Quiet Acts of Violence – Cath Staincliffe

A dead baby. A missing mother. A cradle of secrets.

From the author of the Scott and Bailey series, Quiet Acts of Violence is a novel about family and betrayal, injustice and poverty, the ties that bind and those that break us.

Has the woman killed her child? Is she at risk to herself? Someone in the neighbourhood of old terraced streets has the answers. But detectives Donna Bell and Jade Bradshaw find lies and obstruction at every turn, in a community living on the edge, ground down by austerity and no hope. A place of broken dreams. Of desperation. And murder.

When a stranger crashes into Jade’s life, her past comes hurtling back, threatening to destroy her and the world she has carved out for herself.

Donna struggles to juggle everything: work, marriage, kids. It’s a precarious balancing act, and the rug is about to be pulled from under her.

About the Author: Cath Staincliffe is a best-selling, award-winning novelist, radio playwright and the creator of ITV’s hit series, Blue Murder, starring Caroline Quentin as DCI Janine Lewis. Cath’s books have been short-listed for the British Crime Writers Association best first novel award, for the Dagger in the Library and selected as Le Masque de l’Année.

In 2012 Cath won the CWA Short Story Dagger for Laptop, sharing the prize with Margaret Murphy with her story The Message. Cath was shortlisted again with Night Nurse in 2014. Cath’s Sal Kilkenny private eye series features a single-parent sleuth working the mean streets of Manchester. Trio, a stand-alone novel moved away from crime to explore adoption and growing up in the 1960s, inspired by Cath’s own experience.

Letters To My Daughter’s Killer was selected for Specsavers Crime Thriller Book Club in 2014 and featured on ITV3s Crime Thriller Club. Cath also writes the Scott & Bailey novels based on the popular UK TV series.

Cath’s latest stand alone book, The Girl in the Green Dress, was inspired by her experience as the parent of a transgender child. It tells the story of a transphobic hate crime and asks the question: how far would you go to protect your child? Cath is one of the founding members of Murder Squad – a group of Northern crime writers who give readings, talks and signings around the country. Cath was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, UK and now lives in Manchester, Lancashire with her family. You can follow her on Twitter, @CathStaincliffe, which she does when she should be busy writing!

My Review:

When Cath Staincliffe contacted me recently to ask if I would read her new book and be on the blogtour it was an absolute YES of course from me as I have read and adored her standalone books.  She mentioned that her latest book Quiet Acts of Violence was a sequel to The Girl in The Green Dress which was an incredibly powerful and emotional read for me back in November 2018 (read my full review here)

I didn’t read the blurb for this book before starting it so I went in without any expectations except knowing it was written by Cath it would be an emotional ride and I wasn’t wrong.

Before I talk about this book, whilst this does feature the police team from The Girl in The Green Dress, you can absolutely 100% read this book as a standalone and to be completely honest I had forgotten about the police officers from the first book as the powerful storyline about the young girl who was murdered was the most important part of that book to me.  Anyway, back to Quiet Acts of Violence….

Once again Cath Staincliffe has written a topical, emotionally charged and compelling story.  A newborn baby girl has been found dead in a dumpster in a neighbourhood full of despair, poverty and secrets.  Police Detective Donna Bell and Jade Bradshaw, who first featured in The Girl in the Green Dress, team up again to find the truth out about the baby and locate her mother quickly.

Quiet Acts of Violence centres around these two police women, Donna who is the boss, trying to juggle her career and home life with 5 children and a husband stuck at home recovering from a heart attack and Jade, a young, highly ambitious police officer with demons from her past that are threatening to turn her present life upside down.

This was another unputdownable book by Cath Staincliffe and I absolutely devoured it over the space of a few hours.  Emotional and captivating and thoroughly recommended by me.

 

 

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