My fourth book was published on 7 December 2021 by Hobeck Books.
Silenced is a chilling, emotionally-charged crime novel about fear and courage. Do you risk everything by telling the truth, or stay silent and safe?
A detective must decide whether to reveal a secret that has haunted him for twenty-five years; a murdered girl’s mother must decide whether to tell police everything she knows; an elderly council estate resident living next door to a feared gang’s headquarters must decide whether she will stand up to terrifying intimidation.
Response to SILENCED
My fourth book has had some jaw-dropping praise and reviews (see below). Within weeks of publication it was picked for seven ‘best books of 2021’ lists from author/bloggers Liz Mistry (The Crime Warp) and Linda Huber, and book reviewers Samantha Brownley (UK Crime Book Club on Facebook), Donna Morfett (Donna’s Interviews and Reviews), Lynda Checkley (Lynda’s Book Reviews on Instagram and Facebook), Deb Day (Deb’s Book Reviews), Joe Singleton and Linda Hill (Linda’s Book Bag).
SILENCED was a semi-finalist in the 2022 Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award.
Buy the book
Silenced is available to buy in ebook and paperback:
Amazon UK | Amazon.com | other countries: type http://viewbook.at/silenced into your web browser or enter jennie ensor silenced into the Amazon search bar.
Book description
A teenage girl is murdered on her way home from school, stabbed through the heart. Her North London community is shocked, but no-one has the courage to help the police, not even her mother. DI Callum Waverley, in his first job as senior investigating officer, tries to break through the code of silence that shrouds the case.
This is a world where the notorious Skull Crew rules through fear. Everyone knows you keep your mouth shut or you’ll be silenced – permanently.
This is Luke’s world. Reeling from the loss of his mother to cancer, his step-father distant at best, violent at worst, he slides into the Skull Crew’s grip.
This is Jez’s world too. Her alcoholic mother neither knows nor cares that her 16-year-old daughter is being exploited by V, all-powerful leader of the gang.
Luke and Jez form a bond. Can Callum win their trust, or will his own demons sabotage his investigation? And can anyone stop the Skull Crew ensuring all witnesses are silenced?
Silenced is the compelling and gritty new thriller by British author Jennie Ensor. A gripping story of love, fear and betrayal, it’s Romeo and Juliet for our troubled times.
Themes
Should one risk everything by speaking out about wrongdoing, or stay silent and safe? A detective must decide whether to reveal a secret that has haunted him for twenty-five years; a murdered girl’s mother must decide whether to tell police everything she knows; and an elderly council estate resident living next door to a dangerous drug gang’s headquarters must decide whether she will stand up to the gang’s intimidation.
Quotes from authors and early readers
‘A crime thriller with depth. It’s heart pounding, addictive and intelligent. It’s rare to come across a rollercoaster read that has heart, but this is it. A must read.’ – Barbara Copperthwaite, bestselling psychological thriller author
‘An absolutely thrilling, rollercoaster read, so cleverly told and so immensely authentic. I was gripped from start to finish. This is storytelling of the highest order and I can’t wait for Jennie Ensor’s next book.’ – Alex Day, bestselling author of psychological thrillers The Best of Friends and The Missing Twin
‘With authentic voices, a believable storyline and characters that you can really relate to, this is one of my favourite books of the year so far – gripping, fast paced, poignant and, most importantly, REAL!’ – Liz Mistry, bestselling crime thriller author
‘Brilliant doesn’t quite sum up this incredibly detailed, intricately woven story. A beautiful gut punch might be closer!’ – Samantha Brownley, UK Crime Book Club
‘It’s such a taut plot, with brilliantly drawn, nuanced characters. I found myself longing to find out what happened, and the ending is very satisfying.’ – Kate Rhodes, author of the DI Ben Kitto crime series set in the Scilly Isles
‘Mesmerisingly good; Jennie Ensor has written a real stonker of a crime thriller here.’ – Linda Huber, bestselling psychological suspense author of Chosen Child, Ward Zero, Daria’s Daughter and Pact of Silence
‘…was wonderfully crafted and the story was gripping: in fact, I read it in one fell swoop.’ Janet Pole
‘I love the plausibly flawed three-dimensional Callum character. Hard to put the book down, it gets richer with detail and atmosphere as the story progresses. Meticulous research – the darkened souls of the London drug gangs is real on the pages.’ – Scott Koban, author
‘Sally Rooney meets Lynda La Plante in this dark tale of teenage experiment and adult shame. Ensor shows how our childhood traumas shape and break us, with sometimes devastating consequences. This is a tale of cruel violence where each player is forced to confront their vulnerabilities and question their own integrity. Breathtaking and gut wrenching in equal measure.’ – Kerensa Jennings, author of literary thriller Seas of Snow
Linda Hill, Linda’s Book Bag
“Silenced is a fantastic book. It’s exciting, enthralling, completely believable and an absolute triumph.”
