’t take the lead detective Forest seriously. As Paige knows the family before the murder I feel it’s very unlikely the police would use her as the interpreter and ultimately they do stop using her but not before she rides in on a white horse and tries to solve it!

Overall, there are issues with the book but with some improvements this could be a really good book, the premise is good as is the different perspective.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paige Northwood is a self employed sign language interpreter, she is used to signing at hospitals and schools but finds herself being employed by the police to sign for a deaf family whose child was found dead in her bed. This puts Paige in a dilemma as her sister Anna is the godparent to Lexie the child who died. Should she tell the police that she is aquatinted with the family, knowing they would use another interpreter or keep quiet as she wants to help.

This is a chilling read as the parents Alan and Alisha are both deaf and did not hear the possible intruder enter the house. Who would want to hurt the 18 month old child?

I enjoyed this book, as we find out more about the family, secrets are revealed and everybody seems like they could be the suspect.

I learned more about the deaf community and what life would be It was novel that most of the characters were deaf and it added a different dimension to the story.

I will definitely be looking out for Nell Pattison’s other books.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for my review.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different, well firstly this is the author’s debut and it takes every reader into the world of being deaf, most of the characters are deaf and so there is a lot of info and reference to the world of deafness that includes signing and ‘deaf clubs’ and interpreters and how,for instance, the only non deaf family member copes, all of which as a reader I appreciated, there is nothing better than reading a book and gaining knowledge into a world we know little or nothing about
I liked how the author kept deafness as a positive thing, well maybe non negative is a better way to say it if makes sense

The story itself starts very scary as a youngster is murdered at home and a sibling witnesses it, of course as everyone in the house is deaf no one else hears a thing and it really is then your typical ‘whodunit’ with many characters coming and going and of course all of them seemingly having a motive

Paige is a signer and interpreter and as such unwillingly gets drawn in to the murder investigation as she helps the Police with interviews and solves the mystery

I kinda guessed who it was at about half way but there were an array of viable red herrings before and after

The story is good and as said the authors writing on the subject of deafness is to be commended, the actual writing style was at times basic but a worthy first book and in such a busy marketplace it has the added extra of being different

6.5/10
3.5 Stars

[Louise Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hunter family are deaf. They don't hear when an intruder comes into their home. They know nothing has happened until the morning when they awake. The police have to get Paige Northwood, an interpreter for the deaf, so that they can interview the hunter family. Paige thinks the Hunters are hiding something, holding something back. The deaf community fall under suspicion. But who was guilty of killing a little girl?

This book just gives a glimpse of what it ust be like to have no hearing. The worst crime imaginable happened to the Hunters. Their little girl had been murdered and they weren't able to stop,the perpetrator as they did not hear them. Who would want to kill a child? What was the reasons behind it? This is a dark, gritty, tense and fast paced read. I could not read this book quick enough. I needed to know who had committed this atrocious crime. There is a few red herrings to keep,you guessing. I do recommend this book.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Avon Books UK and the author Nell Pattison for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Silent House is Nell Pattison’s debut thriller, based in Scunthorpe, England, with a stunning premise and an inclusive and memorable cast. It really doesn't feel at all like her first published novel. The Hunter family are part of the local deaf community and their worst fears are realised when they wake up one morning to find an intruder had entered the house during the night and brutally murdered their daughter, Lexi, in her bed. Of course, because they cannot hear this makes them incredibly vulnerable to being targeted this way and poses the question of whether this was merely opportunistic on the intruders part or whether it was someone who knew they would not be heard. British Sign Language interpreter Paige Northwood is immediately called in to assist the police in communicating with the seemingly devastated family. Despite her pure intentions Paige begins to receive death threats telling her to back off the case and soon after her sister is involved in a hit and run and someone attempts to mount an attack on her. What on earth is going on and who exactly is involved?

