Silent Fall: An Absolutely Gripping and Unputdownable Crime Thriller

The woman lay on her back, her large, intelligent eyes fixed on the ceiling above, her pale hair fanned out beneath her like a halo. Around her, the room was peaceful and clean, with morning light dappling the cream carpet. She might have been merely resting… but Ana Marlova’s heart would never beat again.

When the body of a beautiful and wealthy doctor is discovered in her high-rise apartment – all alone with the doors locked from the inside – nobody can understand how or why her life has been so brutally cut short.

Detective Jacqueline “Jack” Kent may have never worked a murder case before, but that’s not going to stop her trying. It seems Ana’s murderer may have scaled the ten-story building to get in – and Jack should know. As an elite climber herself, it’s a set of skills that only a handful of people have. This can’t be the killer’s first innocent victim, and if Jack doesn’t act fast, it won’t be their last.

Jack throws herself into the investigation, determined to beat the twisted climber at their own game. But the crime scene prompts harrowing memories for Jack, who’s still haunted by the death of her best friend Hannah, killed on a mountain only months before. Jack lived that day while Hannah died beside her. Night after night, she relives her friend’s final moments in her dreams.

When the body of another victim is found, it’s clear that someone evil is trying to get Jack’s attention. Could the killer be one of her own close circle of friends from childhood? As the lines between her personal and professional life blur, Jack must confront the demons of her own past to stop a cold-blooded killer from striking again.

Detective Jack Kent is a heroine who grabs you and doesn’t let go. The first in an unputdownable new crime thriller series, perfect for readers who adore Angela Marsons, Rachel McLean and Sally Rigby.

**Nicky Downes** lives in Coventry, where she works as an education trade union officer. When she isn’t working, or writing, you can often find her cruising the canals in the Midlands on her narrowboat, Chanelle. Nicky says, "I find it so relaxing at the tiller. It’s where I get the best ideas for my novels." From an early age, Nicky spent hours in her local library devouring all the Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers’ novels, being a huge fan of crime novels. Her favourite authors are Val McDermid, Mark Billingham and Fiona Cummins. Nicky has self-published four novels: a psychological thriller, _Bat Girl_, and a series, _Traffic_, _Consent_ and _Chained_, featuring DI Amelia Barton of the National Crime Agency. Readers have described these books as “fast-paced, unputdownable thrillers.” She is currently writing a police procedural series of books featuring mountaineer DI Jacqueline Kent, set in Birmingham.