View source for Silent Cry (Gaby Darin Book 1) by Jenny O'Brien

{{infobox1
|title=Silent Cry (Gaby Darin Book 1)
|author=Jenny O'Brien
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime
|summary=The first book in a new police-procedural series which shows considerable promise: a newborn baby has been abducted - by her father.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=384
|publisher=HQ Digital
|date=April 2020
|isbn=978-0008390167
|cover=0008390169
|aznuk=0008390169
|aznus=0008390169
}}

'''Previously Published as ''Missing in Wales '''''

Alys Grant was only a few days old when her father took her out for the first time.  Her mother, Izzy, was tired and fell asleep, but when she woke a couple of hours later there was no sign of Charlie Dawson or Alys.  There was a hand-delivered postcard which simply said:

''I've got Alys. Don't try to find us, Charlie''

Five years later, there's been no sign of Alys, or Charlie or even of Izzy's car, which Charlie took, and Izzy is now trying to rebuild her life.  At times she feels guilty that she's not still constantly searching for Alys, but what more can she do?  Then, one day, in Swansea, she catches sight of Grace Madden who had been a close friend of Izzy's in the months before Alys's birth, but who disappeared at the same time as Alys.  She'd been pregnant too and Izzy mentions the sighting to DI Rhys Walker, (who had been in charge of the case) when she bumps into him: he's the brother of her best friend from school, Rebecca.

And so it was that some life was breathed back into the case after years of it being largely dormant.  There's a new member of the CID team, DC Gaby Darin, who comes with a reputation which isn't entirely favourable.  She's concerned that Izzy might have been responsible for what happened, but Rhys Walker stamps that one on the head very quickly.  Amy Potter, the family liaison officer lets slip to Gaby that she thinks Walker 'has a thing' for Izzy Grant.

I was delighted when I realised that the story is set in Swansea: half a century ago I lived there and the city and particularly Gower peninsula are a fond memory.  I'd like to have heard more about both, but that's me being particularly greedy: we're here for the story and not for a travelogue.  It's a good story too: who can imagine what Izzy had to go through when Charlie and Alys disappeared, particularly when it was only a few days since she'd given birth?  Jenny O'Brien neatly captures the guilt Izzy feels five years later when she realises that she actually wants to ''live'' her life again and her conflicting feelings about the possibility of another relationship.

The book didn't ''quite'' do it for me, but as a series opener, it has a lot going for it.  DC Gaby Darin is an engaging character: she's not perfect and there's an undercurrent of 'I could be difficult', but I'll definitely be interested to read about what she does next.  I'd like to thank the publishers for making a review copy available to Bookbag.

For more from Gower we can recommend [[Not Funny Not Clever by Jo Verity]]. For more from Gower, try [[Ragged Cliffs by Julian Ruck]].

[[Jenny O'Brien's Detective Gaby Darin Novels in Chronological Order]]

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Check prices, read reviews or buy from [http://tidd.ly/f3b369f3 '''Waterstones'''].

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