Blog Tour: Deadly Silence (Jane Phillips #1) By OMJ Ryan

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Some sins can never be forgiven.

DI Jane Phillips was a star detective driven by a relentless quest for justice. But then she stepped outside the law.

Now, demoted and suffering with PTSD, she finds herself facing the deadliest threat of her career -- a serial killer who is preying on vulnerable women, murdering them in a shocking and bizarre ritual.

A master of deception, he selects his victims at random. Or so it seems. But as Phillips investigates, she begins to see a method in the killer's madness. Perhaps these victims aren't random at all...

As the pressure mounts, can Phillips find the link between these ritual murders before the killer strikes again -- or will her dogged determination to solve the case bring his deadly silence to her door?

Deadly Silence is a gripping mystery thriller that will keep you up all night as it races towards its shocking conclusion. Perfect for fans of Robert Bryndza, Angela Marsons and Peter James.

Thanks to Emma and Inkubator Books for my copy of the book and my spot on the blog tour.  All thoughts are my own.  I am delighted to share my review as part of the blog tour today. 

TRIGGER WARNING: Sexual Abuse

This is the first book in a brand-new police procedural to sink your teeth into.  It’s got everything that you need in your next page turner. It was with great excitement when I finally got around to reading this absolutely explosive start to what I assume to be a very successful series.  I am completely in love with D.I Jane Phillip’s character.  She portrayed the strong female character, but not without her flaws.  She is a force to be reckoned with, an impeccable cop and she does things the right way, not the easy way.  She’s respected by her colleagues and it’s been a hard fight for that standing in her department.  I was transfixed until the very end, the feelings the team experienced, I felt.  It was most definitely a win, but I was left hanging, I wanted MORE.  I wanted know how Jane was going to deal with the fallout.  Would she stick with the healthy course of action or would she stop like last time?  OMJ Ryan is an extremely talented writer and his characters are full of depth, humanity and a strong sense of morality.  This was a difficult theme to tackle, it was unsettling and emotional but the author more than did its justice.  It was written in a tactful manner and it gave importance to the topic.

The first chapter was a doozy.  It was hard hitting, it was a punch to the gut.  It seriously set the tone to how the rest of the book was going to play out.  The crime committed was brutal but carried out in such a cold and calculated way.  This guy was meticulous.  He knew his shit.  What made it shocking was the victim.  A lovely lady that couldn’t have hurt anyone.  Unmarried and still a virgin at the age of 40.  She was heavily involved in the church and would do anything for anyone.  It’s the first time we get to see the murderer in action and you can tell that something quite serious has gone on in his past.  Yes, what he is doing is incomprehensible, but he seems to have a plan he must carry out in order to go forward.  He certainly has knowledge of forensics, scoping out a routine and planning the murder to the last dot.  This is going to be a different man to catch. 

As ever in the crime solving world, time is of the essence.  Time clocks on and they have nothing to go on.  As far as the killer is concerned he is a ghost.  No-one knows who it could be, no-one has seen anything, and he leaves nothing behind.  Jane Phillips is really up against it.  Her team fully support her methods but her new DCI – Brown has it in for her.  The backstory of these two is actually hilarious and the constant back and forth even in a serious situation such as this shows the fragility of the human condition; ego and justice come face to face, but which will win?  The story propels forward from that first murder.  The police deal with red herrings, shocks and twists and an explosive secret that will blow it all apart. Truth be told I haven’t read a whole lot of police procedurals, but this series has opened up a love of the genre and I will for sure be picking up any future novels in this series.  I loved it every aspect of this book.  The storytelling was captivating.  The characters were deep and multi-dimensional, the realistic, human characters you would meet in everyday life.  The character development was just completely relatable.  The reader gained an insight into the depths and depravities the human condition will delve to when they have time to fester and mental health is left unchecked.  This is a story that grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go until the very end. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hailing from Yorkshire, OMJ Ryan worked in radio and entertainment for over twenty years, collaborating with household names and accumulating a host of international writing and radio awards. In 2018 he followed his passion to become a full-time novelist, writing stories for people who devour exciting, fast-paced thrillers by the pool, on their commute – or those rare moments of downtime before bed. Owen’s mission is to entertain from the first page to the last.

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