Michelle Ryles, The Book Magnet
“I love Jennie Ensor’s books so I already knew that Silenced was going to be good, but I didn’t expect it to completely blow my socks off. The writing is sublime, the plot is breathtaking and it’s a book I will never forget.”
Susan Hampson, Books From Dusk Till Dawn
“A stunning story by this author, her best yet, in my opinion, and highly recommended, but do be warned you feel like you are there, and it will stay with you.”
“I have had multiple child exploitation training sessions for my work, but this book brilliantly shows how vulnerable youngsters are groomed far better than any of them. I’ll be recommending this book to colleagues as a useful addition to their toolkit. For everyone else, I say read this book because it is superb, and I guarantee that you will think of Jez & Luke next time a news story about gangs & county lines appears on your screen.”
Deb Day on Instagram dds_book_reviews
Liz Mistry, The Crime Warp https://www.lizmistry.com/book-review-silenced-by-jennie-ensor
“Silenced offers hard-hitting insight into the world of gangs and the fear they perpetuate in their communities – A complete triumph – well written, fast paced, empathetic and heart-breaking. I loved it!”
Lynda Checkley, Lynda’s Book Reviews https://www.instagram.com/p/CXNX4YgI3iE/
The climax to the story is frightening and clever in many ways and leaves one with a sense of the impossible in dealing with such culture. A brilliant read and I hope this isn’t the last we see of Callum ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
John Fish, The Last Word Book Review https://thelastwordbookreview.com/2021/12/10/silenced-by-jennie-ensor/
“At the heart of this story is the rule of gangs on the street. This is a powerful novel that will get your pulses racing”
Lesley Wilkinson, @janelesley https://twitter.com/janelesley/status/1469352865353318400?s=21
“This is thriller writing at its very best: believable characters, twisting, turning plot, and revealing, shocking narrative.”
Surjit Parekh, Surjit’s Book Blog https://mysurjitsbooksblog.wordpress.com
‘I was so engrossed that I lost track of time and stayed awake till 3am to finish it. Writer Jennie Ensor deserves all the appreciation the way she handles the story is unbelievable… the books climax that will blow your mind. Silenced is an intelligent thriller with a clever and multi layered plot that has tension throughout. I would like to say thank you to author Jennie Ensor and Publishers Hobeck Books for kindly sending me a gifted copy for me to read and review this brilliant book. Silenced is highly recommend for all thriller fans.
Louise Cannon, https://bookmarksandstages.home.blog/2021/12/13/review-by-lou-silenced-by-jennie-ensor-jennie_ensor-hobeckbooks-thriller-crimefiction
A teenage girl is brutally and shockingly murdered, shaking up the North London community to the core and becomes DI Callum Waverley’s first case. All the teenager was trying to do was try to get home. This a book with pace and so many layers. On the face of it, it’s a standard police procedural, but when you really get into it, there’s much, much more. This is about a community that feels silenced from talking to the police, not even the victim’s own mother wants to. They are all perpetually scared of the Skull Crew and what they might do to silence them. It takes a lot of work for the new DI to penetrate through the wall of silence and unravel the clues as to what happened. DI Callum Waverely also has his own demons to battle and has to push through them to solve the case.
There are themes of exploitation too and as well as exploring this, it also explores people within families who just don’t seem to care enough that their kids are being taken in by gangs when they are at their most vulnerable or acting out or thinking this would be a better way of life etc. This really goes deep into the depths of society, not just with this aspect, but also just how easy it can be for some to fall into being used by gangs and how hard it is to change your life around and escape, once so deep into them. There’s so much depth into the behaviours, morals and injustices that are created by society and are still in existence in Britain in 2021.
There are also themes of love, family, betrayal, violence, alcoholism, loss. The writing is dark, yet has an air of sophistication in all that it deals with, including the impact of crime, not just on the victims and witnesses, but also on those working in the police force, especially those investigating it, which brings a different angle to a police procedural. This is one powerful and intensely gripping and gritty book!
Cathy Ryan, Between The Lines https://betweenthelinesbookblog.com/2021/12/16/blogtour-silenced-by-jennie-ensor-gangland-crime-hobeckbooks-jennie_ensor/
‘Although this is a fairly hefty novel weighing in at all on 500 pages, it didn’t feel like it while I was reading. I was immersed in the story and appreciated the fact it was told from both sides. The police procedural and gangland culture aspects are convincingly realistic. It’s intense, raw, violent, poignant — a very sensitively and well written novel.’
Louise Mullins, https://www.instagram.com/p/CXig-M7rTtZ/
Silenced is a gripping psychological crime thriller/police procedural from the first page to the last. It’s a complex story exploring how gang members are recruited and how their fates develop alongside how the many of their lives sadly end. Between both you have the investigation, led by a detective who is just as realistic and likeable as the other characters. This is a fabulous novel and I look forward to reading lots more from Ensor.
Jennie Ensor's Author Website 