10 November 2016

Review #552: The Silent Ones by Ali Knight



My rating: 2 of 5 stars


“A secret's worth depends on the people from whom it must be kept.”

----Carlos Ruiz Zafón



Ali Knight, an English author, is back again with yet another enticing psychological thriller, The Silent Ones that revolves around the abduction of five teenage girls by a strange woman who confessed in the kidnappings and murders of those missing girls but never confessed in the whereabouts of their bodies or how she killed them, ten years down the line, the brother of one of the girl's launches his self investigation find out the truth behind her sister's disappearance.




Synopsis:

He'll do whatever it takes to find his missing sister.

Darren Evans was only eleven when his beloved sister Carly and four other teenage girls disappeared, sparking a huge police investigation.

Eventually, a woman confessed to their murders. But although she admitted her guilt, Olivia Duvall refused to say what had happened to those five missing girls. Or where their bodies might lie.

Ten years later, Darren's family are still no closer to the truth. Desperate to alleviate his parents' heartbreak, Darren gets a job as a cleaner in the psychiatric hospital where Olivia was committed, hoping he can make her tell him his sister's fate once and for all.

But playing a killer is a very dangerous game.



Darren Evans, a 21 year old fresh college graduate applies for a cleaner job on false identity in the Roehampton Hospital, a prison hospital for the mentally insane criminals, where Olivia Duvall, the woman who confessed to the crime of killing Darren's elder sister, Carly along with four other teenage girls, who disappeared ten years ago, but without the confession of the whereabouts about the deceased girls' bodies or about the knowledge on how she killed those girls, is doing her time. Darren needs to find out about his missing or presumed to be murdered sister, just for the sake of his ailing parents. And for that Darren needs to take a leap on to a dangerous road where he can become the next victim for getting so close to such a notorious killer like Olivia.

Having read Knight's previous book, Until Death, I was pretty much certain that this time too I will feel that same subtle kind of rush or thrill that I got while reading her previous book. In fact, this time, the thrill is extreme right at the very start and it immediately manage to pull me into the heart of the story as a result, I could not afford to look away from the story even for a singly moment, but when the climax arrived, I felt like throwing the book hard against the wall. I mean the story traversed a downward spiral path to dullness and boredom yet I stuck on with hope that somewhere there will be a major twist to say that whatever I read in the climax is all wrong. But alas!

The writing style of the author is quite well structured and articulate, that instantly made me fall for such a clever plot. The narrative style is what got me hooked into the story, as it is challenging as well as mysterious. The mood that the author set in with her sentimental yet alluring prose was brilliantly dark, scary and in one word, exciting. Until the climax, I was left with a strong anticipating feeling as to what will happen and will Darren find his sister, then all of those feelings simply washes away from the mind. The plot builds up at a quicker pace till the climax and then it comes crumbling down like a house of cards.

The twists that the author created, are striking enough to fall for them and moreover, the way she delivered them into her story is really brilliant. And the more I tried to find out what happened with Carly and the rest of the missing girls, the more I got twisted up in knots and puddles of mystery. So the mystery part was pretty engaging. enough to keep the readers turning the page till the very pathetic climax.

The characters are partially well developed, the more the readers will try to steal a peek into the minds of the characters, the less they will get to know them by their deepest desires. The main character, Darren's demeanor felt a bit sombre and not to mention, the pain he felt, after the abduction and murder of his elder sister along with the immense grief that he suffered from which he never manged to pull himself out of it. Yet Darren is brave, quick witted and extremely clever who manages to lure himself into the killer's lair. Darren's quest for his sister is filled with lots of twisted puzzles that keeps getting more complex at each step of the his way. Olivia is a vague character, the readers will barely get to know the soul and mind of such a flawed and psychologically challenged character. It feels if a bit more depth has been portrayed in her mannerism, then she would have made a really interesting character. Rest of the characters are not worth remembering.

In a nutshell, this is an okayish thriller which falls out of line right near the climax and wipes out all the anticipation, excitement and the thrill from the hearts and the minds of its readers.

Verdict: I prefer reading her previous novels, rather than wasting time on this boring and pointless thriller.
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Author Info:
I'm the author of four psychological thriller novels , the latest, The Silent Ones, is out in paperback on January 28th. My other books are Wink Murder, named by The Independent as 'One of their best commercial reads of 2011'; The First Cut, 'One of the top ten crime books to take on holiday,' according to The Telegraph; and Until Death, 'A gripping read,' The Sunday Mirror.
I love reading and writing and getting feedback from readers. I live in London with my husband, kids and a psychotic cat.
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