The Silence | Litsy

pick

Bk3 of August and #LitsySummerCampReadathon is done! I‘m giving this one a pick but it‘s really more halfway between pick & so-so. Set in a fictional seaside suburb of Sydney, it veers between ‘97 & ‘67 & tackles DV & the Stolen Generation. While it had the basis of a good story, I think the author bit off a bit more than she could chew. Still worth a read if you like Aussie mysteries. #Pageathon #PennyPerPage #BookspinBingo

dariazeoli, TheAromaofBooks, ImperfectCJ

ImperfectCJ Excellent work! Thank you so much for participating this week! 4y

squirrelbrain Great review! I read this a while ago and agree with you - I felt that the Stolen Generation narrative was somewhat lost in the rest of the novel. 4y

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 4y

CarolynM I agree that it could have been better than it was. There was a good story there, but it didn't feel authentic to me. Hope you're well and coping In lockdown😘 (edited) 4y

38 likes4 comments

CarolynM

The Silence | Susan Allott

pan

I'm the wrong audience for domestic thrillers. I'm just not willing to suspend disbelief as I do for other genres (romance, for example - disbelief, what's that?) so I pick at every little flaw. Nevertheless, I think I'm justified in disliking this particular book. It felt artificial or just wrong in many places (eg interactions with police) & I don't think occasionally referencing what's on the TV news is a convincing way of establishing period👇

Ruthiella I only read thrillers sparingly for that very reason. I have trouble with suspending my disbelief at the plot(s). (edited) 4y

CarolynM ☝️And I'm not at all comfortable about the way the book makes use of the stolen generation as a plot point. Some, but not all, of my issues with the book are probably explained by the author's note at the end says the writer is a Brit who "spent some time living in Sydney" in her twenties. 4y

CarolynM #Bookspin @TheAromaofBooks 4y

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CarolynM @Ruthiella I think the basic plot of this book is ok, but a lot of the way it's told really isn't. 4y

rockpools How disappointing. But your coffee looks good 😘 4y

JennyM I don‘t see many pans from you so I‘ll definitely be giving this a miss! 😘 4y

TheAromaofBooks Great review!! It's a shame, because I quite like the cover. 4y

squirrelbrain I read this as an ARC last year and also didn‘t really like it, for the same reasons that you gave. That plot point was uncomfortable to me too. 4y

squirrelbrain Although I just checked and I gave it a pick 😳 but I‘m not very good at giving negative reviews - should have been a so-so.... 4y

CarolynM @squirrelbrain I think her intentions were good in referencing the stolen generation, but I felt it was such a shallow representation that it felt a bit exploitative. Also, being asked to sympathise with the people doing the child stealing is a bit much. Mostly I don't like giving bad reviews either, but if I'm in a bad mood it comes a bit easier😆 4y

66 likes10 comments

EadieB

The Silence | Susan Allott

pick

Debut novel. Setting: Australia. Excellent writing. 1967 Joe Green & Mandy Mallory affair. 1997 Joe - suspect in her disappearance. We learn history of Aboriginal children who were removed from theIr homes in order to give them a better life. Some were taken care of - many were abused. Alternating timelines done smoothly. Characters well-drawn. Recommended. I‘m looking forward to reading more from this author. Thanks LibraryThing & William Morrow.

EadieB #TheSilence #SusanAllcott 5y

Cortg Sounds good! 5y

kellock This sounds great. I'm drawn to books set in Australia for some reason. Have stacked it for later 5y

59 likes2 stack adds3 comments

kezzlou85

The Silence | Susan Allott

pick

This was a dark read dealing with some hard issues like alcoholism and aboriginal children being removed from their homes. It's heavy and heartbreaking at times. The story was interesting though I had figured who killed Mandy. The plot was steady and jumps from present time to the past adding more depth to the story. It was hard to like the characters in this as they're all flawed but it added to the story. A dark but good read. #Netgalley 4*

43 likes

squirrelbrain

The Silence | Susan Allott

pick

#netgalley #arc

Isla‘s father calls from Australia in the middle of the night to tell her he is a suspect in the 30-year-old murder of their former neighbour.

Isla goes to Aus to find out what really happened. All of the characters are unreliable witnesses and the competing timelines make for an interesting mystery.

There is a sub plot about the forced removal of Aboriginal children by the authorities, but this potentially powerful ⬇️

squirrelbrain ⬆️ storyline is overshadowed by the mystery surrounding Mandy‘s disappearance, which is a shame. Also, none of the characters had any redeeming features, which did make for a depressing read, but still a pick! (Just not as good as any Jane Harper.... 😳) 5y

Crazeedi Interesting review, and I have totally enjoyed Harper's books 5y

Cinfhen Nice job on reading through the ARCs 5y

squirrelbrain I‘m trying to reach the magic #netgalley 80% ratio @cinfhen.... I only just realised it was a ‘thing‘ but now I know, I‘m onto it and getting there....😁 5y

77 likes1 stack add4 comments

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