Don't Speak

by A.J. Park

The most gripping domestic suspense thriller you'll read this year - perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Mark Edwards, Claire McGowan and TM Logan...

* * * * * *

DS Amelie Davis is utterly devoted to her husband. After years of abuse at the hands of her father, she thought she would never trust another man. Then Edward came along and proved her wrong.

But one night Amelie receives a phone call from an unknown number. The voice on the other end asks:
Do you really think you know your husband?

Struggling with a difficult murder case at work, and watching her husband's every move with increasing paranoia, Amelie grapples with the fear that her husband is not the man she thought she knew at all. In fact, he might just be the man she's been hunting...

Genres: Thriller, Crime, Mystery

345 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 25, 2021

About the author

Pseudonym for author Karl Vadaszffy.

After studying literature, linguistics and Spanish at university, AJ Park trained as an English teacher and actor. He has edited magazines and taught English, Media Studies and Drama in secondary schools in England.

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[STEPH · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, this one was awful. I’ve read so many procedural crime thrillers, and this is by far the most unimpressive.

I felt disconnected from the characters the entire time. Amelie did not act like a detective — her dialogues were bland and fake. Her inner battles were highlighted on almost every page, and I’d had enough of it by the time I finished the book.

It felt weird reading this, really. There was no twist or surprise, no action; the main character acted like an amateur, and the antagonist was just a plain sexual abomination with no complexity at all.

Hate to admit it, but this was a waste of my time. Sorry.

[Janaya Kabamba · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this expecting another passable, readable domestic noir. I thought the main character seemed a bit clichéd and took that as an indication of how the whole book would play out however, I couldnt have been more wrong! I loved the over all premise and the combination between a proper gritty thriller and a really good domestic noir. They are my favourite genres so to have them overlapping so seamlessly was just a dream. This book just grabbed me and dragged along for the ride, with so many twists and turns I didn't know which was up! And I loved every second of it. There are a couple of bits that may have seemed off or not entirely believable but hey, it is a fiction story and sometimes life is stranger than fiction so who's to judge the direction the chose to take the characters in really! With the dark nights and the manic crazy time of year, this will be such a balm to just shut yourself away with and devour in one sitting. It completely gets under your skin and gets you so involved that you'll find yourself putting off even going for bathroom breaks if it means exiting this story!!

[Hazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Stuff 'n' Things

Well, I can safely say I enjoyed that!

This is a gripping read which has a great plot that had me guessing for the majority of the time, a fast pace and excellent characters which is what you want from a thriller. There is unpredictability and suspense with an ending that was very satisfying.

I admit, there were moments that pushed the boundaries of reality, Amelie 'disappearing' during an ongoing serial killer case for example, but I am able to push those to one side because, overall, the story had me engaged from the very beginning.

I am hoping there is more to come from DS Amelie Davis; she is an interestingly flawed character and there is definitely more mileage there for further stories especially if her colleagues are brought into it a little more than they were in this one.

Thank you to Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

[Wynnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely kept me on my toes and I needed to find out how it ends. There's a great flow to the story, dialogues and the characters are introduced in a way I really enjoyed. An absolute page turner. Everytime I thought I had it figured out AJ Parks threw me a curveball and I doubted my suspicion. A massive well done to AJ Parks and thank you Netgalley for this amazing advance copy.

[Lauren Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unputdownable. If I didn’t have to go to work, I probably would have read this in one sitting.

[Aria Harlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable read that I read in one sitting, I was gripped and could not put ti down, The writing, charcaters and storyline were all done really well and I was kept guessing right until the end. It was suspenseful, tense and full of unpredictability. I really enjoyed it

[Elizzastone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so I don’t know where to start. I have it three stars because at one point toward the end I actually had a hard time putting it down, even if we were told in the blurb who the killer was.

So here’s to my problems with it. Number one, I don’t know if it’s just me but I hate the way the author explained all the acronyms. Like she would write the acronym and then explain like ”MIT is the….” If I was the author I would’ve either written it out the first time I wrote it and then used the acronyms or make a acronym list in the beginning or end. Idk. Just didn’t like that.

Number two, when she framed Steven Barr. I have one opinion about her actually trying to protect her husband after finding out what he did. Like come on? If you’ve been through this, why would you protect someone who preys on young girls? And my other opinion is about the way she frames him. So we’ve been made aware of the semen found in the victims which didn’t give them anything because he wasn’t in the system. But her idea is to plant Steven’s hair on one of the bodies because he’s in the system and then they’ll know it’s his DNA. She’s doing it without mentioning that it would be strange that the hair got a match but not the semen? Like WTH? She can’t be that stupid. And like I think her boss might’ve said something about him having an accomplice because of the semen not matching but I feel like she should’ve had that thought running through her head when she planted the hairs because now she just looked stupid, aka the author doesn’t know about DNA testing. Also, she should’ve taken something of Edward’s and compared to the DNA in the semen. (This was a long rant I just had to get out)

Number three, it was hard to read sometimes because it was kind of repetitive with words and sentences.

That’s all! I finished it at least.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me this was just an ok read. There are a lot of this type of thriller on the market- detective investigating a series of rapes and murders of teenage girls. The twist is that she begins to suspect her own husband after several phone calls from a mystery caller warning her that Edward is not all he seems.
Detective Amelie is a particularly damaged character, still suffering after being abused by her father although still managing to perform the role of police detective. Her marriage to Edward seems to be perfect but all is not as it seems and his absence from home on the nights of the murders she is investigating soon become very suspicious.
Although the premise for the book was interesting, leading me to request this review copy, I didn’t find that the plot really grabbed me and for some reason I didn’t particularly warm to Amelie. How was she able to have so much time off work in the middle of a major investigation and why on earth would she make such strange decisions once she begins to suspect Edward?
I finished the book but I did not find it a particularly compelling thriller. However other readers have thoroughly enjoyed it and as always all opinions are subjective.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc.

[Marie Lutz · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disturbed alcoholic detective tries to find the serial killer of teenage girls. The plot was ridiculous, and the main protagonist, the alcoholic detective investigating the murders, was extremely unlikeable. She blames all her problems on the fact that her father sexually abused her. Her alcoholic binges, weird behavior and nightmares elicited no empathy from me.

Repeated descriptions of the murdered girls, and repeated interviews with the bereaved parents were gruesome and ultimately uninteresting. Inexplicably in the first interview the bereaved father tells the detective he and his wife don’t have much time to talk to her because, they “have an event we must attend.” That could have been interesting except we never learn how any parents can be so cold. The detective’s suspicion that her husband could be the killer was not well handled.

It was clear to me early on who the serial killer had to be, and I was right. About half way through the book I started skimming.

[janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that kept me on my toes the whole way through. I could not put it down and just had to get to the last chapter to see how it all wrapped up!

Fantastically paced throughout with plenty of curveballs thrown in to try and throw you off scent. Whilst somewhat predictable that didn't take away the enjoyment of the read which I managed to devour in one sitting.

DS Amelie Davis struggles with her own trauma when confronted with the new case of a teenage girl brutally murdered. Amelie has serious trusts issues and only relies on one person.. her husband... but can he really be trusted? Is he truly the man she thought he was or is he the killer she is hunting?

I'm a big fan of A.J Park and will now be waiting in anticipation for the next book to land.

Definitely one I'll be recommending on.

Huge thanks to netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for the ARC.

[Renier · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars (wish we could give half stars)

I was pleasantly surprised by Don't Speak. I saw some reviews after buying the book and I got it on sale so I was a bit skeptical going in. Sometimes that is good thing going into a book with low expectations.

The book kept my attention the whole time, it is not the type of book that is going to keep you guessing, but I could not put it down. Not the greatest characters, but keeping their issues in mind, they were well written.

Just keep trigger warnings in mind, the book did give met the "ick" the whole way through, if I had known it was about rape victims and the murder of young girls, I probably would not have read it. Thankfully it is not explicit, but there was some creepy moments.

All in all...a good book and I do not regret reading it.

[Elizabeth Lanaghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book Review: Don't Speak by A.J. Park

Rating: 🐾🐾
Genre: Thriller
Published: 11/25/21

Review: So I really didn’t care for this book…it was mainly because I HATED the main character. I feel that she gives detectives a bad rap. I can understand that if you had a traumatic childhood, it can alter your adulthood. But the things she did and knew was wrong…I just couldn’t get over it. I kept reading hoping she would better herself, but she didn’t…

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[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent read but it didn't really grab me the way that books of this genre normally do.

Whilst the story itself was interesting enough to make me request and read the book, I kept waiting for the story to grab me. I think my issue was the story and outcome seemed to be obvious from the start that nothing really lured me in or surprised me during it.

This one just wasn't for me.

Thanks to Orion Publishing Group and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

[ruwaydah · Rating 1 out of 5]

where to start tbh 🥶🥶
i didn’t like the writing style, it was too “fake deep” with alot of unnecessary phrases. i didn’t like how the author overly described how hot these 16 year old dead girls looked and although the novel is written by a woman it feels as if a man wrote it. the plot was predictable, the author literally reveals the mystery in the BLURB, and the ending was so obviously rushed with a lot of things just being there for the sake of tying loose ends together.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't Speak by by A. J. Park was a book that just had me sitting on the edge of my seat as it was full of twists and turns throughout and it was brilliant, I loved it and was gripped from the very first book till the very end. The characters and story line was excellent and looking forward reading more books by A.J Park

I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

[Martha Brindley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this fast paced read but I found it difficult to believe. How can Amelie disappear from work so often during the hunt for a serial killer? That aside, I liked the characterisation, the unpredictability and the interesting plot. I did figure out the killer early on but it did not affect my enjoyment of this decent read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok Read . . .

This book was a quick easy read and held my interest. It just wasn't that thrilling. I just don't understand why Amelie would want to protect Edward. He was a psychopath. What she went through as a young girl, you would think she would want to see him caught. Also, did her partner die or survive? The book didn't mention it in the end. Did I miss something?

[Nežka · Rating 2 out of 5]

W H A T T H E F U C K

Pac the POVs so tk cudno napisani da sm rabla neki casa da sm sploh vedla zakaj se gre... glavna stvar ki je ne razumem je pa to zakaj ma knjiga 330 strani ce je zena ugotovila ze tk prblizno na polovici da je njen moz morilec... playala je neko zrtev in ga hotla resit kao policistka pa se tok ni bla da bi dala faking njegov DNK testirat pac a si mutava al ja?

[Donna Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A clever, well written and somewhat different slant on the typical crime novel. Admittedly I find it difficult to believe that Amelie is able to go AWOL on so many occasions during a fast paced serial killer case!
I'd be interested to see what happens next for her.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read that had me racing through the pages from the start. I read this in one evening, I just couldn’t put it down.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

[Victoria Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Don't Speak. It had me hooked almost immediately and kept me guessing throughout. I read it in one sitting as I was keen to know the outcome.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for my ARC.

[Katie-Ann Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good thriller with a good twist till the end and kept me guessing a really good summer read.

The plot was interesting and the characters were okay, and the story was well written but I felt it was missing something I still enjoyed it very much and look forward to the author's next book.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a real page turner.

DS Amelie Davis is dealing with the murders of young women. She is receiving phone calls telling her that her husband Edward isn’t who he says he is. Edward is working away a lot. Amelie becomes suspicious of his movements and even wonders if he’s the killer.

[Paris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, the whole plot on the front page is just silly. Would of been more shocked and interested if that was left out.
The ending was also bizarre, and didn't fit her character at all.
However the rest of the book makes up for it and was a fun read.

[Kaitlin]

One chapter in and I cannot deal with the writing. It’s like he wants to be writing literary fiction but is writing a mystery/thriller where the guy is clearly a serial killer going after women. I’m good ✌🏻

Thanks for writing the book so I could try it!

[Louise Mullins · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good thriller. Though I guessed what would happen when and whom was responsible, I remained glued to my seat til the end.

[Daniela Ritchie · Rating 2 out of 5]

One and a half stars. This is really bad. I only gave it more than one because I did finish it. But, I really can't recommend it. Dreadful writing and ridiculous plot.

[Cody Pelletier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This page-turner hooked me from page one. Very well written, intriguing plot and edge-of-seat suspense. A definite must-read.

[Donna Kaczynski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent thriller

This is an excellent book. With all of the twist and turns it will keep you guessing until the final page.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very hard to put down thriller. Highly recommend!