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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I struggled with this one and it took me days longer than usual to get through it. I’m not quite sure why , the story was well enough written, but it just didn’t grab my attention. I found the pace too slow. It did have an interesting storyline re the exploitation of immigrant workers.
AUDIO
I like the lead character DI Manon Bradshaw very much but I found the plot rather heavy going. Still, an enjoyable listen.
I like the lead character DI Manon Bradshaw very much but I found the plot rather heavy going. Still, an enjoyable listen.
I was excited to read the next installment of Manon, but a bit disappointed when I was done. The book covered an important, relevant and timely topic of modern day slavery and racism. But I felt Manon in her glory wasn’t really there until the back third of the book. And her family and friends were mere shallow side stories who seemed almost like afterthoughts. I was most disappointed that Fly wasn’t really present at all, as much as he was in the forefront previously.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I feel this book got better towards the end. The story had a satisfying conclusion and tied up all the loose ends however I feel that this was slightly rushed. It took a while to get into the story and I found it confusing in places due to the volume of characters and the back and forth between different countries and points of time. However, this may have also been due to the fact that I read this book as a stand alone, not realising it was the third book in a series. Had I read the other two, then it may have made more sense to me. Overall, a good police investigation story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit
‘If I can’t do my job, I’m not anything..I am the job’ , Manon declares at one point when her job appears to be in jeopardy. Herein lies the success of Steiner’s detective, Manon. Manon isn’t just her job, she is a fully realised character with her troubled personal life spilling over into her work and her current investigation spilling over into her home life. This frequently creates a tension for the reader as the story switches between the two , pausing a narrative about cancer or one about a young girl being trapped. Manon has been one of my favourite detectives since I first encountered her in Missing Presumed. She is quite simply so beautifully envisaged she just walks out of the pages and with each book Manon has developed and grown as a character. In Remain Silent Manon’s household now includes a partner with health issues and two children with very different demands and her absolute love for them provides a warm undertow in choppy waters. Manon is in mid - life: analysing her life future , present and past under a cynical microscope. Her view of a jaded contemporary world is one that resonated greatly with me. The book starts with a dead body, that of an Eastern European migrant worker - suicide or murder? Manon must investigate. The case leads Manon and her sidekick, Davy, to parts of rural Cambridgeshire where tensions between Eastern European workers and the local population are high. The life of the workers is absolutely brutal and totally shocking, utterly bleak. Trapped by gangmasters in a foreign land where they are needed but not wanted. Then one of them is dead. Remain Silent is a brilliant read and it will make a brilliant film. I hope Manon will return.
‘If I can’t do my job, I’m not anything..I am the job’ , Manon declares at one point when her job appears to be in jeopardy. Herein lies the success of Steiner’s detective, Manon. Manon isn’t just her job, she is a fully realised character with her troubled personal life spilling over into her work and her current investigation spilling over into her home life. This frequently creates a tension for the reader as the story switches between the two , pausing a narrative about cancer or one about a young girl being trapped. Manon has been one of my favourite detectives since I first encountered her in Missing Presumed. She is quite simply so beautifully envisaged she just walks out of the pages and with each book Manon has developed and grown as a character. In Remain Silent Manon’s household now includes a partner with health issues and two children with very different demands and her absolute love for them provides a warm undertow in choppy waters. Manon is in mid - life: analysing her life future , present and past under a cynical microscope. Her view of a jaded contemporary world is one that resonated greatly with me. The book starts with a dead body, that of an Eastern European migrant worker - suicide or murder? Manon must investigate. The case leads Manon and her sidekick, Davy, to parts of rural Cambridgeshire where tensions between Eastern European workers and the local population are high. The life of the workers is absolutely brutal and totally shocking, utterly bleak. Trapped by gangmasters in a foreign land where they are needed but not wanted. Then one of them is dead. Remain Silent is a brilliant read and it will make a brilliant film. I hope Manon will return.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I couldn’t get through this one. Perhaps it was the narrator of the audiobook. Maybe I will come back to it, but a mystery should always be put down if you aren’t into it.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No