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kcfromaustcrime's review
4.0
Small towns and close knit communities are under scrutiny again in Nikki Crutchley's second novel NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU. Not part of a series with NOTHING BAD HAPPENS HERE, this second outing is built around another interesting and complicated female character Zoe Haywood. Haywood has returned to her hometown Crawton to bury her estranged mother Lillian, who recently committed suicide. Despite the difficult circumstances of returning home to the suicide of a mother she really didn't get on with, living in her mother's house, back in the community she grew up in, Haywood finds herself drawn back into high-school friendships, and stumbling over details that make the likelihood that her mother did, indeed, suicide, less clear.
Crutchley builds an interesting story in a deliberate, slowly paced manner in NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU. Haywood has gone on from a difficult childhood of neglect and disinterest from her mother to forge a teaching career - one that's had plenty of ups and downs. Meanwhile her mother Lillian is a popular, respected counsellor of kids back at home. It seems that Lillian may also have been increasingly suffering from dementia, but not so bad yet that she's failed to notice a worrying pattern in the disappearance of some marginalised young women from the town. Unfortunately the clues she has left behind clearly indicate her struggles with memory and reasoning and the chances of Haywood and her high-school friends understanding what Lillian was trying to remind herself are difficult enough, without a series of very complicated relationship problems along the way.
The sense of small town, small community, hidden secrets, and odd goings on in picturesque places plays out well in this novel - as it did in Crutchley's debut. Here again we have somebody struggling with inner demons - Lillian seems to have had more than her fair share, and visited a lot of them on her daughter as a result. Haywood is remarkably together given her childhood, not without her own flaws and problems, regrets and mistakes, as is just about everybody in this novel. There's a sense that small town growing up can be very safe in some ways, and fraught and risky in many others. The contrast between seemingly happy families next door, and the complicated goings on in the home of Lillian and Zoe is nicely contrasted, as is the lives of high-school friends who stayed in town, and those that tried to cut ties.
Crutchley does a particularly good job with complicated female characters. Haywood may not be the alcoholic mess that her main character in the first novel was, but she's got more than enough problems, doubts, insecurities, positives and negatives to be going on with. She's instantly sympathetic and engaging, without being straight-forward and always easy. The same could be said of Lillian who obviously wasn't a good mother, obviously had her good and bad points, and seems to have been a friend to young girls when they needed one.
The plot here is complex and intricate, although many readers may increasingly feel some confidence in the who and even the how of the ultimate solution. The why is less straight-forward and in many ways the more important question. NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU has moments of great insight and clarity into the nature of small towns, small communities, and the people who can slip under the radar in those situations.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/no-one-can-hear-you-nikki-crutchley
Crutchley builds an interesting story in a deliberate, slowly paced manner in NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU. Haywood has gone on from a difficult childhood of neglect and disinterest from her mother to forge a teaching career - one that's had plenty of ups and downs. Meanwhile her mother Lillian is a popular, respected counsellor of kids back at home. It seems that Lillian may also have been increasingly suffering from dementia, but not so bad yet that she's failed to notice a worrying pattern in the disappearance of some marginalised young women from the town. Unfortunately the clues she has left behind clearly indicate her struggles with memory and reasoning and the chances of Haywood and her high-school friends understanding what Lillian was trying to remind herself are difficult enough, without a series of very complicated relationship problems along the way.
The sense of small town, small community, hidden secrets, and odd goings on in picturesque places plays out well in this novel - as it did in Crutchley's debut. Here again we have somebody struggling with inner demons - Lillian seems to have had more than her fair share, and visited a lot of them on her daughter as a result. Haywood is remarkably together given her childhood, not without her own flaws and problems, regrets and mistakes, as is just about everybody in this novel. There's a sense that small town growing up can be very safe in some ways, and fraught and risky in many others. The contrast between seemingly happy families next door, and the complicated goings on in the home of Lillian and Zoe is nicely contrasted, as is the lives of high-school friends who stayed in town, and those that tried to cut ties.
