Silenced Sisters
Detective Morgan Brookes Book 17
Helen Phifer
293 pages
Bookouture
published January 29, 2026
About the book
Thunder rattles the windows of the deserted hotel. Morgan spots the young girl on the floor, her dark hair fanned out and covered in shattered glass. Lightning strikes, illuminating the blood on every surface.
Following an emergency call in the middle of a fierce storm, Detective Morgan Brookes arrives at Keswick Manor, a crumbling, empty hotel in the Lake District, where she finds the dead body of a young woman. She recognises her bright blue eyes instantly. Lauren Williams’ body is still warm to the touch, a knife protruding out of her chest, just like the one that killed her sister, Lydia, one month ago. But the killer in that case is dead…
Morgan can’t imagine the horror Lauren went through as she combs the scene; a broken radio on the stairs suggest she was running from someone. Lauren knew her sister was murdered, did she know she was next? Grief-stricken, Morgan sets to work on Lydia’s case files and refuses to sleep until she’s uncovered any small clue she missed. But by the time she discovers they had another sister, the poor girl is reported missing, her pink car found abandoned in the local woods surrounded by overgrown brambles.
When Morgan spots a police identification number scribbled in the family’s old police files, she realises that one of her colleagues has been lying to her. The idea that someone at HQ is in league with a serial killer would send terrifying shockwaves through Rydal Falls, but Morgan can think of no other explanation. Can she save the final sister and catch this killer as a terrifying countdown begins? Or with evil closer than she thinks, watching Morgan’s every move, is she already in too much danger?
Fans of Angela Marsons, Lisa Regan and Rachel Abbott will devour this unforgettable rollercoaster crime thriller late into the night.
My Review
It’s a family affair in this one. Sisters are murdered and Morgan and her team set out to stop the killing. Mix in with some personal matters for the team. Cain is helping a good friend cope as she’s just become a new mother and Ben and Morgan ponder their future. I always love the balance of a case and the personal lives of the team. Police don’t work in a vacuum and their personal lives and feelings spill into their work. Like anyone else. And I just like connecting with them and following along with their lives. Since this is a series.
While maybe I was engrossed a little much in their personal lives, but this one kept me guessing. I fell for the red herrings. I liked the mix of the team and their connection to what was happening.
Once I started, I did not want to put the book down. While I think most of the books in the series can easily be read as a stand alone, I really think the reader benefits from reading the last book in the series before starting this one. The evidence and trail of the case really relies on the reader being informed on things. And trust me when I say, I liked that one too. It definitely sets up me counting down to see how the repercussions play out in the next book.
The moral of this one is it’s really a much smaller world than you think.
You should grab this one then join me in the wait for book 18.
About the author
Helen Phifer is the bestselling writer of the hugely popular Detective Morgan Brookes series. As well as the Lucy Harwin, Beth Adams and Maria Miller series of books. Her debut novel The Ghost House featuring Annie Graham went on to be a global bestseller. She lives in the busy town of Barrow-in-Furness surrounded by miles of coastline and a short drive from the glorious English Lake District. Her favourite hobbies include reading, chasing the Aurora Borealis when it puts in an appearance, visiting Salem, watching the sunset, the moon rise and drinking coffee.
Helen loves reading books that scare the heck out of her and is eternally grateful to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, James Herbert and Graham Masterton for scaring her senseless in her teenage years, and to Alice Hoffman’s beautiful stories for inspiring her love of all things witchy and to write fantasy novels alongside her crime thrillers.
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