Title: The Girl Without a Voice

Author: Sandra J. Paul

Genre: Thriller/Mystery

Publisher: Datura Books

Publication Date: 19th August 2025

Rating: 4/5

Cover:

Summary:

Born mute, Alice has never known a normal life. Kept from the outside world by her cruel mother and overbearing father, her only friend is her neighbour Hailey with whom she communicates through sign language. 

When Alice’s father is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Alice listens to his feverish drug-induced ramblings. And then, in his final days, he reveals something Alice never expected. He confesses to murdering several women. 

Shocked and disbelieving, Alice confides in Hailey. Together, they vow to find the truth and decide to journey her father’s old routes as a travelling salesman. A pattern begins to emerge, connecting him to various missing women, before the pair discovers the real reason why Alice lost her ability to speak. And how she is at the centre of her father’s crimes…

Review:

The Girl Without a Voice hooked me immediately with its intriguing and intense premise and it very much lived up to my high expectations. I loved the 1980’s setting and the slow burn build of tension as we learn more and more about the dark secrets hiding within Alice’s insular world. Alice herself is a great main character, her muteness adds a whole other layer to the story as we are very much inside her initially incredibly isolated mind. Then, after connecting with her neighbour, Hailey, Alice begins to break out of her prison-like existence as Alice and Hailey start investigating the chilling possibility that Alice’s father was a prolific serial killer. The story ratchets up the tension as more and more both about her father and about Alice herself becomes clear. The Girl Without a Voice is a chilling look at provenance, the far-reaching effects of trauma and the nature of evil which I found extremely compelling. 

★★★★

Huge thank you to the publisher for my place on the tour and sending me the book. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

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