Review: Silenced by Anne Randall (A J McCreanor)

Silenced by Anne Randall (A J McCreanor), September 2015, 368 pages, Constable, ISBN: 1472112334

Reviewed by Amanda Gillies.
(Read more of Amanda's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

Anne Randall is the pseudonym of A J McCreanor, author of the fabulous crime fiction debut novel RIVEN that was published in 2014. RIVEN was the first in Randall’s series to feature her detectives Wheeler and Ross. SILENCED is her second, and is every bit as harrowing as the first.

The story begins when Mark Haedyear, a notorious murderer, escapes from custody after his mother’s funeral. Now he is on the run and the girlfriend of the man believed to have grassed on him to the cops goes missing. Haedyear had murdered his original victim by burying her alive, so it seems as if history is about to repeat itself.

Things begin to get nastier when the body of a homeless man is found dumped amongst rubbish near a park in Glasgow. The only clue to the possible identity of the killer is a small card left near the body. The card comes from the mysterious Letum Institute: an organization interested in the afterlife and contacting the dead. It also funds a homeless hostel in the city and it could be that there is a connection between the hostel and the dead man. Wheeler and Ross are called in to investigate but clues are few and far between, and they feel as if they are getting nowhere fast.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, Fiona Henderson, daughter of Haedyear’s first victim has also gone missing. She turned into a mute recluse after the murder of her mother and spent increasing amounts of time homeless; avoiding her father and sister and trying to come to terms with her loss. With Haedyear’s escape from prison, the pressure is on to find Fiona, in case she becomes a victim too. Wheeler and Ross have their work cut out for them if they are to get to the bottom of their case before more people are killed.

If you enjoy your crime fiction a bit on the dark side, then you are going to love this latest book by Anna Randall. It also has a wonderful twist at the end that you won't see coming. It blows you away and leaves you feeing exhausted by the time you have finished the book.

Overall, a fabulous story by this gifted author that keeps you guessing and captivated, from the first page to the last.

Highly Recommended.

Amanda Gillies, February 2016.

Reviews: Cameron, Carson, Koch, McCreanor, McKenzie, Murray, Rowson

Here are seven reviews which have been added to the Euro Crime website today, two have appeared on the blog since last time, and five are completely new.

NB. You can keep up to date with Euro Crime by following the blog and/or liking the Euro Crime Facebook page.

New Reviews

Lynn Harvey reviews poet David Cameron's The Ghost of Alice Fields set in Edinburgh;


Michelle Peckham reviews Paul Carson's Inquest set in Dublin;

Lynn also reviews Herman Koch's Summer House With Swimming Pool tr. Sam Garrett;



Amanda Gillies reviews  A J McCreanor's debut, Riven set in Glasgow which introduces DIs Ross and Wheeler;

Michelle also reviews Sophie McKenzie's psychological thriller, Trust in Me;

Terry Halligan reviews Blood of the Rose by Kevin Murray, set in London, 1986

and Terry also reviews the latest in the DI Andy Horton series by Pauline Rowson, Shroud of Evil, set in Portsmouth.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here along with releases by year. NB. Forthcoming releases by category for 2015 are now available.

Review: Riven by A J McCreanor

Riven by A J McCreanor, October 2014, 384 pages, Constable, ISBN: 147211230X

Reviewed by Amanda Gillies.
(Read more of Amanda's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

This is the debut novel for A J McCreanor and it is first-rate. A real page-turner, it gets into your head and niggles away at you when you aren’t reading it. The solution is not an easy one to guess and you are desperate to find out who the guilty party actually is. It is right up my street! Although she no longer lives there, the author was born in Glasgow, and indeed that is where the story is set. You can tell it is a place that she knows well.

The story opens with two young lads trying their luck at housebreaking. To their horror, they find that owner of the house is not out, as they had hoped, but dead and swinging from a beam in the ceiling in the lounge by means of a rope. They call the police and the hunt is on to find the killer and his/her motive.

The deceased, a Mr James Gilmore, was a quiet and solitary individual. He worked as a psychologist and was involved with helping troubled youngsters at the schools in the area. DIs Steven Ross and Kat Wheeler are called in to solve the crime but it is not a straightforward case, as Gilmore lived a ghost-like existence and nobody knows much about him or his work. Determined to get to the bottom of this particularly brutal murder, they dig deeper and find themselves face-to-face with less than savoury characters involved in Glasgow’s underworld. All the while, the killer is watching them. Waiting…

A super story with a breath-taking ending that leaves you wondering whether the truth is better left unsaid at times. I loved this story and am keen to read more by this author in the future. She is definitely a name to watch!

Highly Recommended.

Amanda Gillies, October 2014.