Remain Silent
A Manon Bradshaw Novel
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3.9 • 82 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
An immigrant’s mysterious death sets off a chilling hunt for the truth in this gripping crime novel from the author of Missing, Presumed
“Brilliantly gripping.”—Lucy Foley, author of The Guest List
“A police procedural with real imagination and heart, and a marvelous lightness of style and wit.”—Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials trilogy
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN
Newly married and navigating life with a preschooler as well as her adopted adolescent son, Manon Bradshaw is happy to be working part-time in the cold cases department of the Cambridgeshire police force, a job that allows her to potter in, coffee in hand, and log on for a spot of Internet shopping—precisely what she had in mind when she thought of work-life balance. But beneath the surface Manon is struggling with the day-to-day realities of what she’d assumed would be domestic bliss: fights about whose turn it is to clean the kitchen, the bewildering fatigue of having a young child while in her forties, and the fact that she is going to couples counseling alone because her husband feels it would just be her complaining.
But when Manon is on a walk with her four-year-old son in a peaceful suburban neighborhood and discovers the body of a Lithuanian immigrant hanging from a tree with a mysterious note attached, she knows her life is about to change. Suddenly, she is back on the job full-force, trying to solve the suicide—or is it a murder—in what may be the most dangerous and demanding case of her life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the start of Steiner's sluggish third novel featuring Det. Insp. Manon Bradshaw (after 2018's Persons Unknown), Bradshaw, an officer on the Cambridgeshire, England, police force, discovers the body of a young man hanging from a tree in the park. Pinned to the victim's trousers is a note in Lithuanian that translates as "The dead cannot speak"; a card that may be a driver's license identifies him as Lukas Balsys, a Lithuanian immigrant. Bradshaw and her partner, Det. Sgt. Davy Walker, investigate what they suspect is a murder made to look like a suicide. Flashbacks show Lukas and other Lithuanians lured by promises of work to England, where a fellow Lithuanian, Eidikus, soon has them catching chickens in a filthy warehouse and living in toxic houses with bedbug-ridden mattresses on the floor. Two other men are hanged, and another dies in the warehouse. Some humor and the loving exchanges between Bradshaw and her husband provide relief from the grim crimes, but the plot meanders slowly. Steiner has done better.
Customer Reviews
Funny, complete, riveting
Steiner builds characters so fully, so flawed and likable, smart and human. In this book she tackles human trafficking and hate crimes, without preaching or devolving into rhetoric. She assumes her audience is smart enough to hear about very real tragedy, through story. She manages to tell a very dark tale, through funny and exceptional characters.
I hoped for the next book, then learned of the authors passing. What a loss to the fans of her writing, these books are among my favorites. Rest in peace, and thank you for building this exceptional work.