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Detective Mark Turpin #4
A Silent Truth
When the body of a young woman is found by the side of a quiet country road, police first suspect a hit and run.
Then a darker side to the victim is uncovered – a dangerous addiction that led to her violent death.
With little sympathy from a local population, Detective Mark Turpin faces a daunting task to track down her killer.
When a second victim dies after a ferocious attack, Mark realises someone is determined to hide the truth.
Both victims kept to the shadows of society – will their secrets die with them?
A Silent Truth is the fourth book in the Detective Mark Turpin series from USA Today bestselling author Rachel Amphlett.
Then a darker side to the victim is uncovered – a dangerous addiction that led to her violent death.
With little sympathy from a local population, Detective Mark Turpin faces a daunting task to track down her killer.
When a second victim dies after a ferocious attack, Mark realises someone is determined to hide the truth.
Both victims kept to the shadows of society – will their secrets die with them?
A Silent Truth is the fourth book in the Detective Mark Turpin series from USA Today bestselling author Rachel Amphlett.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2022
47 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Amphlett
206 books677 followersBefore turning to writing, USA Today bestselling crime author Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio, and worked in publishing as an editorial assistant.
She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction with over 30 crime novels and short stories featuring spies, detectives, vigilantes, and assassins.
A keen traveller and accidental private investigator, Rachel has both Australian and British citizenship.
You can find out more about Rachel and her books at www.rachelamphlett.com.
Praise for Rachel Amphlett
“Fast paced with vivid characterisation and clever twists, [None the Wiser] is another winner” Adrian McKinty
“[None the Wiser] is a terrific start to a new series” Jo Spain, With Our Blessing and The Confession
“Quirky, creepy and twisted tales” James Oswald, Sunday Times bestselling author
“Thrilling start to a new series. Scared to Death is a stylish, smart and gripping crime thriller” Robert Bryndza
"Scared to Death… moves along at breakneck speed with twists and turns" Angela Marsons
She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction with over 30 crime novels and short stories featuring spies, detectives, vigilantes, and assassins.
A keen traveller and accidental private investigator, Rachel has both Australian and British citizenship.
You can find out more about Rachel and her books at www.rachelamphlett.com.
Praise for Rachel Amphlett
“Fast paced with vivid characterisation and clever twists, [None the Wiser] is another winner” Adrian McKinty
“[None the Wiser] is a terrific start to a new series” Jo Spain, With Our Blessing and The Confession
“Quirky, creepy and twisted tales” James Oswald, Sunday Times bestselling author
“Thrilling start to a new series. Scared to Death is a stylish, smart and gripping crime thriller” Robert Bryndza
"Scared to Death… moves along at breakneck speed with twists and turns" Angela Marsons
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 5, 2022
Another great story in this excellent series. I really enjoy watching DS Mark Turpin and DC Jan West at work patiently solving crimes often of the worst kind.
A Silent Truth opens with Mark still restricted to office duties while the higher ups are examining his actions and behavior in the previous book. He is badly frustrated with the menial work he is doing when it suddenly pays off as he links it with a current murder investigation. Eventually he is reinstated and he joins up again with Jan.
This is an excellent police procedural. The story is good, the pacing spot on and the police are all realistic characters coping with their lives and their jobs. Hamish plays a very quiet role after his busy time in the previous book. I hope he gets more page time in the next one! Recommended to anyone who likes a good police procedural.
A Silent Truth opens with Mark still restricted to office duties while the higher ups are examining his actions and behavior in the previous book. He is badly frustrated with the menial work he is doing when it suddenly pays off as he links it with a current murder investigation. Eventually he is reinstated and he joins up again with Jan.
This is an excellent police procedural. The story is good, the pacing spot on and the police are all realistic characters coping with their lives and their jobs. Hamish plays a very quiet role after his busy time in the previous book. I hope he gets more page time in the next one! Recommended to anyone who likes a good police procedural.
February 18, 2023
Detective Mark Turpin was frustrated by his desk duties, so when a young woman was murdered, her body found on the side of the road, his partner, Jan West went to the scene with another officer. But it wasn't long before he was back on the job, and what they were finding about the Jane Doe wasn't anything good. With the locals not unhappy about the woman's death, evidence was difficult to find. And when another victim was found, Mark and Jan were determined to get to the bottom of what was going on before anyone else was killed. But would they find the evidence they needed?
