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The Dead Don't Speak by Claire Askew

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The Dead Don't Speak

DI Birch (Book 5)

Publisher
Hodder & Stoughton
Publish Date
8 June 2023
Run Time
11 hours 37 minutes
Format
Audiobook
$13.95

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What to expect

The brilliant new novel from award-winning writer and rising star Claire Askew.

DI Helen Birch is recovering from major surgery, housebound and exceptionally bored. Her boss, DCI McLeod, has made it crystal clear: she is not to take on any work until her recuperation is over.

In her absence, Amy Kato is promoted to sergeant and is given a maddening case to work on: Edinburgh is being plagued by an anonymous vigilante. He started small, meting out punishment to obnoxious boy racers and other antisocial folk, but his behaviour is escalating. Amy can tell from the anonymous online paper trail he leaves. His writings are increasingly confident, and increasingly threatening. And yet he also seems to be invisible: her team can find no clue as to his identity, and no trace of his whereabouts.

At first, McLeod doesn't see the case as a huge deal. Concerned, Amy comes to Birch in secret to ask for help, and Birch finds it impossible to resist taking action: placing her directly in the path of immense danger ...

A gripping crime thriller for fans of Susie Steiner, Elly Griffiths and Val McDermid - guaranteed to keep you up all night...

PRAISE FOR CLAIRE ASKEW:
'Meticulous and compelling' Ian Rankin
'Stunning' Sunday Times
'Thought-provoking' Mail on Sunday
'A crackerjack' Val McDermid
'Thoughtful and well-written' Guardian
'Compellingly written' Daily Mail
'Stunning' Erin Kelly
'Absorbing and thought-provoking' The Times

(P) 2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critics Review

  • Praise for Claire Askew:
  • A breathless, real-time, 24-style thriller that combines nail-biting tension with boundless compassion

    Erin Kelly

  • Tell Jack Bauer he's been supplanted . . . taut

    i newspaper

  • Askew has delivered a peak-page turner and fans of crime-fiction will be left with a cliffhanger ending and a pronounced desire to learn where DI Birch turns up next...

    Irish Examiner

See more reviews
  • Compelling

    Marie Claire

  • Claire Askew is proving to be a master of the suspenseful police procedural

    Sunday Times Crime Club

  • Utterly captivating

    Heat

User Reviews

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Details

Author
Claire Askew
Narrator
Norman Bowman, Sarah Barron
Duration
11 hours 37 minutes
Release Date
8 June 2023
ISBN
9781529348330
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Hodder & Stoughton
Genre
Crime and mystery: women sleuths / detectives, Crime and mystery: police procedural, Thriller / suspense fiction

Synopsis

The brilliant new novel from award-winning writer and rising star Claire Askew.DI Helen Birch is recovering from major surgery, housebound and exceptionally bored. Her boss, DCI McLeod, has made it crystal clear: she is not to take on any work until her recuperation is over.In her absence, Amy Kato is promoted to sergeant and is given a maddening case to work on: Edinburgh is being plagued by an anonymous vigilante. He started small, meting out punishment to obnoxious boy racers and other antisocial folk, but his behaviour is escalating. Amy can tell from the anonymous online paper trail he leaves. His writings are increasingly confident, and increasingly threatening. And yet he also seems to be invisible: her team can find no clue as to his identity, and no trace of his whereabouts.At first, McLeod doesn't see the case as a huge deal. Concerned, Amy comes to Birch in secret to ask for help, and Birch finds it impossible to resist taking action: placing her directly in the path of immense danger ...A gripping crime thriller for fans of Susie Steiner, Elly Griffiths and Val McDermid - guaranteed to keep you up all night...PRAISE FOR CLAIRE ASKEW:'Meticulous and compelling' Ian Rankin'Stunning' Sunday Times'Thought-provoking' Mail on Sunday'A crackerjack' Val McDermid'Thoughtful and well-written' Guardian'Compellingly written' Daily Mail'Stunning' Erin Kelly'Absorbing and thought-provoking' The Times(P) 2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

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