The Silent House is the debut novel from Nell Pattison. A very intriguing, enjoyable and sinister thriller. It has a different slant on the standard police procedural thriller as it is told from the perspective of a BSL interpreter within the Deaf community.
If someone was in your house, you’d know … Wouldn’t you?
The Hunter family are Alan and Elisha with children Jaxon, Lexi and Kasey. Whilst everyone is asleep someone murders 18-month-old Lexi, but there is no sign of any break in and no one hears a thing – which is not surprising as they are all deaf.
With a communication barrier and the police in need to question the members of the household, Paige Northwood, a BSL interpreter, is called in to interpret as the rest of the household are possible witnesses or perhaps perpetrators. Everyone is understandably in shock, but Paige senses that the Hunters are hiding something.
All the investigation progresses, more of the Deaf community are under suspicion and Paige unwilling gets deeper involved. This sees her to start receiving threats to keep her nose out. But why would someone feel the need to threaten her? Why would someone kill a toddler and for what purpose? It could start getting very dangerous for Paige.
Overall, The Silent House is an excellent debut novel from Nell Pattison. It is intriguing, hard to put down and a really enjoyable read. Told from the point of view of a BSL interpreter, the Deaf community and culture it is insightful and diverse and introduces a fantastic element into a crime thriller. The disturbing concept does make it a very enthralling read, giving it the edge over novels in the same genre with its uniqueness.
There is a layer of complexity that keeps you guessing without being overblown or totally unbelievable. The characters are built up very well, slowly revealing more and more about them and their past, keeping you involved in the story.
There are a few twists and turns that will make you change your mind as to who the murderer is although I had already guessed who it was early in the book only to change my mind a couple of times.
With a lot of focus on sign language and the Deaf community, it has been written extremely well and without portraying deafness in a negative way.
Nell Pattison has written a very chilling and disturbing crime thriller with a unique concept. The characters feel very real and the angle from the Deaf community is extremely refreshing. With a cast of many suspects, a majority of who are deaf, it really will keep you up late into the night as it is really hard to put down.
I really enjoyed The Silent House. Whilst some may not like reading a story about the murder of a toddler, it has been handled very well and sensitively, focusing more on the motive, who did it and the investigation of several suspects rather than going into detail of the actual murder.
A very creative story and an excellent debut novel. I look forward to reading more by Nell Pattison in the future.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £7.99 (Paperback)
Available to buy from Amazon here.
DISCLOSURE: I was provided with a free copy of this book for the purposes of writing a honest and impartial review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This review uses an affiliate link which I may receive a small commission from if you purchase through the link.