A Silent Truth is the 4th in the Detective Mark Turpin series by Aussie author Rachel Amphlett, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fast paced, filled with gritty tension, I find Mark (and his little dog Hamish), plus his partner Lucy, a perfect trio. I'm looking forward to #5 in the series, hopefully soon. Highly recommended.
A Silent Truth is the 4th in the Detective Mark Turpin series by Aussie author Rachel Amphlett, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fast paced, filled with gritty tension, I find Mark (and his little dog Hamish), plus his partner Lucy, a perfect trio. I'm looking forward to #5 in the series, hopefully soon. Highly recommended.
May 19, 2023
A Silent Truth is book four in the Detective Mark Turpin series by Rachel c. Detective Sergeant Mark Turpin was still desk-bound when a young woman was found dead beside a county road. At first glance, Law enforcement officers thought it was a hit-and-run until more evidence came a light during their investigation that put a different twist to the case. The readers of A Silent Truth will continue following Detective Mark Turpin and his team's investigation to discover what happens.
A Silent Truth is another fantastic addition to this excellent series by Rachel Amphlett. The way Rachel Amphlett incorporate social issues in her stories is excellently done and ensures that I engage from the beginning of the book. I do like Rachel Amphlett's writing style and her characters.
I love Rachel Amphlett's portrayal of her characters and their interaction with each other throughout this book. A Silent Truth is well-written and researched by Rachel Amphlett. I like Rachel Amphlett's description of the settings, which allowed me to imagine being part of the book's plot.
The readers of A Silent Truth will learn about issues that I enjoy that law enforcement officers face when a family member commits a crime. Also, the readers of A Silent Truth will understand that blackmail does not pay.
I recommend this book.
A Silent Truth is another fantastic addition to this excellent series by Rachel Amphlett. The way Rachel Amphlett incorporate social issues in her stories is excellently done and ensures that I engage from the beginning of the book. I do like Rachel Amphlett's writing style and her characters.
I love Rachel Amphlett's portrayal of her characters and their interaction with each other throughout this book. A Silent Truth is well-written and researched by Rachel Amphlett. I like Rachel Amphlett's description of the settings, which allowed me to imagine being part of the book's plot.
The readers of A Silent Truth will learn about issues that I enjoy that law enforcement officers face when a family member commits a crime. Also, the readers of A Silent Truth will understand that blackmail does not pay.
I recommend this book.
July 17, 2022
I've really enjoyed getting to know DS Mark Turpin over the course of the series. It's fair to say that events towards the end of the =previous book, The Lost Boy, really shook things up a little, and they have certainly played havoc with Mark's professional life as we discover when we reacquaint ourselves in the early pages of A Silent Truth. Confined to desk duty, Mark is looking into a spate of robberies alongside one of his colleagues. It's an important case, especially to the victims, but also a frustrating one with no evidence and no suspects, and, ultimately not where Mark wants to be. It's not long before the team lands a new case - a young woman who has been killed and left at the roadside - and all Mark can do is watch from the sidelines as his colleagues try to work out just who she is and who might be responsible for her death ...
At least, that's how it starts out, and this is why I like Rachel Amphlett's writing so much. She has taken two very different threads, two distinct cases, and woven them together so skillfully that we slowly but surely see the picture build before us. Whilst the investigations appear to be poles apart, there are little hints that there may more to both stories than meets the eye, and as the true nature of the victim is revealed, it is clear that there are no end of suspects and people who might have meant her harm. The author also throws in quite a few curveballs, little distractions and facts about the victim that either catch us unawares and certainly made me think and rethink all I thought I knew.
I like Mark Turpin as a character. He is not perfect, although he does try hard to be a very good police officer, partner and father. He has a really deep conscience and a troubled past which rears its head again in this book for reasons that readers of all of the previous books will understand. He is one of those characters I liked almost instantly, easy to relate to and with a dogged determination to get to the bottom of his cases. But he is a sensitive soul too, and sometimes the weight of the victims, particularly of his last case, do seem to weigh on him. But his partnership with DC Jan West is perfect, her acting as a mother hen and feeding and chastising Mark as she might her own kids. It is an easy partnership, one built on good humour, understanding and friendship and the author has really developed it over the course of the series so that catching up with them is a bit like falling back in step with old friends.
I really did enjoy the intricacies of this mystery and, whilst I may have worked out the why of it all fairly early on, the who really did escape me so it was as much of as a surprise to me as the characters when the perpetrator was revealed. Not the most sympathetic victim in literature, that is for sure, but the book still elicited a range of emotions from anger, to laughter, to a real sympathy for the real victims of the whole investigation. There is a deep, emotional core to this book, one that emerges only when necessary and although the clues were all there, they were masked just enough to keep the tension right to the end.
