I had the very great opportunity to review this book both as an audiobook and a physical copy.
In either case, this was the first time I read a book featuring a character who is deaf. It is obvious that the author knows what she is writing about, which improves the reading experience.
I have slightly mixed feelings about reading the signing in italic; it felt a bit off, but I can understand why the author chose italic.
The plot itself was amazing. I hadn't read the first book, although I now most certainly will, but it was easy to understand what had been happening the previous book. The characters were well developed and impressively written. They didn't feel clichéd, but as rather fulfilling the exact purpose they were written for. I was not expecting the killer at all and I honestly was surprised about this book's solution and the motif behind the murders.
The sub-plot was amazing as well. I especially loved to read about the relationship between Max and Paige. The accuracy of Max was terrifying and his behaviour toward Paige made me love her even more. Paige is an absolutely awesome, strong character. I can't wait for the next book and am excited to see where Paige's path is going to take her next. I am also going to check out the first book, hoping it's going to be as good as the second.
TWs: Death, past abuse, murder, inappropriate advances toward a teenager, jealousy.
I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good mystery that keeps you guessing until the end. Silent Night did just that. I am looking forward to reading more in this series.

A deaf boy and his headteacher go missing... but with everyone at the school denying everything, what can the police do to find them?

The story follows mostly the interpreter who works on the case, and although I liked her and she was super impressive, she was a little bit annoying at times 🤦‍♀️ sometimes she would find out information that seemed irrelevant but she didn't bother telling the police, despite them telling everyone to mention anything they may notice 🙄

But despite that, I was so hooked to find out what happened and the characters all had great personalities that really made the case seem real.

I've never read a book about the deaf community and I really enjoyed how educational it was, I really want to learn more sign language now!

I didn’t know that this is technically the second book in the Paige Northwood series until I began reading but I can confirm that you definitely don’t need to have read The Silent House before reading this one. Although many of the characters are the same, it’s a new story so you can happily dive straight into this harrowing thriller.

Paige is a freelance BSL interpreter and she is sworn in to help the police with a strange, unsettling case. Five deaf teens and a group of staff from Lincoln School for the Deaf set out on a camping trip to Normanby Hall but 15-year-old Leon has gone missing during the night. The search for him results in a murdered teacher and very few suspects, who all have an alibi. Can Paige help the detectives solve the case before more blood is spilled?

We’re told Paige’s story towards the beginning of the book. She is a selfless, courageous woman who simply wants to help whoever she can. To me, it felt like she had always lived for other people rather than herself, which is something that a lot of women can relate to. Paige has suffered an incredible amount of hardship just before the action of this book takes place and I was nervous for her, jumping into such a complex, dangerous job so soon afterwards.

The case itself involves quite a lot of people and so I pretty much suspected everyone at some point. The other four teens who went on the trip seem to have a collective secret and I knew that something very sinister was happening. However, Pattison was very clever about shielding it because the pieces wouldn’t quite slot together for me. I must say that I thought the other kids had more to do with it than they actually did and although I did suspect the actual culprit in passing, I never gave them any serious thought. I’m not sure whether this is clever writing or whether a few more hints would have been needed to have that ‘oh, why didn’t I see it?’ moment at the end.

There is some seriously dark subject matter dealt with in this book, so trigger warnings for mental abuse and grooming of teens are needed. Both of these things are central to the plot and add to the trauma of what’s really going on but I can certainly see how anyone who has experienced either of these things could be deeply affected by their prominence. Silent Night delves into a few of the very real horrors of the world and it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that I was pretty shaken.

Paige also talks about how abuse victims (especially females) are perceived. This rings very true and this is an attitude that simply has to change in our society. I like to think that #MeToo has done a lot for the credibility of women’s stories but I know that there are still some people who refuse to take much notice until they know both sides. This kind of abuser sympathising behaviour is quite often internal too, so of course it’s easy to see why so many women feel afraid of talking about their experiences as a victim.

I’ve never read a book set so firmly in the deaf community and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. I learnt a lot about sign language and the different ways that deaf people communicate and I really appreciated it. The fact that these horrific events were happening within a disabled, vulnerable community really upped the ante on catching this perpertrator and I think that was a lot of what really drove the plot forward.

Silent Night is a pulse-racing, truly shocking thriller that will consistently keep you guessing. With likeable characters and plenty to think about, it’s a mystery that keeps its pages turning and will leave you wholly distrustful of almost everyone.

Paige is a freelance interpreter for the deaf community who has been called in to help in a police investigation. A young student Leon and the school principal have gone missing, during the night, from a school trip to a cabin. Bad weather and scared children are hindering the search. During the morning the body of the teacher is found and this leads to a tension filled story. Who wants to harm the principal? Is Leon a victim or a suspect?
I enjoyed this story. Paige is a complex character with an interesting back story. I have not read Nell Pattisons first book but it is next on my to be read pile as I am interested in learning more about Paige and her sister.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review

So apparently this is the second book? I didn't know that as I haven't heard from the other before and I couldn't find a hint about it in the blurb. But apparently it is. That means I got some spoilers, some questions. But that wasn't the only reason why I decided not to continue. Because I got really confused. Our MC is having conversations with deaf people and the book states that as either signed, asking, talking, speaking, signing. All the while putting those specific conversations in italics. I just didn't have a clue if they were always signing? Or talking/signing? Or something else, but if they talked, why would that need to be in italics just like the signing part? Plus, I found something just a bit too fast. How did no one find that? I mean our group found it relatively fast.

Murder at Normanby Hall! Leon goes missing and his deputy head is found murdered whilst on an overnight stay in the grounds of Normanby Hall, Lincolnshire. Is Leon the murderer? Where has he gone? Leon is a fifteen year old pupil at the school for the deaf in Lincoln.
Paige is a British Sign language translator working alongside DS Singh to help the police talk to the students. Between them they try to piece together all the clues. This is a multilayered murder mystery with lots of clever twists. I liked the story and found the characters to be well drawn. I found it a compelling read. I have not read the preceding book ‘The Silent House’ and didn’t feel I’d missed out on anything, although having read this I would quite like to read it!
I listened to this audio book and enjoyed listening to the two narrators, Claire-Louise English and Lara steward.
Thank you to Nell Pattison, Net Galley and Harper Collins Audio UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to read this, particularly due to the deaf characters -- as that's not something I see in many books.

The book started off okay, but it didn't last, sadly. The sign language wasn't authentically represented, which was unfortunate. The storyline was okay, times, but I had a hard time staying engaged. There were a couple unexpected turns, but the ending was quite abrupt. This is the second in the series, so I'm not sure if I would've felt differently if I'd read the first book. It seems like there was some critical details left out (such as with Leon's disappearance). Not sure if it was info in the first book or just omission. I would've preferred more focus on the disappearance than on Paige.

When a teacher wakes up to find one of his students is missing on a school trip, he sets out to find him, but he doesn't return...

Meet Paige Northwood, a down-on-her-luck BSL interpreter who works occasionally with the police. After a traumatic case nearly a year ago, she is hesitant but also in desperate need for work as she is struggling to make ends meet. She is called in to work on a case regarding a missing student and teacher, which quickly evolves into a murder investigation when the teacher is found dead in the snow. With tensions mounting as Paige's past and present collide and the search for the missing student continues, the pressure is on. But where is Leon, who killed Steve, and who is hiding something?
The first few pages of this novel really grabbed my attention and left me wanting more, but as I continued to read, I found the BSL dialogue a bit disappointing. I was excited to read a book featuring deaf characters but I wish the sign language was written with more authenticity. I continued reading as I found the overall storyline interesting and really wanted to know how things would play out, but unfortunately I could not see past the portrayal of BSL and did not finish the book. I look forward to reading more of this author's work outside of this series.

I ready this book very fast, with its short chapters and enjoyed the use of BSL, plot and setting.
The main character was quite frustrating and very unprofessional in her dealings with the police. All that said it was an easy book to read and not in anyway a Christmas book, as the title and cover suggests.

Interpreter Paige Northwood's second case sees her involved in investigating the murder of a teacher from a school for the deaf during an overnight school trip. Not only is a teacher murdered, but one of the pupils from the school, Leon, goes missing and his blood is found near the murdered teacher. During the investigation, Paige also comes into contact with her emotionally abusive ex, who is now working at the school, but surely Mike wouldn't actually kill anyone, would he?

The plot itself was good, the problem for me is with the main character. I read the first book and Paige was very unprofessional in her dealings with the police, and she doesn't seem to have learned much since then. She was forever withholding information that she should really have passed on, whether she thought she had enough evidence or not. I just find her very irritating, which spoils my enjoyment. The book cover is very eye-catching though.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Avon Books UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

A school trip goes wrong when 1 of the 5 students in attendance is missing. A teacher's found is found during the search for the student. Paige is called as the interpreter for the investigation with these students who go to a local school for the deaf. Where is Leon, the missing student? If he is still alive, then they must hurry to solve the case. Is it linked to the death of the teacher?
 
I love that Paige's story has been continued and will continue with a 3rd book. I enjoyed this one just as much as I enjoyed the first book of the series. The character development was great. Not many books involve the deaf community, yet here is an entire series.

This is the 2nd book in the Paige Northwood series, and is another great mystery. Paige, a British Sign Language interpreter, is brought in by the police investigating the murder of a teacher and disappearance of a teenager while on a school camping trip. Paige, true to form, gets overly involved in the case and creates an interesting dynamic for the reader around where she is involved versus where she is excluded, and where she goes above and beyond.

The storyline is good- I could not figure out who did it. The author tried to lead the reader to what I felt were some pretty straightforward red herrings, so I was thinking through all of the other characters to determine who was a believable villain. When it came out, I was surprised, but felt that good work had been done to drop the clues that might have gotten me there. That being said, I did feel like that person's reasons for doing what they did were a little bit out there- I had another, more nefarious, motivation in mind and was slightly disappointed when it went another way.

My only real complaint with this book was that I felt like it went into too much detail around Paige's personal life, going through issues with her current and past boyfriend repeatedly throughout the book. The book felt long (not sure how many pages it was since I read an ARC) and I found myself skimming over the relationship bits to get back to the mystery.

Overall, a great mystery and a surprise ending to someone who is rarely surprised. I love that Pattison writes about the deaf community in his books, a population under-represented in the genre. The signing versus talking aspect of the book is well done, believable, and not distracting in any way. I'd certainly recommend this book (and the first one in the series) to fans of mysteries and psychological thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Five young teenagers from a school for the deaf along with a caretaker, a social worker and the president of the school have taken this group on a special winter weekend trip to a lovely cabin in the woods with many outdoor activities planned for the excited students. Late in the evening on their first day a light snow begins to fall threatening to become quite heavy by the next morning and the children are feeling anxious and uncertain about what will now happen to their winter retreat unless weather conditions change for the better. During the night their are vibrations of people moving about in the cabins and one of the boys noticed that two beds in his cabin are empty and one bed belongs to his older brother. As he leaves his room in search of his brother he sees a light on in the kitchen and wonders why the head of the school has his arm around Leon's (the other boy) shoulder. Not wanting to be seen he creeps back to his bed and sees that his brother is still not back yet. The following morning Leon seems to missing and Steve (dept head) goes out to search for him because he didn't tell anyone he was leaving the cabin and it is now snowing very hard. A few hours later, Steve and Leon are both missing and everyone is worried and it is now time to call the police. The police have been out to this school before so they arrange to use a deaf interpreter named Paige Northwood who had previously worked with the detectives on another case. As Paige arrives at the cabins where the students are staying she sees an unusual snow covered lump and realizes it is a dead body. Why is there a dead body when this was supposed to be a missing persons case and Paige is not prepared to be involved in a murder case and whose body is lying in the snow and is the other missing person a suspect or another victim? How is one interpreter going to be handle many so people from the school and will Paige be able to communicate properly back to two detectives and several other police officers before other bodies start turning up?

This was a very well-written and enjoyable book. The mysteries continued throughout the story with many unexpected twists and turns. The characters were likeable, annoying and entertaining with solid backgrounds. There was some romance (not too much) and a lot of information on how difficult it can be for teens who are deaf in a world where everyone else can hear and and how it makes their struggles growing up even more difficult than a hearing teen and how important it is to continue to have schools for the deaf instead of just mainstreaming those children and letting them have the choice to be with other deaf children like themselves. I thought this was a great murder mystery and recommend it to any reader who would like to read something different from your regular mysteries. I am looking forward to reading more books by Nell Pattison..

I want to thank the publisher "Avon Books UK" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this terrific story!

I have given a rating of 4 Creepy and Sinister 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Stars!!

Silent Night is a brilliant novel, with all the perfect ingredients of a classic whodunnit. I particular like the use of deaf characters, which we rarely see in fiction. They are hugely underrepresented. The signing is written brilliantly, and I loved Paige’s and Singh’s character dynamic. Mike is also very well written, and chilled me to the core. Without spoiling it, Nell offers a very realistic portrayal of physical and mental abuse, which is no easy feat.

Leon’s disappearance had me hooked throughout, and I really couldn’t guess who was responsible. I had a list of suspects in my head and it was none of them. Highly recommended if you love your crime fiction and like a nasty surprise! :)

Paige Northwood returns as freelance British Sign Language interpreter for the police. On a residential trip for a school for the deaf, a student goes missing and a teacher is killed. Paige is brought in to help with the investigations and bumps into an unwelcomed acquaintance from her past. As the investigations progresses, the students reveal they are all receiving messages from a mystery character, is this really the killer?
This is the second in the series but can also be read as a standalone. Well written thriller and looking forward to next instalment.

Brilliant book, made all the more cool as it was set in my own neck of the woods!
It was a refreshing change seeing Paige communicating through sign language and then learning about her past really fleshed out the character making her a great heroine.
In fact most of the characters were well written and the plot itself had just enough twists and suspicions to keep me guessing.
The Humberside/Lincolnshire setting was rural and fit the story well and I thoroughly enjoyed reading until the end!

I loved this book it’s a five stars from me.

I have not read the first book in the Paige Northwood series , but this does not detract from this book . The main characters are well rounded and well written too.
I found the story absorbing and unique and it held my attention throughout. I liked Paige’s character she was a strong character but also had vulnerabilities due to a previous relationship , her ex appears in this story and it re ignites feelings she did not want to revisit. I think this makes the character appear genuine and one you can relate to.
The story is solid and a great thriller keeping me guessing until the very end . The writing kept me reading , when I should have been doing other things. I can’t wait for the next in the series.
It’s a great read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for the ARC copy.

It's the first book I read by this author and I liked.
It's a gripping and entertaining story, it kept me hooked and guessing.
Well written characters, a solid mystery full of twists and turns, and an unusual setting that makes it more interesting.
It's recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A school for the deaf takes a weekend trip to the woods. It is snowing heavily. A student goes missing, and a teacher sets out to find him. The teacher is found dead, but the student is nowhere to be found. The police get involved, but due to the complex nature of the school, bring in sign language interpreter, Paige Northwood. When she arrives, it becomes much more of a job than she expected. Her connections to the school, to the staff, to the police all become an entanglement that draws her deeper into the mystery of what has taken place. It seems like there are many with motives for murder, and some that even want to harm Paige. When more deaths occur, it becomes a race against the clock. The suspense builds really well, with the weather adding to the mix of the urgency, the desperation and the drama. Can Paige and the police act in time to save more lives? And find the real killer?

I have not read the first book in this series, but I was gripped from the start by this one. I felt I was missing some back story, but it was well written enough to keep me intrigued, rather than put me off. I shall be adding the first book to my reading list! The mix of the sign language with the police crime drama made for a very interesting read. It is always enjoyable to learn while you are reading, and this book certainly opened my eyes more to a community I had not been exposed to before, so double kudos for that. An excellent read, gripping from start to finish, and leaving you wanting more of Paige and the drama that surrounds her life.