Crutchley does a particularly good job with complicated female characters. Haywood may not be the alcoholic mess that her main character in the first novel was, but she's got more than enough problems, doubts, insecurities, positives and negatives to be going on with. She's instantly sympathetic and engaging, without being straight-forward and always easy. The same could be said of Lillian who obviously wasn't a good mother, obviously had her good and bad points, and seems to have been a friend to young girls when they needed one.
The plot here is complex and intricate, although many readers may increasingly feel some confidence in the who and even the how of the ultimate solution. The why is less straight-forward and in many ways the more important question. NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU has moments of great insight and clarity into the nature of small towns, small communities, and the people who can slip under the radar in those situations.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/no-one-can-hear-you-nikki-crutchley
steph1rothwell's review against another edition
4.0
With thanks to the author for the copy received. It is always great to hear about an author that I have never read before and then to learn that there is another book that I can read. I have always enjoyed fiction that takes place in Australia or New Zealand. There is something different that I can’t really describe apart from to say its fresh and raw with no frills attached. I have yet to be disappointed.
It starts with Faith desperate to escape from the situation that she has woken up in. She does so, but there are many more who are at risk. At least one of their stories tugged at my heart-strings.
It is mainly narrated by, and concerns women. There is the estranged relationship between Zoe and her recently deceased mother Lilian. Whilst she looked like she had a good life compared to many of the others who feature she sill had a lot to deal with. She struggles to see how Lilian is regarded now, and how much she missed out in while growing up.
Faith and Megan have both had tough lives. Heavy drinking, drug taking and constantly judged by others. And then there was Aroha. Her story was devastating and I wished her life could have been different.
It is a novel that shows some dubious aspects of society but without much of the detail that would make it difficult to read.
Whilst I did guess correctly at most of what was happening I didn’t see all of it and I did still enjoy it a lot.
It starts with Faith desperate to escape from the situation that she has woken up in. She does so, but there are many more who are at risk. At least one of their stories tugged at my heart-strings.
It is mainly narrated by, and concerns women. There is the estranged relationship between Zoe and her recently deceased mother Lilian. Whilst she looked like she had a good life compared to many of the others who feature she sill had a lot to deal with. She struggles to see how Lilian is regarded now, and how much she missed out in while growing up.
Faith and Megan have both had tough lives. Heavy drinking, drug taking and constantly judged by others. And then there was Aroha. Her story was devastating and I wished her life could have been different.
It is a novel that shows some dubious aspects of society but without much of the detail that would make it difficult to read.
Whilst I did guess correctly at most of what was happening I didn’t see all of it and I did still enjoy it a lot.
thatbooknerd__'s review
After finishing the book a few days ago, I am still unsure on my feelings or my rating for the book. So for now I'm just going to leave it without a rating and write my feelings towards the book.
Reading the blurb, it sounded like a fantastic story, and starting it, it opened good but I slowly started to get confused with the amount of POV's we had going on. I had to go back and read the blurb to see where the characters from the blurb fit in.
I wouldn't of said this was a thriller, it didn't keep me on the edge of my seat to be called a thriller. Most of the story revolved around Zoe's relationship with her mother when she was growing up and dealing with her feelings after her death. Which to be honest, I wasn't all that interested in. But they had connection to the story so I can see why the author had wrote about it.
I have to say I didn't particular like Zoe, she was annoying, and reckless most of the time.
Apart from all that, the underlining story. The aductions, girls going missing, drugs. It made for a good story and I found myself skipping other parts to get to these parts and what would happen next. What some of the girls went through was terrible and reading about some of it is truly heartbreaking. The author did a really good job on the descriptions of it aswell. I predicted the one person that was involved but the one closer to the end was a shock. I had this feeling it was going to be the person that was being made out to be the bad person in the whole story. But I was wrong.