Pacing was spot on, the sense of danger, especially in the closing chapters, high. another absolute cracker of a story that is sure to keep fans of the series very happy.
At least, that's how it starts out, and this is why I like Rachel Amphlett's writing so much. She has taken two very different threads, two distinct cases, and woven them together so skillfully that we slowly but surely see the picture build before us. Whilst the investigations appear to be poles apart, there are little hints that there may more to both stories than meets the eye, and as the true nature of the victim is revealed, it is clear that there are no end of suspects and people who might have meant her harm. The author also throws in quite a few curveballs, little distractions and facts about the victim that either catch us unawares and certainly made me think and rethink all I thought I knew.
I like Mark Turpin as a character. He is not perfect, although he does try hard to be a very good police officer, partner and father. He has a really deep conscience and a troubled past which rears its head again in this book for reasons that readers of all of the previous books will understand. He is one of those characters I liked almost instantly, easy to relate to and with a dogged determination to get to the bottom of his cases. But he is a sensitive soul too, and sometimes the weight of the victims, particularly of his last case, do seem to weigh on him. But his partnership with DC Jan West is perfect, her acting as a mother hen and feeding and chastising Mark as she might her own kids. It is an easy partnership, one built on good humour, understanding and friendship and the author has really developed it over the course of the series so that catching up with them is a bit like falling back in step with old friends.
I really did enjoy the intricacies of this mystery and, whilst I may have worked out the why of it all fairly early on, the who really did escape me so it was as much of as a surprise to me as the characters when the perpetrator was revealed. Not the most sympathetic victim in literature, that is for sure, but the book still elicited a range of emotions from anger, to laughter, to a real sympathy for the real victims of the whole investigation. There is a deep, emotional core to this book, one that emerges only when necessary and although the clues were all there, they were masked just enough to keep the tension right to the end.
Pacing was spot on, the sense of danger, especially in the closing chapters, high. another absolute cracker of a story that is sure to keep fans of the series very happy.
November 7, 2022
Rachel Amphlett is so good at writing fast-paced, layered and addictive thrillers and she wows her readers yet again with her latest crime novel, A Silent Truth.
When a young woman’s body is discovered by the side of the road, the police immediately suspect a hit and run. Probably the work of a drunk driver who had callously left the victim to die, it doesn’t initially cross their mind to think that this might be murder – until they realise that there is far more to this case than meets the eye. This victim was not an unlucky pedestrian who died in a tragic accident, but a woman caught up in something so dangerous that it cost her her life.
Detective Mark Turpin is charged with solving this case and finding the killer – and it’s far from an easy task. There’s not much to go on and the locals are giving him the cold shoulder and refusing to cooperate. Mark doesn’t know how he’s going to put whoever is responsible behind bars and this investigation gets even more complex when another body is found. It’s clear that these two victims had something in common and that they were in possession of information which someone has gone to great lengths to keep hidden.
Can Mark Turpin solve this case? Or will the killer manage to get away with murder and kill again?
Rachel Amphlett always delivers a nail-biting police procedural that keeps me on edge and unable to figure out whodunnit until the very last couple of pages and she has done it again with A Silent Truth. A deft blend of tension, menace and twists and turns, this chilling crime novel drew me in from the beginning and kept me on tenterhooks until the end.
With Mark Turpin, Rachel Amphlett has created a smart maverick detective who plays by his own rules.
Crime fiction fans looks looking for an enjoyable and nail-biting thriller will love Rachel Amphlett and her latest novel, A Silent Truth.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
When a young woman’s body is discovered by the side of the road, the police immediately suspect a hit and run. Probably the work of a drunk driver who had callously left the victim to die, it doesn’t initially cross their mind to think that this might be murder – until they realise that there is far more to this case than meets the eye. This victim was not an unlucky pedestrian who died in a tragic accident, but a woman caught up in something so dangerous that it cost her her life.
Detective Mark Turpin is charged with solving this case and finding the killer – and it’s far from an easy task. There’s not much to go on and the locals are giving him the cold shoulder and refusing to cooperate. Mark doesn’t know how he’s going to put whoever is responsible behind bars and this investigation gets even more complex when another body is found. It’s clear that these two victims had something in common and that they were in possession of information which someone has gone to great lengths to keep hidden.
