I had such high hopes for this title. Alas, these hopes came crossing down within the first few chapters. I found that I disliked the main narrator, who came across flat and whiny.

Plus, this book begins to touch on the main character and her past trauma with an ex (who appears as a suspect and is trying to return into her life) and this set off alarm bells that I was not going to enjoy this book and made me wonder about the issue of whether books should feature trigger warnings to readers at the start of the book.

I had such hopes and this promised such potential, but this is not the book/mystery for me.

I have listened to a few minutes of this on audio, and the sound isn't right. I have Silent house on audio and just listened to a sample of that and it seems fine. I have been approved this on ebook so will switch to that format.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers Avon for an audiobook arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was also very lucky to receive this first book as an e-arc a few months ago.

Firstly I must say these thrillers are interesting and I really like how there’s a focus on the deaf community, I read a lot of thrillers and have never read any like these books!

The book follows Paige who is a freelance BSL (British sign language) interpreter. Paige is hired by the police when a murder occurs on a school trip at a school designated for deaf people.

I must say this book is quite unrealistic in the fact that Paige is just an interpreter and shouldn’t be as closely related to the investigation as she is in this book. If this was real life then she would be used at formal interviews only. The book has Paige constantly on the scene and she’s also part of conversations with the non deaf characters, it didn’t make a whole ton of sense at points.

Having said that I did really enjoy the whodunnit aspects and I didn’t guess the ending at all. I liked the tight knit group of students that were involved and thought the story was well plotted out.

I was shocked when I saw there’s a third book in this series, it’s such a small community... how many crimes can happen to them really? Will that stop me from reading it...? Nope!

Silent Night - Nell Pattison

"A school for the deaf takes an overnight trip to the snowy woods. Five teenagers go to sleep, but only four wake up. Leon is missing, and a teacher’s body is found in the forest…

Sign language interpreter Paige Northwood is brought in to help with interrogations. Everyone at the school has a motive for murder – but they all have an alibi. "

I listened to this book as an audiobook and I enjoyed the narration and felt engrossed enough to want to find out who the culprit was. Lots of twists and turns throughout which keeps you guessing until the end, and I must admit I didn't figure it out (which is always a bonus). Flashbacks were a great way to build suspense and I really liked how Nell Pattison incorporates deaf and hard of hearing people in her books as I don't feel that this is reflected on in fiction very often.

Overall this was a great read for fans of psychological thrillers and mysteries, and do not be put off if you have not read the first book in the series as this can definitely be read as a stand alone.

Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to listen to in return for an honest review

Audio version of this book 📚- This is the second book in this series. I enjoyed this one a lot more than the first one as there was a lot more story to it. I like the fact that it’s a police procedural but with the unusual twist of it being told by a BSL interpreter makes it very different to other police procedurals. My only criticism is that in some parts the main character Paige, becomes a little bit ‘Miss Marple’ for me, going off investigating on her own trying to solve the case and often coming up with ideas and information before the police ! As regards to the audio version of this book, i did find one of the narrators extremely difficult to understand, and as she was narrating the hours leading up to the murders , which I feel is quite an important part of the storyline, it made it in parts a difficult listen. This is in no way being discriminatory towards the narrator in anyway but I personally found it very difficult to understand her.

There were two starkly contrasting aspects to this audio book.

Firstly the story and development of the story were excellent, I found I was really engaged with the characters and the story, and couldn't wait to know what happened next. The final twist worked well, and I was completely wrong about who the murderer was, which I loved- I hate it when I can work out the twist beforehand. I would definiyely read more from this author, and found the plot refreshingly original. For the novel itself I would have given the book four stars.

Secondly, we have the negative side of this audiobook, which was the narration. It was completely flat and devoid of emotion. I loved the idea of using a deaf reader to represent the missing teenager, however it made it very difficult to hear the words, and I had to replay those sections several times to pick up the plot. It did become easier as the book went on, and I found my ear for that part of the narration. This was a very small part of the negative comments however, my main gripe was the dreadful main narration.

In conclusion, I would highly recomend the novel, but the audio book is not for me.

I

A unique thriller of a classic “whodunnit” set in a wintry snow filled backdrop. Leon, a 15 year old boarder at a mixed school for deaf children, has gone missing on a school trip. Paige, a British Sign Language interpreter has been hired by the police to assist in the investigation. Leon is one of a small group who board at the school because they are under a care scheme. The trouble is, they are a very close knit group and are suspiciously reticent during their police interviews. What secrets are they withholding? The case becomes more complicated with the murder of a teacher who initially went to look for Leon when his disappearance is discovered. I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook, the first for me from this author. The development of the investigation veers off in different directions and you may think you have guessed it but then something else happens to cast enough doubt to keep you guessing. I liked the main narration. I had a bit of trouble understanding the chapters by the deaf narrator in the beginning, however I found it added to the atmosphere of the story taking place within a deaf community and I soon got the gist. I would definitely recommend.

A clever suspenseful novel full of twists that keep you engaged and wanting to find out more. The story gripped and intrigued me right from the first chapter. The plot builds, the suspense is tense and the ending is definitely not one you see coming.
I would definitely recommend this book to friends.

This is hard to say but I didn’t like either narrator at all. I felt like I was back in class, painfully listening to people read when the teacher asks them to. The choice of a deaf narrator for the flashbacks was a brave choice and I understand the reasoning behind it; after all the majority of characters are deaf in this story. However, the narrator lacked expression, so even if I had understood every word, I still wouldn’t have enjoyed these chapters.
The story itself is good but, and this is a really big but, there were so many points where the narrative didn’t ring true, it left me bored. However, the author does understand abusive relationships. This part was extremely well written.