This is a bold, exciting and thoroughly engrossing read and although it begins slowly and doesn't quite grab your attention as rapidly as some other thrillers it soon picks up in both pace and intensity. It is a captivating and enlightening story in equal measure and explores a shocking and grisly crime and its effect on the tight-knit community in which it occurs; it is told from the perspective of an author who is herself part of the deaf community. It's deeply chilling and introduces an engaging new heroine who I hope we see more of. The mystery unravels as time goes on with plenty of twists to discover. I simply love how Pattison has been able to produce such a gripping story and at the same time is able to highlight the under-represented deaf community; I even learned some new information about what it means to be deaf as sprinkled throughout are facts on the realities of living with profound hearing loss. A refreshingly original take on a police procedural and a clever, sinister and immensely terrifying read. Many thanks to Avon for an ARC.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Starts rounded up

This is a thriller with one of the most interesting premises I have read in awhile. Paige Northwood is Deaf but not deaf, which means that she grew up in the Deaf culture and considers herself part of it, because her family was deaf, but she is able to hear. As a result of her childhood, serving often as an interpreter in her family, she has now become an interpreter for the police. Northwood is called upon to interpret when a terrible crime is committed in another Deaf household.

The idea of a crime being committed in a "Silent House" is very innovative. I also really liked how the majority of the dialogue in this book took place in sign language, which was notated in italics (which made it feel more like sign language). The beginning of the book was completely riveting, when a child is killed in silence, and none of the witnesses in the household could hear the intruder. For the first third or so of the book I was glued to the page. Then the plot slowed down somewhat. While I liked hearing about Paige's family, and meeting her sister, I felt like a lot of this dialogue and some of the other exposition kept the murder mystery from moving at a brisk clip. I also did not love the ending of the book, and felt like there were several other ways it could have gone to be more impactful.

Overall this was a great premise and had a great start. I see that Pattison is planning a sequel starring Paige and I'd be up to read it to see if some of the plotting and dialogue can be tightened in her second effort. Overall, an impressive and innovative debut that shows a lot of promise for the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Avon Books and Nell Pattison for the advance copy to read! This review is honest and my own.

[Stace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com

Paige Northwood is a sign language interpreter. One morning she is called by the police to attend a scene, she knows nothing about the case she is about to walk into just that the family is deaf and she is required.

Upon entering the house Paige is asked to sign to the mother of the family, Elisha, that she needs to undress and provide her clothes for evidence as they are covered in blood. After helping Elisha up the stair Paige notices the children’s bedroom door is open. There lay in her cot is Elisha’s step-daughter, Lexi covered in blood and she is dead.

No-one in the family heard anyone come in during the night but Elisha’s step-son saw a grown adult near Lexi’s cot who signed to him. Did someone break into the home to kill little Lexi or is a member of the family guilty of the heinous crime?

The Silent House is a psychological thriller featuring a truly wicked crime. Someone has murdered a little girl in her bed during the night. The book is told in the first person and from the sign language interpreter’s point of view, Paige.

The plot is quite a slow burner and follows the police investigation as well as Paige’s own investigation into what happened that fateful night.

I’ve read a few books recently with deaf characters as the lead and I must say that I have enjoyed them all. Having someone use their heightened other senses to work things about as well as showing how the deaf community help one another is a wonderful addition to the story, plus we get to see the difficulties they face with the hearing community.

The book has a few twists and turns within as well as red-herrings, though I had worked out just before all was revealed who the killer was I just need the why. This is one of those books that makes you question whether you truly know someone and what they are capable of.

If you enjoy a good thriller that builds slowly but holds your interest then this book is for you, as long as you can deal with the death of a child.

[The Nerd Daily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Rosie Smith

Many hearing-impaired inhabitants of Scunthorpe, England, find friendship, respite, understanding, and solace in the weekly deaf club. When disaster strikes and one of their own is murdered, an innocent little girl, deaf club is rocked to its core. With everyone suspecting one another, no-one feels safe and everyone seems to have a motive. Overprotective mother? Neglectful father? Distracted stepmother? Violent brother? Or was it simply a stranger and a crime of opportunity? The police don’t seem to have a clue, so police sign-language interpreter Paige and her little sister, Anna, take it upon themselves to solve the crime, stepping into a world full of dark revelations, twists, turns, and mortal danger.

Author Nell Pattison studies relationships within a small and close-knit group of people where everyone knows everyone; with gossip and rumours are rife. Love triangles, abuse, and adultery take place tinged with the realistic ‘messiness’ of real life. With all the secrets, comes a plethora of ethical and moral questions around relationships, parenting, crime, and right and wrong. Even our protagonist Paige has her own dilemmas, should she tell police that she knows more about the family involved that she’s letting on? Should she share her suspicions or has her investigation implicated her in her own crimes? Pattison invites us a question our own morals and ethics when we think, ‘what would I do?’ and is making the right decision as easy as it seems?

One of the main themes explored within The Silent House is hearing impairment and inclusion. As a hearing person, I felt that the novel gave a window into a different world and increased my understanding of the experience of those with a hearing impairment and the struggles faced in a predominantly hearing world. It prompted me to question how I myself can be more inclusive of others with different life experiences than my own. How can society as a whole become less ableist and more understanding of everyone. It added an inclusive layer to the book and will hopefully start a revolution of more diverse characters with a range of backgrounds and disabilities within crime-thrillers and murder mysteries.

The book is a little slow to start after an initial sinister short murder-scene and at times is seemed that some of the characters were a little two dimensional and could have used some further development. A past event also including the death of a child is alluded to throughout the book but when finally explained, it felt very disconnected with the rest of the story and didn’t seem to really add anything to the main storyline. If you are in it for a creepy, detailed description of the murderer tiptoeing around the house with the family sleeping soundly, unaware of their incoming doom, the book unfortunately lets us down on this front. It’s more a build up to the incident and the interviews in the aftermath, but this still makes for a sinister read in its own unique way.

Overall, The Silent House is a strong and terrifically terrifying debut novel from Pattison. The multiple red-herrings thrown in led me to question ‘who dunnit’ right up until the last few pages. I was actually panicking that there weren’t enough pages left to resolve the story! Luckily all is resolved in a satisfying and neat ending, leaving us only to wonder whether Paige resolves her own love triangle!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, for a debut novel, you can’t go wrong here! I was entranced by the synopsis of this book and was not disappointed. It was so unusual and provided such a different perspective to a life that I am extremely naive to. Whilst this is an opening novel for Pattison, I commend her writing style and wonder: is this the beginning of a series? What can come next for the writer?

Exploring the crime story through the deaf community, I suddenly appreciated how defenceless and vulnerable they must feel. In this novel especially, the victim’s family can only rely on an interpreter, Paige, to communicate exactly how they feel. And when you have a domineering mother thrown into the mixture who selectively interprets whilst usually controlling the situation, you wonder how a crime like this will ever be solved. The circumstances portrayed in this novel were expertly done and I appreciated how the writer signified the difference between sign and verbal communication through the novel’s formatting. It meant that the book did not feel laboured and I could focus on the story as it developed.

This is a crazy plot premise. I mean, imagine having a murder committed in your house but being unable to hear it? It’s this that makes this book stand out from many other crime novels on the shelves at the moment. The protagonist, Paige, is the interpreter called to the scene and we gradually discover that she has some demons haunting her from her past. It is not until near the end of the novel do readers discover what actually happened but I enjoyed the fact that she is not the interpreter who gets everything right and is one step ahead of the police. Far from it; she is a flawed character which made her all the more likeable as a result.

I actually got a bit worried as I neared the final chapters of the novel – were there enough pages left to fully explain everything? Of course there were. It did not feel rushed and was not overly complex that it made me left scratching my head and re-reading sections (it does occasionally happen). Whilst I had guessed the perpetrator rather early on in the plot, I enjoyed the subtle connections that the writer made between other strands of the story. It was tied up rather satisfyingly at the end and, as mentioned at the beginning, wonder if Pattison is leaving space for a series featuring Paige and the police force?

I really enjoyed this debut novel from Nell Pattison. It was a great piece of writing and kept me interested throughout. It was not slow, it was not awkward and it really raised awareness about deafness that I had never before considered. I would be excited to see what comes next from this author.