Can Mark Turpin solve this case? Or will the killer manage to get away with murder and kill again?
Rachel Amphlett always delivers a nail-biting police procedural that keeps me on edge and unable to figure out whodunnit until the very last couple of pages and she has done it again with A Silent Truth. A deft blend of tension, menace and twists and turns, this chilling crime novel drew me in from the beginning and kept me on tenterhooks until the end.
With Mark Turpin, Rachel Amphlett has created a smart maverick detective who plays by his own rules.
Crime fiction fans looks looking for an enjoyable and nail-biting thriller will love Rachel Amphlett and her latest novel, A Silent Truth.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
August 1, 2022
With DS Mark Turpin still on desk duty while Professional Standards investigate the accidental death of a suspect, it falls to DC Jan West and DC Caroline Roberts to attend the scene where a woman’s body has been found on a quiet country lane. It doesn’t look like a simple hit and run, and the post mortem shows she was killed somewhere else by one very heavy blow to the head. DI Kennedy fights to get Turpin back and onto the case when a link shows up to the series of deception robberies that Turpin and DC Alex McClellan have been investigating without success for the last four months, and with several positive identifications by victims, it looks like they have finally made some progress in finding one of the culprits. Knowing the woman was working with an accomplice, the obvious conclusion was a falling out amongst thieves, but is there more to this case than meets the eye?
This is a great solid police procedural with some very likeable main characters. It’s nice to see grounded detectives with happy home lives who can just crack on with their work and they form a good team, doggedly working through a mountain of evidence and a host of witnesses and potential suspects to finally solve the crime. It’s not particularly fast paced or full of action, but more reflective of the many hours of hard work that go into a successful CID investigation and made a very enjoyable read with realistic characters which kept my attention from the first page right till the end. 4.5*
This is a great solid police procedural with some very likeable main characters. It’s nice to see grounded detectives with happy home lives who can just crack on with their work and they form a good team, doggedly working through a mountain of evidence and a host of witnesses and potential suspects to finally solve the crime. It’s not particularly fast paced or full of action, but more reflective of the many hours of hard work that go into a successful CID investigation and made a very enjoyable read with realistic characters which kept my attention from the first page right till the end. 4.5*
August 8, 2022
I read A Silent Truth as part of Random Things blog Tour. I normally really enjoy reading crime novels and police procedural ones, and this book didn’t disappoint. It held my attention right from the start, and was a thrilling and exciting read. I liked the ‘who did it’ aspect of the novel, and the clever insight into investigative process as the main characters were trying to solve numerous cases. The police officers in this book were busy with multiple burglaries and two murders that occurred. I was very surprised at the end as I would have never guessed who the culprits were. I really enjoyed this cleverly put together novel. I liked the author’s writing style, the glimpses into the world of policing, the interviewing of suspects and collecting the evidence. This book felt very realistic right down to the frustrations about the various cases and the bureaucracy in the police force. This made it seem very real. I loved the character development, and the portrayal of the main characters. This was an interesting read, and while I’ve never read anything by Rachel Amphlett before it won’t be my last. I cannot wait to read more. This fantastic novel gets 5 stars from me and I recommend it to all fellow readers.
August 9, 2022
Today is my stop on the blog tour of A Silent Truth and I’m thrilled to share my thoughts with you. Thanks to Anne at Random Things Tours for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
As police procedurals go, the author gets the right balance of actual catching bad guys with the hours of hard police work and investigation that goes with it. While I couldn't call it fast paced, and that is no criticism, the story sets the right tone and flows nicely. The characters are entirely credible and, having read the previous book in the series, it felt like I was visiting old friends. The team are great and work so well together. Their camaraderie felt real and made them all the more likeable. I have always liked Mark Turpin, this flawed, determined, fiercely protective man, juggling his home life with the demands of police work. I did particularly like how his character develops more with each book.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read which I'm happy to recommend to readers of police procedurals, crime thrillers, and of course DS Mark Turpin fans. I gave A Silent Truth, by Rachel Amphlett, five stars.
As police procedurals go, the author gets the right balance of actual catching bad guys with the hours of hard police work and investigation that goes with it. While I couldn't call it fast paced, and that is no criticism, the story sets the right tone and flows nicely. The characters are entirely credible and, having read the previous book in the series, it felt like I was visiting old friends. The team are great and work so well together. Their camaraderie felt real and made them all the more likeable. I have always liked Mark Turpin, this flawed, determined, fiercely protective man, juggling his home life with the demands of police work. I did particularly like how his character develops more with each book.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read which I'm happy to recommend to readers of police procedurals, crime thrillers, and of course DS Mark Turpin fans. I gave A Silent Truth, by Rachel Amphlett, five stars.