I have to say that the character I connected to most was the 16 year old girl that had found out she was pregnant. I really connected to her for some reason, she really called out to me.
All in all a good story and I would read more of this author's books.
Reading the blurb, it sounded like a fantastic story, and starting it, it opened good but I slowly started to get confused with the amount of POV's we had going on. I had to go back and read the blurb to see where the characters from the blurb fit in.
I wouldn't of said this was a thriller, it didn't keep me on the edge of my seat to be called a thriller. Most of the story revolved around Zoe's relationship with her mother when she was growing up and dealing with her feelings after her death. Which to be honest, I wasn't all that interested in. But they had connection to the story so I can see why the author had wrote about it.
I have to say I didn't particular like Zoe, she was annoying, and reckless most of the time.
Apart from all that, the underlining story. The aductions, girls going missing, drugs. It made for a good story and I found myself skipping other parts to get to these parts and what would happen next. What some of the girls went through was terrible and reading about some of it is truly heartbreaking. The author did a really good job on the descriptions of it aswell. I predicted the one person that was involved but the one closer to the end was a shock. I had this feeling it was going to be the person that was being made out to be the bad person in the whole story. But I was wrong.
I have to say that the character I connected to most was the 16 year old girl that had found out she was pregnant. I really connected to her for some reason, she really called out to me.
All in all a good story and I would read more of this author's books.
karlou's review against another edition
5.0
No One Can Hear You has a tense and disturbing opening which sets the scene well for this stark drama. Faith has recently been placed with a foster family in Crawton, a small town in New Zealand. She is angry and rebellious and makes the worse decision of her life when she sneaks out of the house one night. Her abduction may be inevitable but when it happens, it is still shocking and as she begins to understand what is happening to her, the crushing reality is almost palpable.
Years later and Zoe Haywood is having a bad day. One of her pupils has pulled a knife on another student then turned it on her but the obsequious headteacher at this prestigious private school is more concerned with ingratiating himself with the boy's rich father than he is in supporting a female teacher he would rather not have to employ. Meanwhile, her mother, Lillian's day is about to become much worse. She is convinced that something terrible has happened to Megan, a young woman she knows. However, she is finding it increasingly harder to order her thoughts and with her family history of Alzheimer's realises her mind isn't what it once. She struggles to untangle her muddled thoughts as she tries to figure out the truth about Megan. Zoe and Lillian have been estranged for many years but never have the chance to reconcile but Lillian's sudden death - thought to have been a suicide - brings Zoe back to Cawston, the town where she grew up.
Zoe's memories are of a cold and distant mother but the townspeople seem to have considered her a warm and caring member of the community. When Zoe finds some of her mother's confused notes about Megan and a girl called Tania, she begins to question whether Lillian really knew something or if her suspicions were just a symptom of her Alzheimer's. Faith's return to Cawston causes her to realise that her mother was correct and that evil lurks within the town.
One of the many strengths of No One Can Hear You is the sense of suspicion that runs throughout the book. Zoe and Faith's investigation leads them to question just who they can trust as they begin to uncover the grim truth. Thrillers set in small towns often have a claustrophobic feeling about them and that's certainly true here as the women wonder who they can confide in once it has become clear that their queries have been noticed by some very dangerous people. As the novel progresses the reader learns who some of the perpetrators are but others are just hinted at. I had my suspicions but won't say whether I was correct. However, I don't think it matters if readers do guess because the nailbiting tension comes from how and when the women discover who is involved rather than just their identity.
No One Can Hear You explores the darker elements of society where young women who are considered troublesome can disappear without anybody really noticing or caring. We're all aware of the reality of human trafficking rings and that vast numbers of people have disappeared but how many of them are actually missed? It's depressingly obvious from media appeals that some people are deemed less worthy than others but here Nikki Crutchley gives these young women their humanity. They may be addicts living on the edges of society but they deserve to matter as much as anybody else.
