I love a good mystery, and a British mystery even more.
This was indeed a good mystery.
Silent Falls follows Jack Kent, a detective and a world renowned climber, has landed her first murder case. She realizes quickly that a rash of break-ins and this murder are connected and a fellow climber has to be involved.
Jack also has her own demons that she's dealing with as she tries to fit the pieces of this puzzle together. The crime scene prompts harrowing memories for Jack, who’s still haunted by the death of her best friend Hannah, someone she secretly loved,killed on a mountain only months before. Jack lived that day while Hannah died beside her. Night after night, she relives her friend’s final moments in her dreams.
Her father fell to his death on his one and only solo climb, her Sargent is acting odd and goes M.I.A., her family is less than supporting of her sexuality, or her life in general.
Jack Kent is a force to be reconned with. Yes she is an LGBTQ character but that is as important to the story as it would be if she were straight. She just is, and that's how I personally like it.
As a protagonist she is also someone you come to care about. Someone you want 5o know more about because you know there is more to tell.
She grabbed me right away and I cheered for her to win from the first moment.
I can't wait for the Author, Nicky Downes to write the next book, I what promises to be a stellar series.
This will grip you and dig in until you find out who the killer is.
Highly recommend.
Thanks to @netgalley for the change to listen to the watch of this audiobook in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I love a good crime novel and was intrigued by the premise of Silent Fall. Detective Jack Kent is an elite mountaineer as well as a police officer, and has the opportunity to use her mountaineering skills to solve the investigation of peculiar burglaries where the perpetrator is entering the apartments by scaling several stories and entering via balconies. One burglary seems to go array, where a woman is found dead, which leads to Jack unravelling

The narrative alternates between Jack's third-person perspective and the burglar-turned-killer's first-person account, a structure that lends depth to the plot, spanning events from 1993 to the present. While the story establishes the crime before its motive, giving it a procedural feel, it's the engaging and complex characterisation that truly stands out. As the inaugural installment of a series, we're introduced to various characters and dynamics, notably Jack's tumultuous relationship with her superior – a trope that takes an unexpected twist in this tale. DS Nadia Begum, Jack's partner, also carries mysteries of her own, which promise to further develop in sequels. Jack's dual life as a mountaineer and a detective might raise eyebrows in terms of realism, but it serves as an avenue for vivid climbing descriptions and a poignant backstory involving a tragic climbing accident.

Overall, it's an intriguing crime novel. I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Emma Wilkes. I thoroughly recommend a listen.

Many thanks to Dreamscape Select, Storm Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of this audiobook. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Detective Jack Kent is recovering from a terrible climbing accident where her best friend died. She struggles not only with her physical but also pychical recovery!
Eitherway she gets called to help investigate a series of high-rise break and enters because who if not she could find out how the culprits got in??

Silent Fall is the 1st in the Detective Jacqueline “Jack” Kent series by Nicky Downes and we get to know a strong woman who tries to get back on track after this tragedy!
There is still a lot left to find out about her, so I am looking forward to more books to come in this series!

Thank you #NetGalley #Dreamscape Select, Storm Publishing for this audiobook

Silent Fall (Detective Jack Kent Book 1) by Nicky Downes
Publisher: Storm Publishing
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), LGBTQIAP+
Expected Publication Date: September 5, 2023

Silent Fall is the first book in the Detective Jack Kent series by Nicky Downes and I am hooked!

I absolutely loved the characters and found the storyline to be original! I can't wait to read the next book!

I definitely recommend reading this book!!!

The narration by Emma Wilkes was incredible!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting mystery and I enjoyed Jack as the main character. It did take a little bit to get into this story because at first Jack was just investigating robberies, but after the robber turned into a murderer things got very interesting. I like the murderer’s POV chapters because they were creepy.

I’m torn because I did enjoy the characters in the book. This just felt like a book later in the series. It felt like there were parts mentioned that we should have know about but it was just mentioned in passing. (It felt like a call back when it really is the 1st mention) also the stories were meddled. Too much going on to know where to focus on. Once the killer was figured out I barely remembered them. And then the first case I’m not even sure it was fully wrapped up but maybe that will be mentioned in the next book?

I will definitely read the next book because I think the characters are strong enough to pull a long, long series.

This was a 3.5 star for me but I will round up to 4.

As a rockclimber I really enjoyed the immense amount of detail provided in the story, and also felt a lot of the emotion and fear described throughout the book. Rock climbing accidents are real, and devastating and claim many lives, and the way Hannah's death touched Jack, and the way Jack has to grapple with it throughout the book is poignant and raw. I thought the murder mystery aspect was gripping, and it's so refreshing to see queer representation in a murder mystery book!

This was my first Nicky Downes book and I enjoyed it. I like to tie in of the climbing community.

The woman lay on her back, her large, intelligent eyes fixed on the ceiling above, her pale hair fanned out beneath her like a halo. Around her, the room was peaceful and clean, with morning light dappling the cream carpet. She might have been merely resting… but Ana Marlova’s heart would never beat again. When the body of a beautiful and wealthy doctor is discovered in her high-rise apartment – all alone with the doors locked from the inside – nobody can understand how or why her life has been so brutally cut short. Detective Jacqueline “Jack” Kent may have never worked a murder case before, but that’s not going to stop her trying. It seems Ana’s murderer may have scaled the ten-story building to get in – and Jack should know. As an elite climber herself, it’s a set of skills that only a handful of people have. This can’t be the killer’s first innocent victim, and if Jack doesn’t act fast, it won’t be their last. Jack throws herself into the investigation, determined to beat the twisted climber at their own game. But the crime scene prompts harrowing memories for Jack, who’s still haunted by the death of her best friend Hannah, killed on a mountain only months before. Jack lived that day while Hannah died beside her. Night after night, she relives her friend’s final moments in her dreams. When the body of another victim is found, it’s clear that someone evil is trying to get Jack’s attention. Could the killer be one of her own close circle of friends from childhood? As the lines between her personal and professional life blur, Jack must confront the demons of her own past to stop a cold-blooded killer from striking again. Detective Jack Kent is a heroine who grabs you and doesn’t let go.

Silent Fall (Detective Jack Kent #1) by Nicky Downes (Goodreads Author)
4 SOLID STARS ****
Bookshelves/tags: 2023, audio, audiobook, contemporary, crime-mysteries, england, feminism, lgbtqia, netgalley, read, thrillers, women-centered, strong female lead

A big thank you to the author, Nicky Downes, Storm Publishing, and NetGalley for this well-done audiobook ARC, which is narrated by Emma Wilkes. I stayed up way late one night because I just couldn't put this one down!

This exciting book, set in England, features a new female detective by the name of Jack Kent, who happens to be one of the top professional 🧗‍♂️ mountain climbers. Jack has just been put in charger of her first case and she wants this so much, which tells you everything about what a strong, competent, intelligent woman she is and that Jack has been waiting for this promotion and opportunity. What a massive combination of skills this woman has coping with her own personal problems and responsibilities, while working in a new, high-powered position that causes her some flashbacks and pain of recent and past personal tragedies.

This crime-thriller is well done and full of twists and turns. It's at least two stories in one as we learn about Jack's personal life, including the recent death of her beloved partner, with Jack currently working on back-to-back cases. One is a rape case involving a local politician, while the other case is an odd and mysterious "burglary turned murder" that is super twisty. The burglary case is set in a high-rise that hasn't been broken into in an obvious way since all of the doors are locked. Jack begins to wonder if a professional climber could have done it, which then leads to memories and flashbacks about her recently deceased partner, as well as her father, an expert, professional climber, who trained and mentored Jack, and died in a freak climbing accident.

Finally, I enjoyed and appreciated that Nicky Downes created a diverse and interesting group of characters who are presented with numerous conflicts between female/male police, deal with gender, feminism, race, religion, sexual preference, and don't forget....really unscrupulous people.

Best news: This book is #1 in this new jack Kent series. I'm ready for #2.

I enjoyed listening 🎧 to the book. I'm gonna check out the rest of the series. This author was need to me.

Book 1 in a new series

This is a short book with a lot of random things going on. I feel like if the focus had been narrower, it would have been a better story.

The book opens with DI Jack Kent closing a rape case, one committed by the mayor-elect's son. This case remains relevant throughout the book.

Then she gets a robbery case- one where the perpetrator breaks in by climbing the exterior. Jack happens to be a rock climber. So, we honestly get more random rock climbing scenes than ones about the crime.

Plus, on top of all that, Jack is dealing with a traumatic event that is only alluded to until the end.

Oh, yeah, plus the death of her father years ago is all of a sudden suspicious.

So, in this relatively short book, you basically have several major storylines. This is a series, and multiple storylines would work in a later book, when characters and events are established and known. But as a first book? No. I mean, it wasn't terrible. But it also never focused enough on anything for me to be truly invested.

The audiobook is narrated by Emma Wilkes. No complaints on that front.

I received an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was very pleased to be provided by this ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

I enjoyed this book, it really reminded me of old school Val McDermid books. I loved the LGBTQ+ characters and their relationships were well formed and believable.

The crime parts of the book I loved but the climbing sections and explanations I found boring and would have liked to skip over them. Also it felt like the narrator kept name dropping mountain ranges which I found a bit odd, but I am not a climber. I am excited to see how subsequent books progress if there is not another climbing killer.