July 29, 2022
Book 4 in the Detective Mark Turpin Series and another great police procedural/crime thriller. I like the characterisations in this series a lot. The police team and forensics have a great working relationship and Mark’s work partner DC Jan West and his life partner Lucy are perfect foils for him. This episode is well written with a great plot line and enough red herrings to keep me guessing the killer until quite near the end of the book.
Briefly, confined to desk duty following his last case Mark is investigating a spate of burglaries when a connection is made to the murder of a young woman. Seconded back to his team Mark is happy to be back doing what he does best, but this is not an easy case. Another murder increases the urgency of finding the killer before there are any more victims.
Although I had an inkling about the murderer my why was right but not my who! And I thought I had been so clever. This was a very enjoyable read, well paced, great characters and a good plot line oh and a cute dog. Just my kind of read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Briefly, confined to desk duty following his last case Mark is investigating a spate of burglaries when a connection is made to the murder of a young woman. Seconded back to his team Mark is happy to be back doing what he does best, but this is not an easy case. Another murder increases the urgency of finding the killer before there are any more victims.
Although I had an inkling about the murderer my why was right but not my who! And I thought I had been so clever. This was a very enjoyable read, well paced, great characters and a good plot line oh and a cute dog. Just my kind of read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
August 22, 2022
This is the first Mark Turpin book I’ve read and it turns out to be #4. It’s a lengthy investigation that begins with the finding of a woman’s body on a country road—no ID on the body—and it is a long involved effort to discover who she is and then link her to a series of burglaries. Then, it appears she has been working with an accomplice, who has to be identified as well. Unfortunately, before the police can arrest him, he is murdered. I just found the investigation very long and wordy and got to the point where I was bored. I found this book not up to the quality of Rachel Amphlett’s Kay Hunter series.
August 19, 2022
Once again Rachel out does herself with the 4th in the series of Mark Turpin. He finds himself still on desk duty until a murder is connected to one of his robbery cases. As usual Mark comes into action. Mark and his team find out the victim is into crime herself. This a difficult case and another murder occurs. The ending is quite a surprise, and the last sentence even brought a little tear to my eye. I don’t know how she does it, but Rachel is one of my favorite writers. It’s another you must get it and read it.
November 12, 2023
Another solid UK police procedural from Rachel Amphlett, the fourth in the Detective Mark Turpin series. Established characters, a good pace; the book begins with the dumping of a women's body by the side of the road and while the desk-bound Detective Turpin is currently side-lined investigating a series of burglaries. Can the crimes be linked and allow Detective Turpin to throw off the internal investigation and get back out in the field? I always enjoy the English/Australian Rachel Amphlett's crime novels and thrillers and this one was no exception.
December 2, 2024
This is a book for readers who like police stories but not the gritty reality that so often goes with them . More Dixon of Dock Green than Jane Tennyson makes the book something like a cosy crime novel . Set in Oxfordshire , the story is about an outbreak of burglaries involving a mixed gender couple , one of whom ends up murdered . Almost everyone - cops and villains- is polite , respectful and co-operative , just as expected from this part of England . Not really my cup of tea but I can see the author's attraction for some readers .
November 17, 2025
There were all these burglaries happening and it turns out that this girl was burgling people's houses with her therapist as her accomplice. (The therapist is the other one who dies) One of the people that she burgled ended up being the killer. They were mad that she stole their dead child's bracelet
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2022
Great series
September 1, 2022
Another great page turner.
October 14, 2022
3.5 Stars
This book was not hard to put down. It was an ok mystery, but I couldn't get invested in this book as I did with the previous books in the series.
This book was not hard to put down. It was an ok mystery, but I couldn't get invested in this book as I did with the previous books in the series.
April 25, 2023
Another great read
April 8, 2024
Uses F word and other profanity. 1.86 audio
February 2, 2025
solid 4 stars and no dog violence this time.
August 21, 2025
I like the characters in this series.
October 6, 2025
The Mark Turpin murders are getting better. Did not feel as contrived as 1 and 2 in the series. Easy read with a few red herrings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2025
Another great book in this excellent series.
December 27, 2025
Pretty good read. Author goes into a lot of the police work it takes to solve some murders.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews