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Quieter Than Killing

D.I. Marnie Rome, Book 4

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Quieter Than Killing

By: Sarah Hilary
Narrated by: Imogen Church
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About this listen

Sarah Hilary, winner of the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year, returns with a new DI Marnie Rome novel, QUIETER THAN KILLING. For fans of Val McDermid, Alex Marwood and Claire Mackintosh

'Hilary is my drop-everything writer; always original, always bang-on psychologically, always gripping. I am a huge fan' Alex Marwood

'Tremendous' Ian Rankin

It's winter, the nights are dark and freezing, and a series of seemingly random assaults is pulling DI Marnie Rome and DS Noah Jake out onto streets of London. When Marnie's family home is ransacked, there are signs that the burglary can have only been committed by someone who knows her. Then a child goes missing, yet no-one has reported it. Suddenly, events seem connected, and it's personal.

Someone out there is playing games. It is time for both Marnie and Noah to face the truth about the creeping, chilling reaches of a troubled upbringing. Keeping quiet can be a means of survival, but the effects can be as terrible as killing.

©2017 Sarah Hilary (P)2017 Headline Publishing Group Limited Crime Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Mystery Psychological Thriller Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Suspense

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Critic reviews

Sarah Hilary writes beautifully and unflinchingly; a dark, disturbing and thought-provoking chiller of a thriller (Peter James)
Hilary is my drop-everything writer; always original, always bang-on psychologically, always gripping. I am a huge fan (Alex Marwood)
It's dark, it's brilliant, and it tightens like a noose. Sarah Hilary is downright dangerous. (Mick Herron)
Another tense and chilling book by one of my favourite authors. I was up way past my bedtime devouring each page (Tracy Fenton, Founder of THE Book Club and www.compulsivereaders.com)
A compelling read, emotionally intense and intelligent. I love her fierce, flawed characters (Cath Staincliffe)
As tense, twisty, tremendous as ever, Sarah Hilary's QUIETER THAN KILLING nails it (Angela Clarke)
Hilary's writing is as precise and deadly as a fine blade. Quieter Than Killing is by turns terrifying and tender, with a twisty, gripping plot where no good deed goes unpunished. This is a fine addition to a superb series (Jane Casey)
All stars
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This is the 4th instalment following the crack crime fighting team of DI Marnie and DS Jake who grabbed my attention from book one and it has continued. I actually did not want the book to end I am sure if time was on my side I would have finished this book in one day. Highly addictive although each book has separate cases for me having a little more back story helps.

This book sees them taking on gang crime and abduction and there are twists and turns hard to explain without giving away any spoilers but Marnie & Noah Jake trust their instincts, all I can say is I recommend the whole series of books.

I feel that Sarah Hilary is giving us little titbits of Marnie's background and a little more about DS Jake whose personal life hits a very difficult clash of work and family towards the end of the book, I think there lies another book (please Sarah) I would love to see this dramatised on film or a tv series.

Superb Read

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enjoyed the whole series, loved that there was a continously line throughout, Will
this carry on with DS Noah Jake and his brother?

loved the series

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Quieter Than Killing is the 4th book by Sarah Hilary to feature DI Marnie Rome. Each book can be read as a stand-alone novel but what you need to do is make sure you DO read all four books – they are all fantastic.

We readers are blessed with choice when it comes to police procedurals and crime thrillers, yet – for me – the Marnie Rome books stand head and shoulders above the others. Rome is a determined and focused detective who lives in the constant shadow of personal tragedy and it makes her own story utterly compelling.

In Quieter Than Killing, London is in the grip of a bitter winter and Marnie and DS Noah Jake are on the hunt for a violent offender. Someone has targeted three people for a vicious beating – disfiguring injuries have been inflicted and the only obvious link between the victims is that they have each (in the past) served time in prison for violent attacks of their own. Are Marnie and Noah looking for a vigilante? If so then how are they selecting their victims and what possible motive could they have?

Elsewhere the reader gets to see Finn. He is 10 years old and has been plucked from the street and locked into a house from which there seems no escape. His captor, dubbed Brady by Finn, has “rules” which Finn must obey…cooking and cleaning is expected and noise or disobedience are not tolerated. Finn is convinced Brady is a pervert who is planning to murder him, but Brady is keeping his distance and has been keeping Finn alive for several weeks. What does he need with the young boy and how much longer must Finn endure his captivity?

I got to enjoy Quieter Than Killing in audio and I need to give a massive thumbs-up to the narrator Imogen Church who voiced Marnie almost exactly how I had imagined her.

As with all of Sarah Hilary’s books the story is gripping, the clues well hidden and the entertainment is to the max. If you are not already reading these books you damn well should be.

Marnie Rome returns in another brilliant thriller

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Imogen Church does a fabulous job of narrating as always. I'm still thoroughly enjoying this series and I love the characters. I can't get enough of the Stephen Keele backstory, which is very intriguing.

4.5 Stars

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I only recently found the books by Sarah Hilary and rate them as some of the best story's I have listened to in this genre. I have taken Books 1 to 4 and listened to them one after the other. Great story's well narrated and I look forward to the next episode in the career of D.I. Marnie Rome.

Another fantastic story.

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This narrator lowers her voice too often and I struggle to hear the narration. otherwise it's very good listen

stop the whispering

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Sarah Hillary is such a consummate writer she draws you in to each character making you believe and disbelieve them in turn. Her characters are so believable with the strengths and frailties of us all.
The book was superbly read and characterised by Imogen Church - can't wait to read more of Marnie's and Noah's lives

Breathtaking

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I bought this as soon as it was available and have enjoyed it as much as the others. I love the realistic continuity of the series, both in the details of the new case & references to the past investigations, but also with regards to the credible arcs of the main characters.
A dense and tensely written story that makes you work alongside the investigators to get to the understanding.
My dog is as thrilled as me when a new Marnie Rome story appears on Audible because we take many, many long walks so I can immerse myself fully.

Another great case.

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Love this series. Love Imogen Church. However, I found this story a little weak in comparison to the others. Plus, my pet hate is the failure to research correct pronunciation of names. Hywel ‘s character is Welsh in the novel.
So why then isn’t his name pronounced Howl??
It’s pronounced (Huh well). No hint of a Welsh accent either, but that didn’t bother me as much as the irritating Howl!!

Irritating Pronunciation

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Sarah Hilary writes amazing stories complemented as usual by the gifted narrator Imogen Church who breathes life into her characters. This one was a bit too bleak for me but she is still much better than most others.

Another bleak crime story

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