This is the second book in a DS Nikki Parekh series. It reads as a standalone, but there are several references to the events of the previous book.
DS Felicity Springer is leaving the hotel where the multi-agency Making Bradford Safe conference took place. She feels awful, nauseous and dizzy, unsure about what has happened the evening before. Last night is a blur, and she feels guilty. How did she end up in bed with someone she always thought of as a lecherous loser?
On the way home she opts for the back road with less traffic. A big van overtakes her, and while following in its tracks, she sees a hand waving from the rear light casing. Is someone captive in that van, or is it some sort of practical joke?
She decides to follow the van, and calls the emergency number. The dispatcher can hear Springer's chatter, then a judder and bang.
When the police find Springer's car, it is empty, and there's blood by the driver's door. There's no sign of Felicity.
With Springer missing, DS Nikki Parekh and DC Sajid Malik are trying to find her and establish who the unknow assailant is/are.
Felicity and Nikki are not friends, if anything, their interaction was always acrimonious, but when Felicity finds herself dumped in the back of the van, with her wrists and legs bound, she realises that to survive, she should be more like her tough colleague: "She was no Nikita Parekh, yet, much as she despised the woman... distrusted her even, she knew that the tenacious thought niggling inside her throbbing head might be the only thing that would get her out of this mess. What would Nikki Parekh do?"
Springer's abduction is not the only crime committed, it is closely followed by the horrific torture and murder of the young girl, whose body is dumped in a quiet respectable neighbourhood.
And then the body count rises alarmingly. The police resources are over-stretched to the breaking point.
This case is the first major case DS Parekh has since she herself nearly died at the hands of the serial killer the previous year.
Nikki is a strong protagonist, outspoken, stubborn and determined. She has been temporarily promoted to DI, against her wishes. While many people around perceive her as tough and tenacious, she has mental health problems, and is prone to self-harming.
Saj Malik watches her with concern, as he knows the circumstances of the previous year's abduction and consequent mental problems and self-harm. He's a thoughtful, compassionate partner. Being gay, he has big problems of his own. His family would never accept his sexuality, and he is hiding his relationship from them. In the eyes of his community he's a sinner. Will Saj find strength to come out?
Nikki's banter with her colleague Malik brings a necessary comic element to the otherwise very dark narrative.
The theme of the modern slavery and human trafficking is one of the major plots running through the book. We watch with horror how Stefan Marcovici, a Romanian who's been trafficked with his daughter Maria, is subjected to starvation, hard work and inhumane living conditions. His daughter is forced into prostitution. They travelled to the UK, full of hope, making plans for the whole family to join them later. "A new start away from the threat of the gang he'd betrayed back in Romania".
Instead they become helpless slaves, whose documents are confiscated, and they are forced to pay off a huge debt. They live in a constant fear of abuse and death threats.
Some scenes are hard to read. Sadly, they are not a figment of the author's imagination. Millions of people, adults and children, are trapped in modern slavery, in every single country of the world. As hard as it is to fathom, these are facts which we need to know.
Broken Silence is a gripping, tense thriller, that will keep you guessing until the very end. Unmissable.
Potential triggers: human trafficking/slavery, torture, murder, mental health problems.
Purchase Links
E book https://www.amazon.co.uk/Broken-Silence-absolutely-gripping-thriller-ebook/dp/B083Z3ZZ61
Paperback https://www.amazon.co.uk/Liz-Mistry-2-3/dp/0008358370
Author Bio:
Born in Scotland, made in Bradford, sums up Liz Mistry's life. Over thirty years ago she moved from a small village in West Lothian to Yorkshire to get her teaching degree. Once here, Liz fell in love with three things: curry, the rich cultural diversity of the city... and her Indian husband (not necessarily in this order). Now thirty years, three children, two cats (Winky and Scumpy) and a huge extended family later, Liz uses her experiences of living and working in the inner city to flavour her writing. Her gritty crime fiction procedural novels set in Bradford embrace the city she describes as "Warm, Rich and Fearless" whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath.
Struggling with severe clinical depression and anxiety for a large number of years, Liz often includes mental health themes in her writing. She credits the MA in Creative Writing she took at Leeds Trinity University with helping her find a way of using her writing to navigate her ongoing mental health struggles. Being a debut novelist in her fifties was something Liz had only dreamed of and she counts herself lucky, whilst pinching herself regularly to make sure it's all real.
One of the nicest things about being a published author is chatting with and responding to readers' feedback and Liz regularly does events at local libraries, universities, literary festivals and open mics. She also teaches creative writing.
Now, having nearly completed a PhD in Creative Writing focussing on "the absence of the teen voice in adult crime fiction" and "why expansive narratives matter", Liz is cock full of ideas to continue writing.
In her spare time, Liz loves pub quizzes (although she admits to being rubbish at them), dancing (she does a mean jig to Proud Mary - her opinion, not ratified by her family), visiting the varied Yorkshire landscape, with Robin Hood's Bay being one of her favourite coastal destinations, listening to music, reading and blogging about all things crime fiction on her blog, The Crime Warp.
Many thanks to Liz Mistry and Rachel's Random Resources for an e-copy of the book!
This review is part of the blog tour for Broken Silence.
I think the cover looks great and I was curious to read the review after seeing it. Now I think I would love to read the book too. In an age of black lives matter and historic slavery and statues of owners being talked so much, we seem to forget that there are people in slavery this second and we are ignoring them, just as much as people were doing it 250 years ago.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anca, it's a sobering read, and something people should be more passionate about. I found this book absorbing, as enjoyed would be the wrong word. There are too many harrowing scenes. I want to read the first book in the series now.
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