With thanks to NetGalley and Avon books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Louise Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hunter family are deaf. They don't hear when an intruder comes into their home. They know nothing has happened until the morning when they awake. The police have to bet Paige Northwood, an interpreter for the deaf, so that they can interview the Hunter family. Paige thinks the Hunters are hiding something, holding something back. The deaf community fall under suspicion. But who as guilty of killing a little girl?

This book just gives you a glimpse of what it must e like to have no hearing. The worst crime imaginable happened to the Hunters. Their little girl had been murdered and they weren't able to stop the perpetrator as they did not hear them. Who would want to kill a child? What was the reasons behind it? This is a dark, gritty, tense and fast paced read. I could not read the book quick enough. I needed to know who had committed this atrocious crime. There is a few red herrings to keep you guessing. I do recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author Nell Pattison for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Sheena · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Silent House is about a deaf family who’s little girl is brutally murdered in the middle of the night. I’ve never read a book with deaf representation and I thought that in itself was great. Not only was it about one deaf family but there was a whole community of deaf characters! That is pretty much the only thing I enjoyed about this book.

The characters are not necessarily likable or relatable. Our main character Paige is only 30 but she came off as a 60 year old woman with no personality and bored me almost to tears. She’s also very unprofessional in her job and makes dumb choices constantly.

The writing itself was fine but the PACING moved like a snail. I personally don’t think thrillers should be dragged out for eternity and that’s exactly what happened here. I had to force myself to keep going and found myself skimming. There was so much useless information, I really do think this book would have been much better if an editor shortened it a bit.

Thanks to Netgalley and to the publisher for the copy of the book!

[Nila (digitalcreativepages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful book where an 18-month old child was hammered to death one night while her family was sleeping. With no forced entry, it baffled the cops, so Paige was called as the interpreter. As you see, THE ENTIRE FAMILY WAS DEAF.

The debut by author Nell Pattison caused me goosebumps at the concept. It blew my mind away with shock at the brutality of the murder. Paige as the interpreter for British Sign Language slowly grew into her own skin down the pages. Her entry into the police work was forceful with the murder of the child she knew. The author used her own experiences as a teacher in Deaf education to make this book come alive.

I loved how Paige soon found her confidence when she started getting threatening notes to try to solve the murder. Mystery and suspense dogged my steps as I turned the pages. Social issues along with family secrets made this exciting.

Just a few niggles I wanted more suspense and Paige to be shown a bit stronger. The mid section felt slow. But the last section galloped ahead, making this an ideal thriller. And the ending… OMG… the ending simply smashed me apart. I thought I had solved the crime. But the author was brilliant in her wicked plotting. I was astounded. Checkmate with a single move!!

[نهى داود · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 نجوم لرواية ممتعة وحملت لي خبرة جديدة عن حياة الصم. عشت مع شخصيات الرواية وتفاصيل حياتهم وتعاطفت معها في غير ذي موضع واستمتعت بحبكة الجريمة.
ما أفسد جزء من متعتي كان الأخطاء الإملائية.

[Lisa Guiry · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75 stars 🌟

[Linda Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hunter family has had a quiet night, slept well, but woke up to a nightmare. Sometime in the middle of the night, someone strolled through their house and viciously murdered their young daughter.

They didn't hear a thing .. but then they are deaf.

The police call in Paige Northwood, an interpreter for the deaf, to take statements from the victim's family. Although they seem to be in various stages of grief, Paige senses they are hiding something.

How did someone get into the house? Why would anyone target this child? Is the killer a member of the family? Was this a random opportunity? Did someone have a grudge against the family?

There are more questions than answers, and Paige is determined to find the truth.

There are plenty of suspects to follow in this well-crafted mystery. Paige is a unique character. As the author, herself, is a teacher and specializes in Deaf Education, I expected a certain level of credibility .. I was not disappointed. There are twists and turns leading to a most unexpected conclusion. This is the first of a terrific series.