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.

Well, my fault for requesting this book since I really did not like this author's debut...

Again, it's all show, no tell. The main character/narrator has absolutely no trust on readers so she has to repeat every single detail over and over again, and has to draw conclusions as if she were talking to a bunch of toddlers. It's honestly so tiresome and unnerving...

Plus, the author's choice of writing in 1st person POV with a narrator who's not police, so not investigating here, turns this into an awkward travesty; she, as an interpreter, has absolutely no business in perhaps 70% of the situations and info here but of course she has to be there, to listen that, to witness this, to somehow be invited by the DI to be here and there...otherwise the plot won't move. It's so farfetched it's frankly ridiculous.

Well, now I know for sure that this is an author who I won't ever try again.

The audiobook narrators do a good job with such a flimsy material, though.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

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 listened to as a standalone.

I enjoyed meeting Paige and her role as a BSL interpreter gives the author plenty of leeway to do what she wants with this character. To that end I felt she was underused and we spent too long pondering how vile her ex boyfriend was. The chapters read by a deaf narrator, whilst very laudable and worthy, were almost incomprehensible. I tried everything, louder, softer, faster, slower, nothing helped. So basically every chapter narrated by the deaf narrator meant nothing to me as I had no clue what was happening. I persevered with the book because I feel books with deaf or blind heroes are few and far between. But because of the chapters that I couldn't understand, the ending didn't make any sense whatsoever. Whilst I applaud the use of a deaf narrator, this experiment hasn't worked and, in fact, spoiled the book for me.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book. I enjoyed the narration and the plot of the book. I hadn't read the previous book, and there are (I am presuming) spoilers for this book which may mean it is more enjoyable to read/listen to that one first. This book is as much about Paige (the main characters) life as it is the mystery, although these do intertwine. Paige herself was quite annoying at times, although I did feel empathy for her backstory and I did think the author was accurate in her depiction of how someone may respond in her situation e.g. life and emotional responses are not always straightforward. .

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It has been published in November 2020.

"Silent Night" by Nell Pattison is a breath of fresh air in a genre where it seems like everything has been written and some authors just keep recycling the same old stereotypes.
There's nothing stereotypical in this novel, that's for sure.
"Silent Night" is a unique thriller set in the deaf community, a world I knew almost nothing about before reading this book.
The descriptions feel totally authentic, you can tell the author knows what she's talking about when she describes the secret dynamics at play among a group of deaf teenage students.
I really enjoyed how human and flawed the characters are, especially Paige, the strong-willed protagonist and first-person narrator.
The premise was also very interesting, the plot well-thought-through and most of the twists managed to catch me by surprise.
Kudos to the author for bringing to the attention of the public a few things that don't usually find their way onto the pages of crime novels: financially abusive relationships and the structural ableism that permeates our society, showing itself in the smallest, most innocent aspects of life, like the difficulty of finding a subtitled movie in the cinemas on a weekend or getting a British Sign Language interpreter in hospital on short notice.
The only thing I didn't like were the flashbacks when the narrator of the audiobook switched from her normal voice to imitate a deaf fifteen-year-old boy: those parts were very difficult to understand--I had to keep going back and listening to the same few sentences again and again. I mean, it was a great idea to interpret the flashbacks that way, but maybe she overdid it a bit, because if your listeners can't understand what you're saying, then what good is it?
Aside from that, this was a highly enjoyable story, which left me looking forward to reading the next instalment in the series.

I so sorry I want the book not this but I got the book from tescp to read lived so good well written novel love the writting style was glue good plot fab characters I recommend to you all

The narrators in this audiobook were great. It was an interesting story with a few unexpected twists, but equally a few completely predictable ones. Paige was difficult to connect with and I found myself annoyed by her and pretty sure that in real life she’d be sacked. Alternatively I much preferred the character of Singh, and thought he was much more relatable. Overall, enjoyable and would read from this author again.

Don’t be mistaken like me that this is the silent-night-oh-holy-night-type that you thought it is, it has nothing to do with that I can assure you! I also didn’t know that this is a second part of a series but not to worry as it is a stand alone one.

The story started when the school for the deaf takes five teenagers for an overnight trip. One of them was missing the following morning and the head teacher was found dead in the snowy forest. Paige Northwood, a British Sign Language interpreter is brought in by the police to help in the interrogations of the students and staff. Everyone has motive for murder and Paige is certain the killer is among them ready and will do everything to kill again.

Since I listened to this one, I like the alternating view of Paige and the teenage deaf boy, I just had a little bit understanding some words but I still get the gist of it. I love the setting - snowy winter in the middle of a forest- just perfect for a mystery story. I like how the representation of the deaf community is used in the story and how easily they can be misunderstood. I got a bit frustrated with the characters having trust issues even with authorities but having remember they are teenagers. I would like to story to be centred on the mystery of missing boy and who the killer is rother than focusing on protagonist’s personal life but I guess that shifted your attention to who the real killer is. Overall, I still enjoyed this one. If you are looking for a fast-paced mystery / thriller read, it is worth checking this one out.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

A dead teacher and a missing child is the scene on a school trip for the deaf. Everybody has a motive but they also have alibis. Paige, a sign language interpreter, is recruited to help with the investigation. She uncovers lots of strange facts and she must work quickly in case the killer strikes again. An interesting insight into the world of deaf people. A gripping read.

The narrators did an amazing job, but I am saving my detailed version of this review for the physical copy.