Quiet Acts of Violence

''Gripping'' Mail on Sunday on Fear of Falling

''Cath Staincliffe gets into the heads of ordinary people and makes them extraordinary'' Ann Cleeves on Fear of Falling

A dead baby. A missing mother. A cradle of secrets.

From the author of the Scott and Bailey series, Quiet Acts of Violence is a novel about family and betrayal, injustice and poverty, the ties that bind and those that break us.

__________

Has the woman killed her child? Is she at risk to herself? Someone in the neighbourhood of old terraced streets has the answers. But detectives Donna Bell and Jade Bradshaw find lies and obstruction at every turn, in a community living on the edge, ground down by austerity and no hope. A place of broken dreams. Of desperation. And murder.

When a stranger crashes into Jade''s life, her past comes hurtling back, threatening to destroy her and the world she has carved out for herself.

Donna struggles to juggle everything: work, marriage, kids. It''s a precarious balancing act, and the rug is about to be pulled from under her.

___________

Praise for Cath Staincliffe:

''''This powerful, often harrowing story will move you to tears'' My Weekly

''Harrowing and humane. A real knockout'' Ian Rankin

''It''s always exciting to see a writer get better and better and Cath Staincliffe is doing just that'' Val McDermid

''Powerful, complex and utterly gripping'' Sunday Mirror

''An intelligent and emotionally engaging moral workout'' Daily Telegraph

''Complex and satisfying'' Sunday Times