Many thanks to the author / Harper 360 / Avon Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this mystery. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*
I read this book in one sitting. I wanted to know who possibly could have killed an infant when all the suspects were close to the family. But I have to say that I figured it out pretty quickly, so that was a bit disappointing,I was hoping it would be something else.
Also,what initially intrested me in this book was the idea that someone could be in your house and you might not even know it if you were deaf. The horror of it sent chills down my spine and I was hoping there would be a rich atmosphere of creepiness. But it was more of a series of interviews with weird love triangle interludes.
It was a quick and entertaining read with diverse characters in it, but it left me wanting more.
Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[StinaStaffymum · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I read the premise for THE SILENT HOUSE, I was excited by the concept because I am no stranger to the deaf. My uncle was profoundly deaf and while I never learnt sign language (in Australia it is known as Auslan), I knew a few basic signs and finger spelling. I am familiar with the deaf community being such a small one that they see even getting cochlear implants (so they can hear) as traitorous to the world they know and are comfortable in. The hearing world is so much more different to that of the deaf, to the point the deaf are actually quite comfortable with being deaf. Particularly those who have been deaf all or most of their lives that the hearing world is a strange concept to them and being deaf is normal and comfortable.

Different and somewhat unique, THE SILENT HOUSE by Nell Pattison is her debut and takes the reader into the world of the deaf. Most of the characters are deaf and we are given plenty of background into everyone from signing and deaf clubs and how the deaf community is a small and tight-knit one.

This makes it difficult for Paige Northwood, a BSL (British Sign Language) interpreter, who is part of that community being the only hearing member of her family. In the way that it is not always easy to separate yourself from the situation she finds herself in as an interpreter and the deaf community...because she already knows most of those embroiled within the case.

The story begins with an atmospheric and somewhat chilling prologue in which six year old Jaxon wakes in the night to see a shadow in the bedroom doorway and something wet and sticky on his sister Lexi's bed. Being from Jaxon's perspective, we see the spooky scene through his eyes and it is chilling.

The following morning sees Paige called to the Hunter house by police with no information bar that she is needed to interpret for a deaf family at a crime scene. She arrives to discover she knows this house and the people in it. What has happened? Elisha Barron is in tears, covered in blood and is in the arms of her partner Alan Hunter. Her thoughts goes straight to the children. The couple have an 18 month old girl Kasey and Alan has two children with his previous girlfriend Laura - Jaxon and Lexi. She attempts to find out what happened but no one will tell her anything. She is informed that she is there purely to inform Elisha that she needs to hand over the clothing she is wearing to police as she has refused so far. When she accompanies Elisha upstairs to change, Paige catches a glimpse of the children's bedroom and is horrified by what she sees. Little Lexi Hunter, the same age as Kasey, laying in a pool of blood her head bashed in.

Paige is haunted by the image of Lexi's bloodied body and wonders how she will break the news to her sister Anna, who is Lexi's godmother. Laura, Jaxon and Lexi's mother, is Anna's best friend and she knows that as soon as her sister hears of the tragedy she will want to return to Scunthorpe. Which is exactly what Anna does...after finding out on Facebook.

But Paige doesn't disclose to the police her connection to the families involved, which could possibly be a conflict of interest, as she wants to remain privy to as much information as she can in the hope that she will find out who ended Lexi's life in such a tragic way. With the deaf community being such a small one, there are bound to be crossovers as an interpreter which is how she justifies her continued involvement. To find another BSL interpreter would require the police to look further afield and it could be weeks before they could be allocated one. And in the case of a child's murder they need to act now.

As an interpreter, Paige is indeed privy to the interviews conducted on the deaf families and suspects. Using the knowledge she has gleaned from them, she endeavours to conduct her own investigation when the police seem intent on focusing in the wrong place. But then Paige finds herself the target of sinister threats - first as notes or texts sent from untraceable mobile numbers to setting her flat on fire. It seems someone is afraid that Paige knows more that she actually does about Lexi's murder.

