The Silence

Longlisted for the New Blood Dagger Award 2021 'A darkly gripping and addictive read. I tore through it in a few days ESTHER FREUD 'Deeply engrossing an exquisite literary thriller PHILIPPA EAST Emotionally wrenching WALL STREET JOURNAL Impossible to put down TREVOR WOOD A missing woman 30 years ago, in the suffocating heat of a Sydney summer, the Greens next-door neighbour Mandy disappeared without a trace. A cold case reopened In 1997, in a basement flat in Hackney, Isla Green is awakened by a call in the middle of the night: her father is under suspicion of Mandys murder. A devastating secret How well does Isla know her father? Is he capable of doing something terrible? And is there another secret in their community a conspiracy of silence which stretches deep into Australias past? An atmospheric, convincing portrayal of the way that the decisions we make, both individually and collectively, reverberate down the years GUARDIAN Allott uses the scandal of Australias stolen children to devastating effect in this memorable debut SUNDAY TIMES 'A riveting mystery, beautifully unwound. The Silence excavates dark, decades-old secrets buried in human hearts, in families and in nations. I read it in one weekend ERIN KELLY An impressive and beautifully written, Australian-set debut with the devastating subject of the Stolen Generation at its core FIONA MITCHELL Tense, atmospheric and brilliantly paced. The Silence is fraught with disturbing secrets and powerful emotions. I loved it FRANCESCA JAKOBI A brooding, suspenseful debut SUNDAY MIRROR A suspenseful, beautifully crafted debut for fans of Celeste Ng and Jane Harper TELEGRAPH AUSTRALIA Intricate and suspenseful [a] stellar debut NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS