REVIEW: After the Silence by Louise O'Neill

A twisty page-turner of deadly secrets, I'm pleased to review this new novel by Irish author Louise O'Neill. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Quercus Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book prior to publication.

Expected: 3 September 2020

The blurb 
Nessa Crowley's murderer has been protected by silence for ten years. Until a team of documentary makers decide to find out the truth.

On the day of Henry and Keelin Kinsella's wild party at their big house a violent storm engulfed the island of Inisrun, cutting it off from the mainland. When morning broke Nessa Crowley's lifeless body lay in the garden, her last breath silenced by the music and the thunder.

The killer couldn't have escaped Inisrun, but on-one was charged with the murder. The mystery that surrounded the death of Nessa remained hidden. But the islanders knew who to blame for the crime that changed them forever.

Ten years later a documentary crew arrives, there to lift the lid off the Kinsella's carefully constructed lives, determined to find evidence that will prove Henry's guilt and Keelin's complicity in the murder of beautiful Nessa.

The review

Although this is being marketed as a murder mystery, it's really more of a psychological thriller focused on psychological domestic abuse. But, I enjoyed the storyline and would definitely recommend it to people who love human interest and character stories. In Keelin Kinsella, the author has written a brilliantly complex female character. It's similar to another book I've read recently (The Storm by Amanda Jennings) where the wife is not necessarily as much of a victim as at first seems and sometimes there is more to a story or toxic relationship than meets the eye. 

It was a difficult read, however. The timeline is all over the place and lacks any chapter headings to help. Also set on an Irish island, this was peppered with Irish words and phrases that I didn't know such as "mo stoirin" (my darling apparently) and grinds (private tuition). I got used but it just made it a bit awkward and harder reading.

The author
Irish writer, Louise O'Neill's first two novels were aimed at the “young adult” demographic, but widely read by not-so-young adults. Recent books focus on the toxic aspects of relationships, as does this one. Follow @oneilllo on Twitter to find out more.