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The Sound of Silence

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Who is the new family on the Seahills? Who is it that spends her days staring out of the window deeply regretting her bid for freedom, yet still plotting? Can Lorraine Hunt put what happened to her three months ago out of her mind to catch a vicious serial killer who scalps his victims? Will Dev be allowed to bring his plan to fulfillment and what is the real reason he turned up fresh from prison three months ago? As the Seahills residents go about their daily lives more than one plot unfurls bringing about a terrifying climax. Will they all survive?

340 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 5, 2015

6 people are currently reading
46 people want to read

About the author

Sheila Quigley

25 books52 followers
Sheila Quigley started work at 15 as a presser in Hepworths, a tailoring factory. She married at 18 and had three daughters: Dawn, Janine and Diane and a younger son, Michael. Recently divorced, she now has eight grandchildren, five boys and three girls, and every Saturday and Sunday can be found at a football match for the under tens and under fifteens. Sheila has lived on the Homelands Estate (at present with her son and two dogs) at Houghton-le-Spring near Sunderland for 30 years.

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5 stars
21 (39%)
4 stars
17 (32%)
3 stars
6 (11%)
2 stars
7 (13%)
1 star
2 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Profile Image for Maxine (Booklover Catlady).
1,436 reviews1,430 followers
March 22, 2017
The Sound of Silence is a gritty crime novel set largely around a housing estate and it's people located in the North East of England. In fact it's set not very far from where I live. The author is also from the North East and I love to support local authors. We have so much talent in the North of England!

This is part of the Seahills Estate series and it really didn't matter that I had not read prior novels. I was able to pick up on the main characters quickly and just get into the story.

Lorraine is our leading lady detective in this series, well...maybe not so much a lady per se as she's a rough diamond which made her very realistic and likeable. She's not afraid to say it like it is and has a heart of gold. Passionate about policing and results.

The plot was really interesting and touches on some dark aspect of the criminal world. I don't want to spoil the book for others so won't mention what it covers but it's got some hard to swallow moments that both made me angry and broke my heart. It's pretty raw stuff.

With multiple characters and sub-plots there is always lots happening in the book. Each string of storyline is like a strand of spaghetti but they all come together in one big bowl by the end of the book. Sheila uses some humour in her novel and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. There are some likeable rogue characters.

Often using the local slang words and accent I found it fun to read as it's a region I know well. Sheila keeps her characters, locations, dialogue and plot authentic to this part of the UK.

An enjoyable and easy read that gave me hours of escapism. This crime novel won't overwhelm you with police procedures - it's very character driven and a series you could follow knowing you will have a few favourite star players in each book.

I'll be reading some more of the Seahills series by Sheila Quigley and keen to look at her series set on the beautiful Holy Island also known as Lindisfarne off the coast of Northumberland. 4 stars for this entertaining read.

I was lucky enough to meet with Sheila and talk about her writing and career. As a novice writer myself she gave me some helpful writing tips and I'm always impressed by busy authors who can find time to meet with fans and book lovers. Sheila is as genuine as are her characters in her book.
Profile Image for Amanda.
2,026 reviews55 followers
November 16, 2015
This book poses a few questions from the start such as: There is a new family on the Seahills Estate- who are they and why are they there?, Will DI Lorraine Hunt be able to put her traumatic experiences behind her and channel her energy into finding a serial killer, whose trademark is that he scalps his victims? & Can Dev put his plan into action and why did he reappear fresh from prison three months ago? The answers to these questions and more unfurl themselves throughout the course of this book.
I did enjoy this book. Sheila is a fantastic author, who writes with grittiness and her characters are unquestionably authentic. This book is set on the Seahills Estate in Houghton-le-Spring near Sunderland in the North East of England, which I found refreshing. Although I haven’t been to all the places mentioned, their names are familiar to me as I live in the North East. This helped me to visualise the places and events in my head.
There were a lot of sub plots, which fed into the main plot. There were a lot of characters featured which at times confused me but it was fine, once I had sorted out in my head who was who and what was what.
This book is full of twists, turns, drama and red herrings. There is quite a bit of graphic violence but it adds to the story and it is part of the plot. The events in this book began to have, what I call the ‘Snowball Effect’, in that the story gathers pace (much like a snowball going down a hill) and events come to a dramatic & terrifying conclusion.
The characters in this book were well written and well defined. I took to the characters of Lorraine & Luke straightaway but I found it hard to warm to any of the others.
The Seahills series is a bit like a soap opera in that each book represents an episode. In this case I can’t wait for the next episode.

Profile Image for Diane.
960 reviews16 followers
March 8, 2016
Book 7 in the series following Lorraine Hunt and the residents of the estate. Lorraine is still struggling to get back to normal after what happened to her in the last book. Jacko and his mates out to make some fast money stumble on two men buried alive and other people on the estate find the past coming back to meet them. Will there be any happy endings got the families of Seahills. Another great read Sheila.
Profile Image for Booklover BEV.
1,739 reviews52 followers
October 25, 2015
another fantastic read the 7th series in the seahills loved it from start to finish and a fabulous ending never a dull moment off this author looking forward to the next
Profile Image for Angela.
424 reviews2 followers
November 17, 2015
Another great book by Sheila . Was a bit dissapointed by the ending . But a great read
8 reviews
February 3, 2016
Another fine book in the series set here in the North East of England. There are a few back stories running alongside the main story so sometimes the many characters and the links to one another can get a bit confusing but it certainly keeps you interested. And that is what novels are all about!!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews

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