Nikki Crutchley's excellent second novel confirms my feelings that she is an author to watch out for. The engaging characters and engrossing, fast-paced plot means No One Can Hear You is a gripping and sinister thriller and I thoroughly recommend it.
Years later and Zoe Haywood is having a bad day. One of her pupils has pulled a knife on another student then turned it on her but the obsequious headteacher at this prestigious private school is more concerned with ingratiating himself with the boy's rich father than he is in supporting a female teacher he would rather not have to employ. Meanwhile, her mother, Lillian's day is about to become much worse. She is convinced that something terrible has happened to Megan, a young woman she knows. However, she is finding it increasingly harder to order her thoughts and with her family history of Alzheimer's realises her mind isn't what it once. She struggles to untangle her muddled thoughts as she tries to figure out the truth about Megan. Zoe and Lillian have been estranged for many years but never have the chance to reconcile but Lillian's sudden death - thought to have been a suicide - brings Zoe back to Cawston, the town where she grew up.
Zoe's memories are of a cold and distant mother but the townspeople seem to have considered her a warm and caring member of the community. When Zoe finds some of her mother's confused notes about Megan and a girl called Tania, she begins to question whether Lillian really knew something or if her suspicions were just a symptom of her Alzheimer's. Faith's return to Cawston causes her to realise that her mother was correct and that evil lurks within the town.
One of the many strengths of No One Can Hear You is the sense of suspicion that runs throughout the book. Zoe and Faith's investigation leads them to question just who they can trust as they begin to uncover the grim truth. Thrillers set in small towns often have a claustrophobic feeling about them and that's certainly true here as the women wonder who they can confide in once it has become clear that their queries have been noticed by some very dangerous people. As the novel progresses the reader learns who some of the perpetrators are but others are just hinted at. I had my suspicions but won't say whether I was correct. However, I don't think it matters if readers do guess because the nailbiting tension comes from how and when the women discover who is involved rather than just their identity.
No One Can Hear You explores the darker elements of society where young women who are considered troublesome can disappear without anybody really noticing or caring. We're all aware of the reality of human trafficking rings and that vast numbers of people have disappeared but how many of them are actually missed? It's depressingly obvious from media appeals that some people are deemed less worthy than others but here Nikki Crutchley gives these young women their humanity. They may be addicts living on the edges of society but they deserve to matter as much as anybody else.
Nikki Crutchley's excellent second novel confirms my feelings that she is an author to watch out for. The engaging characters and engrossing, fast-paced plot means No One Can Hear You is a gripping and sinister thriller and I thoroughly recommend it.
kathijo63's review
4.0
A quick read and a good mystery. I thought I had it figured out - the clues were all pointing in one direction but then bam, a sudden turn! The characters were well developed and Zoe is a strong female lead. I found the description of the descent into Alzheimer's particularly gripping. Overall a well-written book and I look forward to more from this author!
kiwimrsmac's review
5.0
It's hard to write a review when you're still trying to catch your breath after racing to the end of a classic 'who dunnit' book!
Nikki Crutchley's second thriller doesn't disappoint. If her first book made me want to avoid living in a small town, this one puts the nail in that coffin!
This book contains a manageable cast of characters, plenty of red herrings, estranged relationships, runaways, and an emotionally taut plot line. The knowledge that power corrupts and that powerful men can get away with almost anything drives this book, and makes the plot realistic... scarily realistic.
A fabulous holiday read. And I look forward to Nikki's third, fourth, fifth books with great excitement.
Nikki Crutchley's second thriller doesn't disappoint. If her first book made me want to avoid living in a small town, this one puts the nail in that coffin!
This book contains a manageable cast of characters, plenty of red herrings, estranged relationships, runaways, and an emotionally taut plot line. The knowledge that power corrupts and that powerful men can get away with almost anything drives this book, and makes the plot realistic... scarily realistic.
A fabulous holiday read. And I look forward to Nikki's third, fourth, fifth books with great excitement.
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