A Conspiracy of Silence pulled me right in because early on, everyone is so close-mouthed…which, of course, makes them suspect to me.
After an evening of displaying confrontational and erratic behavior at home, fifteen-year-old Rachel Snyder disappears. On the same night twenty-year-old Bradley Watson is found in a local park… shot through the heart with an arrow.
On the surface, the two cases—a missing teen and a dead adult–don’t appear connected. She’s believed to be a runaway, and his drug-dealing past finally caught up with him.
However, much to the chagrin of DS Mark Webber, who handling Rachel’s case, the two investigations morph into one when it’s revealed that not only was Bradley a groundskeeper at Rachel’s school, but a photo memory card was found in his pocket full of pictures of Rachel that she did NOT pose for. With a promise to work as a team sharing information, DI Gillian Marsh combines the cases. Webber knows he’ll have a struggle on his hands because his superior is single-focused and unapologetic. She also doesn’t realize there’s no ‘I’ in team.
Gillian Marsh is also damn good at her job and gets results. She goes toe-to-toe with everyone, including her boss and anyone she questions during the investigation. The unflattering thoughts of some of the males she questions are quite telling. They don’t like her because they cannot intimidate her, and before it’s all over, they fear her because they realize nothing will stop her from finding the truth. While Gillian’s abrasive, caustic personality won’t win her any awards, family and coworkers understand that’s simply her personality. Nothing more, nothing less. And that personality will help her as she deals with;
Grieving parents,
A best friend, who wasn’t a best friend,
A boyfriend, who wasn’t a boyfriend,
A pompous headmaster who reeks of righteous indignation… and whiskey,
And a school full of privileged students who all claim to “barely” know the young girl who’s been their classmate for three years.
Gillian and company ride a roller-coaster of emotions with more deaths, a trial, an incredible verdict, and pressure from her boss to leave things as they are.
But Gillian’s gut instinct won’t let go and justice will not be denied. When the truth behind the deaths is revealed, all I could do was shake my head. The more things change, the more they stay the same… through the generations.
Well-written with strong characters, I enjoyed this fast-moving crime fiction after I adjusted to the author’s writing style, especially the side stories that showcased the personal side of some of the investigative team.
Enjoy!
SYNOPSIS
When a body is found in the grounds of a prestigious Wiltshire private school, DI Gillian Marsh takes on the case. The young groundsman, Bradley Watson, has been shot dead, pierced through the heart with an arrow.
As the investigation gathers pace, DI Marsh is frustrated to find the Whalehurst staff and students united in silence. This scandal must not taint their reputation. But when Gillian discovers pictures of missing Whalehurst pupil, fifteen-year-old Rachel Snyder, on Bradley’s dead body – photos taken on the night she disappeared, and he was murdered – the link between the two is undeniable.
But what is Whalehurst refusing to reveal? And does Gillian have what it takes to bring about justice?
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DI Marsh Series first four books – Swimming with Sharks, Nothing to Lose, Thicker than Blood and Sandman.
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