Don't Make A Sound by David Jackson

          This is quite a different book in the Thriller genre.  The majority of the book focuses on Malcolm and Harriet Benson and the lengths they will go to have a family.  First there is Daisy, then 3 years later along comes Poppy and only a few days later comes Ellie.  Three perfect little girls to make the perfect family - the only problem is they are a secret family, hidden from the world in a bedroom of a normal suburban property.  You do actually feel empathy for the protagonists in this book, maybe because we hear so much from them and as heinous as their crimes are you can see the twisted logic behind them - or can you, the denouement certainly provided a good twist to the tale.

My issues with the book came in the form of DS Nathan Cody.  The procedural chapters had a good ring of authenticity but the actions of this one character did step outside the acceptable actions for an officer of the law and moved in to dangerously maverick territory.  In particular the later segments in the Benson household appeared to be added for the sake of shock; I appreciate that they showcased the devolution of Malcolm's sanity but they just didn't fit with the tone or behaviour in the rest of the book.

Whilst this was a good story that got the pages turning in the early chapters, the good work done by having the story from the criminals point of view was soon undone by using the usual maverick cop with a troubled past as our hero.  This meant that although I enjoyed the majority of the book I did want to just scan through or skip whole chapters because I simply wasn't interested in what Cody was thinking or doing - or his cardboard colleagues either.

The character of Daisy is particularly well written and her personality shines off the page.  Despite her tender years, 10 at the time of the book, and her enforced captivity she is an empathetic character.  Although the Benson's have committed reprehensible acts there is a melancholy there and a sense of solidarity between the couple that makes you warm to them - even though you know you shouldn't.  That is the true triumph of the book, the ability to make you see the good in people that should be portrayed as bad.

There are a couple of good twists at the end but there is no easy wrap up to the story.  As it is clear that there are previous books featuring DS Cody I am sure some of the characters will be revisited in a later book that may tie up some of those loose ends.  The good thing was that although it was obvious this was a character that we should have history with there was enough in the text that you didn't feel completely at a loss as to who this person was and not so much that it felt like a rehash of previous books - a hard balancing act that the author did pull off with aplomb.

Sadly, I didn't like it enough to want to further investigate the origins of DS Nathan Cody and his Clowns.

I RECEIVED A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM READERS FIRST IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.