DEAD SILENT a gripping detective thriller full of suspense

Product Information

Dead Wrong” by Helen H. Durrant, is the first in a new series of detective thrillers featuring police partners , D.I. Tom Calladine and D.S. Ruth Bayliss. I decided to read these three books in the series; Dead Wrong, Dead Silent and Dead List, before I started a new series by this author (Dark Murder). This is my first read of any novel by author Helen H Durrant but I was drawn in by her writing style and flawed but believable characters. Written with skill and in-depth characterization, this is just the kind of mystery I love to read. That being said, I must warn you that the novel is graphically violent and is not for the squeamish. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad book. The story line is good. It is well written. It just failed to grip me like it should have and like I expected it to. I never quite got that excited, "go away, leave me alone, I am reading a really good book" feeling, which was a pity as the storyline shows so much promise. This book opens with a 'grab you by the throat and pulls you in' kind of start, which I absolutely loved, that being said, I had to sit and read it in one sitting with hardly leaving my seat until I finished it. It really did keep you trying to figuring out who the killer was. I was still trying to figure it out very late in the book, and I like that. Knowing who the killer is right off the bat is not for me, and I would never have guessed who the killer was.

It’s a horrifying sight. The body of an elderly woman is carefully posed on the altar. There’s gaffer tape over her mouth, her hands are crossed over her chest, tied together with white ribbon. A single white rose is placed between her fingers.Calladine is suffering. His mother has died and Lydia has gone the last person he needs to see at his Mother's funeral is Fallon, his wayward cousin. Then he is called away to a murder. It becomes a game of cat & mouse as police scramble for clues before the madman grabs another victim. I figured out who the killer was early on but the motivation for his spree wasn't clear 'til the end.

Someone is targeting students from the USA…A serial killer, a local, hunting students who look like a woman he calls “Vida”. Ruth Bayliss is in her mid-thirties, plain-speaking but loyal. She wishes she had more time for the gym and a love life. She uses her demanding workload as an excuse not to try too hard with the men she meets. I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for allowing me an advance copy of Dead Lost, the latest addition to the Calladine and Bayliss series of police procedurals.

Detective Inspector Tom Calladine and Detective Sergeant Ruth Bayliss were called to a gruesome find at the local playground in Leesdon, England. A plastic bag with human fingers inside was the beginning of a horrific and brutal crime spree by a psychopathic killer who had no thought for his victims. Calladine and Bayliss were sure the crime was connected to the Hobfield housing estate where drug sales, criminals and the poor came together in one big area of poverty and illegal activities. Dead Silent by Helen Durrant is this month’s read over at the Kindle English Mystery Club on Goodreads. This is book 2 in the Calladine and Bayliss series. I have not read Book 1 so this is my introduction to the characters. The main protagonist of Calladine is a good character with conflicts occurring in his love life, in his relationship with his adult daughter, in the impact having a criminal relative is having on his career and in dealing with the death of his mother and her deathbed revelations. All this and a missing child and mysterious, horribly tortured body found at the scene of an auto accident. The writing is exact, taut. She has breathed life into her characters. DI Calladine is dealing with personal problems, as well as work problems. He has a girlfriend, of sorts, that he's trying to break up with. His elderly mother is in a home and is having some health problems. His second in command DS Ruth Bayliss makes a great cop, but she doesn't take any guff off him. Tom's commanding officer is incompetent. And then there's the beautiful news reporter who wants an exclusive.