Rating: 3 stars

Joe Donovan is called on once again to write the story of a woman who killed a child when she herself was just eleven years old. Both predator and prey, Ann Marie Smeaton remains haunted by the memory of her own sadistic childhood, and the voices of her shattered past.

During her interviews with Donovan, Ann Marie remains nervous and guarded. Fiercely protective of her son Jack, she fears for his safety almost as much as she fears for her sanity.

Living on an impoverished estate, Ann Marie summons the strength to fight the demons in her mind. But, when a child is brutally stabbed on the edge of theestate, and she awakens from yet another nightmare with blood on her hands, Ann Marie begins to wonder if it’s she who is truly the monster.

The story of Ann Marie's past is told through interstitial like chapters that parallel her present day life, interspersed with threads regarding life from Jack’s perspective, while yet another story line provides the cause and effect surrounding important events.

Successfully keeping each line of action moving swiftly forward, Martyn Waites does a great job of seamlessly melding the various plots together resulting in a very cohesive and riveting story; and, by keeping the tension perfectly taut, Waites infuses just the right amount of intensity that keeps the pages turning.

A perfect tempo of mystery, murder and intrigue, Speak No Evil is one of the best Joe Donovan thrillers to date.
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Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Pegasus; Reprint edition (November 16, 2011)
ISBN-13: 978-1605982625