After the Silence: a twisty page-turner of deadly secrets and an unsolved murder investigation

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She forces us to confront not the darkest parts of relationships (particularly with men); rather she forces us to confront the greyest parts, the parts we seldom talk about because to admit they are present would be to admit our entire model of romance is broken. Her violent ex- husband from whom she is lucky to escape and find comfort in the arms of Henry, who slowly begins to control every aspect of her life. This book isn't a 'thriller' in the basic sense of the word but that's not Louise O'Neill's style and this book feels more along the lines of Liz Nugent's crime-writing. Switching between the past and the present, the story explores the events leading up to the murder and the lingering fallout ten years later, as a documentary crew arrives on the island to lift the lid on the families involved.

There is a huge emphasis on domestic violence, and while I think this is something not to be shied away from, the relevance to the story is weak at times.The way this controlling behaviour - the gaslighting and emotional manipulation - gradually escalates feels very true to life, and is all the more insidious for it. I thought I was reading a murder mystery thriller but it felt more like a noir version of Days of our Lives. Inisrun is a place where everyone’s business is everyone’s business, and the rumour mill is ever-churning. stars- This was a great read, very enjoyable and and thrilling read had me enthralled into it and hooked on every page such a page turner.

Billed as a psychological thriller, After the Silence is a crime novel but not an entirely conventional one. So when Henry begins to control her, to encourage her not to leave Inisrún, cut her off from her credit cards, her phone, her friends, medicate her—all “for her own good”—and because he does it gradually enough, Keelin doesn’t see what’s going on. First off big ol content warning for domestic abuse - both physical and psychological and coercion/controlling relationship.I think this novel brilliantly examines how abusive relationships manifest differently, and how easy it is for anyone to become trapped in one, regardless of circumstance or knowledge of certain behaviours. No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins. The book focuses on Henry and Keelin Kinsella, whose lives changed forever when a young woman, Nessa Crowley's lifeless body lay in their garden after a wild birthday party at their big house. Of course, as in any good murder mystery, it turns out a number of people could have been motivated to commit the crime. I also really enjoyed how inherently Irish the book feels, through her use of Irish and chapters told from the perspective of the island and its people.

While it may cause others to need to check a word here and there in a dictionary it really added to the atmosphere of the book. When the truth is revealed at the end, it isn’t the big twisty shocker some readers – myself included – would have been hoping for. Foley has given the book her nod of approval and they make good companion reads, both landing us in a very harsh and ominous environment, cut off from the safety of the mainland, places struggling to overcome the violence of the past, and with the threat of more to come. Unafraid to depict the exhausting reality of caring, her timely story is compassionate and humane, judiciously blending the personal with the political; as she eloquently argues, “care is a feminist issue”.

The resentment of the islanders towards the wealthy Kinsella family comes across loud and clear with plenty of tension, suspicion and mistrust. The flashback style is usually great for me, but there was no indication to the reader that it was a different time to the previous paragraph, or how much time had passed. When morning broke Nessa Crowley’s lifeless body lay in the garden, her last breath silenced by the music and the thunder. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

Keelin Kinsellsa and her husband Henry live an enviable life in “the big house” on the island of Inisrún. The story is set on an insular Irish island meaning Irish culture -both traditions and language - is hugely important to the population. Her every relationship seems toxic and abusive, whether by outright violence or more insidious coercive control. Now a documentary crew has arrived to the Irish island of Inisrún to interview all those involved - including Henry and Keelin Kinsella - and possibly discover who is keeping the most secrets from the night the three Crowley girls became two. In this bold, brilliant, disturbing new novel Louise O’Neill shows that deadly secrets are devastating to those who hold them close.Now a documentary team of two from Australia have arrived to hopefully shed some light on that fateful night in an attempt to uncover what really happened. Once again, the book is spot on in relation to the (not so) subtle ways misogyny plays out in our media and cultural modes of thinking from gendered ageing and appearance ('there were no comments about Henry's appearance, she noticed. The Tandem Collective question cards really got me thinking and I thought they were very well thought out. Nota: Los envíos a España peninsular, Baleares y Canarias se realizan a través de mensajería urgente.