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emmascr's review
5.0
This story follows Beth Young she has just joined FMIT. A serious crime unit. Beth is extremely bright and a lot of the time her brain works things out before she can articulate them in a way that everyone else can understand. Beth spots connections long before others and this has got her a spot on FMIT. I think that Beth has quite a story to tell us and although we have heard some of it in this book I'm looking forward to hearing more of it.
This is the first book I have read by this author. I really enjoyed Graham's writing style. Graham built up the mystery with chapters from unknown perspectives which kept me guessing for a long time.
I enjoyed getting to know Beth and the rest of FMIT. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of Beth and the rest of the team. I'm especially looking forward to seeing Beth grow in confidence and believe in herself and her ideas.
zooloo1983's review against another edition
4.0
So I have been “shouted” shall I say from a fellow blogger (Eva, she is going to disown me soon ahem!) that I have not read Graham’s other series of Jack Boulder, so this a complete introduction to the author and the series. Wow!!! This man can write (obviously), the words flowed and I was hooked from the opening scenes.
The main voice of the book is DC Beth Young, however through the short snappy chapters, there are two unknown chilling male voices. One the women find as a creep looking for his angels, and one where the women want to through themselves at him, but both so sinister.
We have a gruesome start and it is not how everyone pictures their wedding day! Finding a body, a murdered man, and then we meet the team. Beth is an intelligent and observant woman, trying to find her place in her new team of FMIT. Her boss DI Zoe O’Dowd (fab name by the way!), is basically a ball breaker and it was refreshing to see two women lead the way. You have DS Thompon and DC Unthank both with their flaws, however, this team works. The way Beth’s brain works, how she sees things and interprets them was fascinating to see her thought process. I love police procedural books as I have said before, I love seeing the “behind the scenes” and how the team works together, working the clues.
Time is of the essence in this book as I was racing to find out what was going on, trying to figure out who these unknown voices were, but at the same time a little nervous to discover who it is! Peeking out behind the cushions and listening to the sounds in the house, is how much this had me on edge at times!
As I said this is the first book in the series, and wham bam it starts us on an intense rollercoaster of a journey and it awesome! I can not wait for the next book! I also look forward to meeting Jack too.
noveldeelights's review against another edition
4.0
The Silent Dead introduces us to Beth Young, who has just recently started working at the Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT). Beth is indeed young, determined and ambitious. Spurred on by the scars she carries herself, her main focus is justice for the victims and their families whose lives have been changed forever because of a crime.
When the body of a man is found in a derelict mansion, Beth and the rest of the FMIT team face an uphill battle. Who is the victim? Why was his body left in this particular place? What did he do that could possibly warrant such an incredibly gruesome death? Like seriously! This is one of those times where I curse my vivid imagination! Anyway, it becomes clear quite early on that the killer has a plan and they won’t stop until their mission is completed.
The investigation is an utterly frustrating one, a feeling I very much shared with the team. I wasn’t able to connect the dots at all and was left to think I was missing vital clues somewhere. But Beth has an uncanny way of thinking slightly out of the box, which is pretty admirable. Despite that, I didn’t really like her all that much, although I can’t quite put my finger on the why. That said though, I really enjoyed following a character at the start of their career as opposed to an experienced and often disillusioned DI.
The Silent Dead has a great plot and crisp writing, as I’ve come to expect from Graham Smith. Tense and compelling, it creates the perfect foundation for a brand-new series and is an exciting and brilliant first instalment. Beth has a rather different background than most of the detectives we tend to meet in this genre and it will be interesting to see how that develops. If at all. I can’t wait to see where Graham Smith takes Beth and this series next.
nahnsen's review against another edition
2.0
It was a struggle from first to last page. I just couldn't get in to the story. I bought the next book in the series, but I honestly don't want to read it.
ljwrites85's review against another edition
4.0
DC Beth Young has just been transferred to the prestigious FMIT unit, clever and ambitious she especially wants to impress her boss DI Zoe O’Dowd and prove that’s she meant to be there.
A body turns up at a manor house with a pair of wings attached killed in a way that even the experienced officers have never seen before.
More bodies turn up and it’s a race against time to unravel the mystery before the brutal killer claims another victim.
So this is actually my first Graham Smith novel, he’s been on my radar for a while, I even own a couple of his earlier novels that I’ve yet to read (yes, I know I have a problem!). I have also been told that this is first novel featuring a female lead character which I felt was a nice bonus!
This is a solid police procedural with plenty of red herrings, realistic characters and brutal murder. The murders themselves were unusual too, having victims with wings attached to the their backs was definitely a new one for me!
Beth is a forthright and intelligent character. A former model who ended up getting glassed in the face when she was younger but instead of that setting her back, she forged ahead to the career that she really wanted to become a police officer. She also has a problem with her mouth not being quite as quick as her brain, with a tendency to spit out words in no particular order, which happens to me occasionally!
While we get inside the characters head, Beth’s especially, her introspection tended to get a little rambly and threatened to lose my attention. Also and this is just me being picky I didn’t really appreciate the slightly lazy Liverpudlian stereotype of one or the minor characters,.i.e. we’re all troublemakers who put the word like after every sentence.
Overall The Silent Dead is a puzzling yet gruesome mystery with an interesting cast of characters that will keep you guessing until the end.
sarahs_bookish_life's review against another edition
5.0
Beth is the rookie of the crime team but apart from a few teething problems at the start, she certainly earns her place to be part of it. She has her own demons to battle but is made of stern stuff and I enjoyed seeing how the rest of the team start to appreciate having her around.
The murders are extremely twisted and have to say I was absolutely gripped as we see the killer choosing their victims. It sure does get the adrenaline pumping making me want to scream and shout to the characters to tell them to watch out.
The Darling Dead is a sophisticated and gripping read that will send your heart racing. This is an author who knows exactly what a crime fan expects from a book and he delivers every time. A thrilling and twisted read and no better way to kick off a brand new crime series.
My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
cheryl59's review against another edition
5.0
meggyroussel's review against another edition
4.0
Graham Smith is a force to be reckoned with. When I learned he was working on a new series, I was quite excited. I had discovered his writing through the Jake Boulder books and greatly enjoyed them. A new project meant getting to know Graham Smith better.
DC Beth Young is new to the major crime team. Scarred unlike any other police officer, she has this little thing that makes her different. Her mind is wired in a way that explores crimes like puzzles and she sees things even seasoned detectives could miss. Actually, her behavior and train of thoughts could easily be those of a DI! Now, she’s is no super hero and from the start, she gets the treatment newbies have to endure to prove they belong to the top team of the police force. This balance is what makes Beth an easy character to appreciate. She’s not cocky, but she’s not a tiny innocent lamb either.
While being a woman officer is more common now than it was years ago, Beth still has a lot to do to find her place in the team. I liked the fact Graham Smith chose to let us follow a new member instead of throwing us into a world already set with personalities and dynamics fixed and ready to roll. It was refreshing to get to know everyone, from the big boss to her colleagues, through cracks coming from personal lives as well as the case they’re working on and the new eyes of a woman who may be new but is also kind and observant.
I was eager to see what the author would come up with in terms of plot. I have devoured the fast-paced Boulder series and I know he weaves intricate webs but police procedurals are made of a different skin. Graham Smith took up the challenge and this new series has everything I like in my favourite genre! The sometimes gruesome (for my fragile heart) descriptions of the dead bodies had a big impact on me, and the details put into the killer’s rituals had me so repulsively intrigued!!! I just wanted to dissect every piece of information and find my way into the culprit’s mind. Well, Beth had similar goals! The investigation was twice as intense as we both played the game, although Beth is much smarter than I am. There was a rush to find who was behind the murders, but as real life wants it, the case takes time, effort, and lots of paperwork. I loved the awful feeling coming from the urgency to protect civilians and find answers and the realistic pace used by the team to solve this massive bloody puzzle.
Cleverly scattered among the case’s days are chapters from two unnamed men related to the occurring events. They made me uncomfortable, they puzzled me, they left me feeling unsettled. Talk about an evil killer and a race against time. They sent shivers down my spine and made my blood pressure rocket!
As always, characterization is another of Graham Smith’s strong suits. Some moments took me by surprise, but I think they were essential to show Beth’s human side, as well as to remind us that having spent many years in the force doesn’t make you a cold monster, and that the shell police officers often have to use to protect themselves from the horrors they see is not as hard as they seem.
Death in the Lakes is the gripping start of a new series and I am dying to meet DC Beth Young again!
nietzschesghost's review against another edition
3.0
The premise was a sound one but unfortunately, it was lacking in terms of execution. This makes me sad to say as the concept was so, so good. If you enjoy dark, disturbing and brutal crime fiction then this may be a perfect fit for you. I hope in the second book we get to know much more about Beth and see her character develop and evolve over the passage of time. I also hope the perpetrator is as twisted and intriguing as he was here.
Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.