Member Reviews

A good, fast paced psychological thriller, which is sure to give you a good shock or many, thrills, chills, and the creeps. Well written and a very fast read.
Will make sure I buzz it up!

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Another excellent book from Theresa Talbot. I love her character Oonagh O'Neill who is a journalist working closely with the police and I love the Glasgow setting which I could certainly identify with.
This book was really quite dark with some disturbing themes. My heart broke for some of the characters and the fact that the book was based on a true story made it even more devastating. My worst fear of rats figured at one point. omg my skin was crawling!
Really well written and authentic, I hope there are many more Oonagh O'Neill books to come!

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A Brilliantly written psychological thriller with a fabulous graphic plot you won't soon forget . I highly recommend ! Thanks to Netgalley and Aria for the opportunity to read and review this book! #Netgalley #Aria #TheQuietOnes

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A very fast paced and exciting story. Well written. Highly recommended to fans of darker thriller and mystery

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Footballer turned business man Harry Nugent is found by his wife hanging in their home but what at first appears to be suicide soon becomes clear that he did not take his own life. Oonagh starts digging into his past and sordid secrets start to emerge...could this be the readon for his death ?

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I would like to thank Netgalley and Aria for an advance copy of The Quiet Ones, the third novel to feature Glasgow based journalist, Oonagh O’Neil.

When footballer turned businessman Harry Nugent apparently commits suicide Oonagh gets interested in his history and soon finds sordid secrets to investigate.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Quiet Ones, partly because it is based in my home town of Glasgow where familiarity with the locations gives a level of comfort to the read which the second part, the subject matter doesn’t. Ms Talbot bases her writing on past social injustice where harm was done with impunity and no consequences so I had a good idea of where she would be going in this novel, but, to give her her due, she uses that as a starting point for further horrible revelations. The cruelty and casual disregard for other human beings is, at times, difficult to read, all the more so because it is fictionalised reality.

The novel is basically told from Oonagh’s point of view with occasional switches to her friend, DI Alec Davies to get the police point of view. There are also some chapters set in 1983 which relate one character’s experiences and are difficult to read. The plot is well done as Oonagh gradually unravels a conspiracy. It has plenty of twists and surprises along the way which keep the reader interested and guessing.

I like Oonagh who is a tenacious reporter and always prepared to go the extra mile to get her story. Mostly, however, she seems like a real person. Wading through the horror of this story sickens her and she struggles to cope with it. No wonder she likes a bucket, as we say up here. She is also feisty and her dealings with her boss, Alan, always produce a smile as she puts him in his place (somewhere below her in the Machiavellian stakes). Unfortunately she is like too many other successful women, lonely and somewhat isolated.

The Quiet Ones is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

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This book was the third in a series and I have been looking forward to it for ages.
The book was well written and kept me interested until the end
Can’t wait for the next one

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I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

This starts over with a very grisly bang, and then devolves into an investigation. Oonagh is always a pleasure to read and I enjoyed this time in her headspace. The plot itself was pretty graphic with little subtly or twistiness, but it's an exciting ride through the trenches.

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Excellent read. Hard to put the book down. Right from the start you were sucked in and new this was going to be a good one. The storyline was wicked. Not quite knowing where it was going next. There was lots of twists and turns in the road.

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When a local football coach who was loved by all is found dead, you would expect the community to come out to honor him. Not so in this case. So, the question is why? Theresa Talbot has written a sensitive portrayal of a community that is trying to heal from a wound they do not want to acknowledge. The mystery of exactly how the coach died and why no one will talk about it leads to more questions which leads to criminal action against our journalist. The book was a good read, taking the reader inside this community to grieve with them the actions of the few against the many.

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The Quiet Ones is intriguing and original. I really enjoyed a new unique thriller that isn’t the same baseline as all the others. Highly recommend

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4.5 stars The Quiet Ones by Theresa Talbot starts with a bang - or a hanging - the death of a famous Scottish football coach. It looks like a suicide buy that is quickly ruled out when the police learn his tongue was cut out and shoved down his throat. Hard to do that to yourself.

But Coach Harry Nugent was seemingly a good guy, until the police and a journalist named Oonagh begin to peel back the layers.

The coach was twisted - no doubt about it. How far did his perversions go? Who else was infected? Is Oonagh putting herself in danger by investigating his death and letting the truth out?

The Quiet Ones is a thriller no doubt. I was on the edge of my seating to learn what Oonagh would dig up about Harry. Each revelation was worse than the one before. Get this book if you like twisted stories that will keep you up at night.

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And we’re back with investigative journalist Oonagh O’Neill for the third book in the series and this one did not disappoint.

Following the “suicide” of the famous and well respected coach, Harry Nugent, things don’t add up… with his death, the rumour mill goes into overdrive… or are they rumours and when his suicide is upped to murder, Oonagh is hot on its tail as she needs a break still riding the waves from her last big story which won’t last forever!!!

Doing what Oonagh does best, she uncovers a trail of destruction in Harry’s wake, a story of historical abuse of young potential future footballers which then leads to a big pool of suspects…. As Oonagh unravels more and more of the back story, she is utterly horrified at what has gone on and the fact that a lot was covered up and brushed under the carpet in a tail of who you know etc

A gripping story if a bit unpalatable at times given the nature of the topic. I look forward to the fourth book!!!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Aria for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Loved this one ! It had excellent characters and atmospheric setting with fast paced plot and twists and turns.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

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Absolutely loved this novel! Excellent character development, and totally keeps you wanting to find out what happens next. Highly recommended!

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The third book in a series, I will have to go back and read the first two! I really liked the main character in this story. They were both relateable and interesting. The story itself is tough reading given the subject matter, however the victim in the story certainly deserved what he got!

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This book is the third in a series and now I will have to go back and read the first two. I really like the main character in this book. Believable and engaging. The story itself is tough reading given the subject matter but the victim in the story certainly deserved what he got. But the winding road leading to the crime itself and the ending is a very compelling story. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy for review.

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I struggled with this one. I didn’t realise it was part of a series. Not a bad read overall but would benefit from reading the previous ones.

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The third book in the Oonagh O'Neil did not disappoint. I loved the first two and have no hesitation in recommending this series. Theresa writes with great sensitivity about the topical issue of abuse by a coach at a football club. Oonagh is an investigative journalist who uncovers a whole catalogue of abuse. The book is well written and atmospheric. It gripped me from the start and I loved the ending. Hope there is more to come in this series. My thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

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This is a disturbing book, not just because of the violent death of Harry Nugent but because the reality of his life is very credible. It is very well written, Oonagh is ambitious but flawed but overall decent as journalists go and they other characters are well thought out. It’s not especially full of twists and turns but does still leave you wondering who did it, the answer to that could have been better revealed though as I felt the ending did feel rushed and a couple more chapters before the epilogue would have rounded Oonagh’s story off better. Tommy Gallagher's chapters gave a good insight from the young footballers perspective but otherwise didn’t add to the story however it’s so well written you can easily overlook that. Overall this is a good crime book but not quite a thriller, very enjoyable though.

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