The Silence

Longlisted for the New Blood Dagger Award 2021. 'A darkly gripping and addictive read. I tore through it in a few days' - ESTHER FREUD * 'Deeply engrossing . . . an exquisite literary thriller' - PHILIPPA EAST * 'Emotionally wrenching' - WALL STREET JOURNAL * 'Impossible to put down' - TREVOR WOOD

A missing woman 30 years ago, in the suffocating heat of a Sydney summer, the Greens' next-door neighbour Mandy disappeared without a trace. A cold case reopened.

In 1997, in a basement flat in Hackney, Isla Green is awakened by a call in the middle of the night: her father is under suspicion of Mandy's murder. A devastating secret How well does Isla know her father? Is he capable of doing something terrible? And is there another secret in their community - a conspiracy of silence which stretches deep into Australia's past?

'An atmospheric, convincing portrayal of the way that the decisions we make, both individually and collectively, reverberate down the years' - GUARDIAN * 'Allott uses the scandal of Australia's stolen children to devastating effect in this memorable debut' - SUNDAY TIMES * 'A riveting mystery, beautifully unwound. The Silence excavates dark, decades-old secrets buried in human hearts, in families and in nations. I read it in one weekend' - ERIN KELLY * 'An impressive and beautifully written, Australian-set debut with the devastating subject of the Stolen Generation at its core' - FIONA MITCHELL * 'Tense, atmospheric and brilliantly paced. The Silence is fraught with disturbing secrets and powerful emotions. I loved it' - FRANCESCA JAKOBI * 'A brooding, suspenseful debut' - SUNDAY MIRROR * 'A suspenseful, beautifully crafted debut for fans of Celeste Ng and Jane Harper' - TELEGRAPH AUSTRALIA * 'Intricate and suspenseful . . . [a] stellar debut' - NEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS