Hunting the Silence

DI Haskell and Quinn #4

by Bilinda P. Sheehan

There's a place in the woods where secrets are buried. Don't let them take you there.

A series of disappearances are linked by one vital clue, and when a grave is uncovered in the woods, the sins of the past return with deadly consequences.
A local community is devastated when dark secrets are revealed, and no one knows who to trust.

Harriet Quinn will need all of her expertise to find a killer who hides in plain sight.

Genres: Mystery, Crime

243 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 28, 2021

About the author

Bilinda P. Sheehan writes psychological thrillers and police procedurals. She currently resides in Whitby with her partner and their three cats, more affectionately known as the banes of her existence.

Reviews

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

My goodness

This series is so amazing! I absolutely love it. This one was a little harder to.read because of the content, so keep that in mind. BUT I love this series. And I am diving into the next one. It's so riveting

[Greg D · Rating 3 out of 5]

I initially rated Hunting the Silence at 4 stars, but the more I thought about it, the more much of it seemed contrived or did not make sense. If you intend to read the book and don't want spoillers, then do not continue.
****Spoilers****
The book starts with a continuation of a story from the previous novel - then drops it like a bad habit, and there is no mention of it for the remainder of the book - weird! Then when a young boy is talked into sleeping in a dark forest and accidently finds an old skeleton while breaking his arm, he is so unaffected by it that he decides barely a week later to traipse through the very same dark forest by himself! This would literally never happen for two main reasons. First, he would have been severely traumitized and would surely never go near that forst again until he was an adult - perhaps not even then! Secondly, his overprotective mother would have insisted he never go near that forset again - especially by himself!
When a story needs to be based on a contrived occurrence it is an example of an author's inability to produce a more believable story line. This is not to say the book was not engaging, which it was for the most part. Unfortunately, this contrived story line and the reason the killer choose who she did was disturbing and confusing, as her choices were children who never did anything to her.
The fact that the overall rating for this book is 4.5 stars indicates the lack of discernment and sophistication of today's readers - unfortunate and concerning!

[Andy Loftus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hunting the Silence by Bilinda P. Sheehan is #4 in the DI Haskell & Forensic psychologist Dr Quinn series following a team tasked with solving complex crimes via whatever means necessary.

Haskell is a no-nonsense detective recovering from a devastating personal loss and Dr Quinn is single-minded in her determination to understand the criminal mind, often to the expense of her close personal relationships. Together they form an imposing team, albeit one which is difficult to work with.

Many years after the unexplained disappearance of three children in the local woods, a young boy acting upon a dare to spend an evening in the haunted woods evading the Owl-Man, who is an urban myth based upon the earlier disappearances discovers the skull of a long dead body.  Only days after the discovery the young boy himself disappears, closely followed by a further abduction. The local community is devastated and recoils in the exposure of past consequences and untold secrets.  Haskell and Quinn need to determine which of the ancient secrets and which of the recent secrets will lead them to solve the historic and current crimes.

With the historic crime and the recent crime initially having different police partnerships investigating them there was an element of confusion generated by their being too many characters, which was quite distracting. This and a slower build than that of the earlier books of the series led me to only a ⭐⭐⭐ review this time around. However, the plot was good and the plot development wasn't overly obvious and therefore it was still an enjoyable read and as such this remains a series I'll continue with.

[Gary Dowden · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth outing for DI Haskell and forensic psychologist Harriet Quinn starts with a grisly discovery in the woods and then takes a couple of unexpected turns linking it to historical crimes as the team uncover secrets that certain families would prefer stay hidden.
The previous dynamic between the main two characters remain similar as Haskell still struggles with past demons while staying focused on his work and while the first half of the book is fairly even paced, it goes into overdrive later on as the team get closer to the truth. A few twists including some that go against the usual tropes and a decent, albeit slightly rushed, finale makes this a good addition to the series. I did spot a couple of typos (hand instead of hang for example) which was unfortunate but overall, an enjoyably uncomfortable read.

[MRS D S KEARNEY · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but...

I have been enjoying this series of books so far. However, my enjoyment has been somewhat marred by the number of spelling and grammatical errors in all of these books, hence the four stars. I don’t know who proofreads them, but I could do a better job! It is just so frustrating! Please Bilinda, let me proofread for you!! Anyway, I sort of like the idea of leaving threads unpulled, such as the one surrounding Dr Connors, and the creepy guy who has been breaking into women’s houses and who killed the lady with a screwdriver in the previous book. Fingers crossed these are tackled in the next book!

[Kim Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best one so far

Don't get me wrong, all these books have been really good. Yet despite the truly despicable crimes that have taken place, this was one book I just had to keep on reading.

[Cristy Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twists at every turn!

Unexpected turns hear the tension in this heart rending thriller. Relationships evolve as DI Haskell's team grows in size and ability to solve the latest horror.

[Claudia Zago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gostei, mas achei que dessa vez a leitura foi muita rápida e não se aprofundou nos personagens de Quinn e Haskell. Fiquei meio decepcionada. Aguardando o próximo agora.

[Douglas Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read but a little short so probably a 3.5 for value.

[P L TAVINER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read again,really getting to know them and how they react to each other. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

[Carol Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. I’m looking forward to the next one

[STEPHANIE HAUSSLER · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is so good! Keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what happens next!

[LaShana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keep them coming!!!