But one thing is clear. There was no sign of a break in and as the whole family is deaf, no one heard a thing. So who walked into the Hunter home and brutally murdered little Lexi? How did they gain access? Or is it someone in the house? Someone closer to home, maybe?

THE SILENT HOUSE is in the third person primarily from Paige's perspective with every third chapter providing a narrative of one of the other characters - Alan, Laura, Elisha, Max, even Jaxon (to name a few). It is very cleverly done, giving the reader an insight to the various aspects of the story yet without giving too much away. It made for highly addictive reading, despite the slow pace at times.

The middle section of the story did appear to be somewhat slow with seemingly little progress on the case but then the reader has to remember that the story is from Paige's perspective, not the police, so she only knows the aspects to which she was privy and not the bigger picture. That being said, there were times it did feel there was little progress and not a lot happening but yet there was also a lot of to and froing with interpreting. It certainly made for interesting reading to get a glimpse into the lives of those live in a world of silence. The pace most definitely picks up with a race to the end to uncover the truth behind the unjust murder of a child.

What makes THE SILENT HOUSE so chilling is that everyone in the house is deaf so no one could hear a possible intruder enter and brutally murder a child. People assume that you would just know but in reality you wouldn't...particularly if you cannot hear. It highlighted the vulnerabilities the deaf can face in such situations. And when it comes to interpreting between the deaf and the hearing, it shows us how much the deaf rely on the hearing to translate for them accurately.

Take Laura's mum, Bridget. She is hearing and appears to have her own agenda and proceeds to converse with doctors, solicitors, teachers etc. about Laura or her children without interpreting a single word for her daughter who is profoundly deaf. Laura is completely confused and has no idea what is going on. This angered me when I read these instances as Laura had every right to know. I don't blame her for engaging an interpreter instead of relying on her mother.

I did think it was a brilliant idea to include conversations that are in sign as italicised text so that the reader can separate the signed with the spoken conversations.

I thoroughly enjoyed THE SILENT HOUSE and am eagerly awaiting Nell Pattison's second book featuring Paige Northwood once again in "Silent Night" which set for publication in November. This debut thriller is addictive, thrilling and chilling despite its slow pace at times and I devoured the story in record time.

A unique concept featuring the deaf community, THE SILENT HOUSE is a must read for fans of psychological/domestic thriller and crime fiction...particularly those looking for something different.

I would like to thank #NellPattison, #NetGalley and #AvonBooksUK for an ARC of #TheSilentHouse in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled with reading The Silent House. While requesting the book, the blurb had me all excited about reading this one. I thought the concept and premise of the book was something unique. But going through the first half of the book was a long journey. The flow of the chapters felt very slow to me. I would read one chapter and lose interest quickly, so it took me a long time to finish this one.
When Paige Northwood is called as an interpreter to a crime scene, she doesn't realize the gravity of the heinous crime committed. A deaf girl was killed in her own home, while her family slept close by leaving the local deaf community and town reeling from the shock. Lexi Hunter was brutally murdered in her own bed. When Paige realizes her personal connection to the victim, it's too late to step back from the investigation. As Paige works with the detectives, interpreting the family, she becomes privy to a lot of details of the case. Soon her proximity to the case gets her in the cross-hairs of the killer. Will justice prevail before Paige has to pay the price for helping out with the case?
The characters in this book were good, but a lot of dialogues/actions felt repeated as if to drive home a point. One of the plus points is that this book has a sensible central character. Paige was smart and almost professional. She tries very hard to keep her personal and professional life separate. But there were too many mundane things happening - most of her information comes from having long repeated conversations with the other characters. There was no nail-biting suspense as I anticipated. The last few chapters saw some action but it was a tad too late. The chapters on " # hrs before the murder" were interesting. Other than that, this book was a flatline for me.

Thank You, NetGalley,  Avon Books & Nell Pattison for an arc!

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2⭐️ Below Average.
Audio.
This had a decent start and an okay ending , but boy was this slow going.
The narrator’s voice was very monotone and this certainly didn’t help the atmosphere.

