T
itle: Hold your tongue
Author: Deborah Masson
Genre: Police Procedural
# of pages: 414
Expected Date of publication: 26th Dec 2019
DI Eve Hunter is already fighting her guilt and past demons. Unbeknown to her, things will soon turn for the worse. First day back at work Eve is drawn into a case involving the brutal murder of an eighteen-year-old girl. Few of her colleagues are not so happy with her return to the job. With things running against her and a serial killer on the loose, will it push DI Eve Hunter to the edge or will she come out of this mess with hope?
Chapter 1 of the book starts with Eve sitting with her police therapist, trying to navigate her way of it. There starts the backstory for Eve and a few other characters. The entire setting is intriguing. Only as the story moves forward, the reader is plunged into a deeper mystery. Each of the murders is very well described by giving the reader time and pace to understand the intricacies of the crime scene.
The killer narrates some parts, unknown to the reader, until the end. The ending comes as a perfect surprise, not the scene itself but the culprit. The book runs through a maze of unforeseen twists and turns. It will keep you on your heels throughout the book.
Other than DI Hunter, the writer introduces the reader to other characters who are part of her team. Each of the characters takes a justified amount of time. They have been given adequate space to grow throughout the book. Like, DC Mearns holds prejudices against Hunter even though she’s working for her the first time. Eve is not depicted as a hero. She’s flawed, but she has the zeal to pull through the worst and overcome her guilt.
The book has varied central theme. It ranges from abuse, guilt and prejudices based on hearsay. The author handles these topics through surreal narration. The writer uses smooth writing to project these topics to the reader.
For a debut novel, Deborah Masson is right on the spot with the writing and the narration. I’d highly recommend this book.
Thanks to Penguin Random House UK and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book to read.
My rating: 3.5 stars
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