[Alyssia Cooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting thriller that had the added bonus of introducing me to the deaf community, language and struggles. The murder of a child in the middle of the night when the parents are physically incapable of hearing the attack is an interesting premise and I felt Pattison delivered well on it. Unlike several other reviewers, I didn't clock onto the real killer until the bitter end, although whether that says more about me than the delivery is up for debate.

I generally felt the characters were well developed, although one copper was a little too caricatured for my liking and I'd have enjoyed reading more about the children than was present. There is also some limited background on another child death some years previous which was interesting, but perhaps underutilised in the grand scheme of things. That said, the relationships between characters are carefully built and I certainly enjoyed reading about them. There is a wide net of potential suspects and they are all fleshed out well, with multiple red herrings and twists and turns.

There could perhaps be more depth here but I flew through this and found myself thinking of it when I should probably have been doing something more productive. I appreciated the depth that Pattison had put into the deaf community and the various different aspects and forms presented. It was a window into something I have never personally experienced and a kick in the backside to realise how little I know. With a near blind young sister, I am far more aware of braille and the struggles of finding affordable resources in large print than with hearing disabilities. Along with that depth, there is a definite sense of threat and danger here, which means that there is always an underlying tension to keep you reading.

Neil Pattison is an author I shall certainly keep an eye out for in the future and look forward to reading more of his works.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my free advance copy of this title.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paige, a British Sign Language interpreter, is called to the scene of a horrific murder. A toddler was murdered in the house overnight and no one saw or heard a thing. Paige is hired to interpret during the investigation as the police interview the family and other members of the Deaf community.

There were suspects galore, with twisted motives and connections. Paige is a great main character; through her we get information from the police as a result of her role as interpreter, but she's also pushing boundaries and doing some dangerous amateur sleuthing. I loved that the book focuses on the Deaf community, a perspective I don't often see in books, and it's #ownvoices. The book also highlights what a difficult job translation is, as translators are there for some of the worst times of peoples lives (crime, terminal medical diagnosis, divorce, etc.).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

A totally different story-line, set within the deaf community. Why would someone want to kill an 18-month-old child? The deaf community is torn apart by the murder which happened when the rest of the household was sleeping. Paige Northwood is a hearing sign language interpreter and she is called upon by the police to interpret when they are gathering information and interviewing suspects. There is little to go on and although Paige knows she shouldn't really be involved she needs the money and she is also intrigued by the case. I did enjoy the book but it was a little drawn out in places and my mind kept drifting off.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested in reading The Silent House as it was a unique concept. If someone was in your house, you’d know. You’d hear them but everyone in the Hunter house is deaf and don’t hear when a shocking crime is committed in the middle of the night.

This book started off well and I really wanted to love it but felt that it lacked pace and seemed to go on for far too long. Not one of my favourite books of the year but I’m sure others will love it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books and the author for the chance to review.

[Joanne Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderfully assured and atmospheric debut novel by Nell Pattison! I really enjoyed not only the unique premise of an interpreter for the deaf being involved in solving the crime at the centre of this gripping narrative but also the stylish way in which the story itself is told.

When the body of a young girl is discovered by her family, the deaf community are shocked by such an horrific crime. Paige Northwood is brought in as an interpreter as both parents are deaf, as well as other suspects, and so Paige is drawn much deeper into the case than she ever expected to be. And as she becomes more involved, her own life is put at risk as well as those closest to her.

I loved not being able to guess who was responsible for little Lexi’s Murder or why she was killed. There were plenty of suspects to quiz along the way for Paige and I really took to this feisty, intelligent woman with the sad past. As a character she worked really well and came across as knowledgeable and passionate about the community she was involved with. It’s obvious that the author really knows her stuff and was determined to create a character who could access a unique viewpoint on this heinous crime. I really liked her!

The Silent House is recommended for fans of Cara Hunter and I do think that if you enjoy her books then you will enjoy this one. I’m not sure if this is going to be a series as I’m not sure how it would work but Paige Northwood is definitely a character I’d like to find out more about. So if you’re looking for a different perspective in your crime thrillers then The Silent House could be right up your street.