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DI Jeff Lincoln #1
The Price of Silence
When popular businesswoman Holly Macleod is found strangled in public toilets on the outskirts of Barbury, DI Jeff Lincoln assumes she's fallen victim to a violent Peeping Tom. But as he sifts through the details of her life, he uncovers one mystery after another. A car abandoned at the crime scene belongs to Leo Goldsmith, a family man from London with no apparent connection to Holly or to Barbury – and now he's disappeared.
Lincoln and his team must find out who Holly really was and why she came to this Wiltshire market town to reinvent herself. Was Leo Goldsmith an innocent witness to her murder – or her killer? Lincoln soon starts to suspect that the attack on Holly that dark October night was anything but random – but who would want her dead?
'The Price of Silence' is the prequel to 'A Saintly Grave Disturbed' and 'The Shame of Innocence'.
Lincoln and his team must find out who Holly really was and why she came to this Wiltshire market town to reinvent herself. Was Leo Goldsmith an innocent witness to her murder – or her killer? Lincoln soon starts to suspect that the attack on Holly that dark October night was anything but random – but who would want her dead?
'The Price of Silence' is the prequel to 'A Saintly Grave Disturbed' and 'The Shame of Innocence'.
348 pages, Paperback
Published November 11, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 15, 2025
An enjoyable read. A change from my usual fantasy/scifi fare - a ‘police procedural’, whose definition I was a bit unsure about when I started it.
A police detective investigates a murder in a contemporary English provincial city. I believe it’s based on Salisbury, an historic location fairly close to me but the author makes only limited references to that and doesn’t emphasise it’s touristy aspects.
I liked the very recognisable contemporary society and characters she sketches out. It includes people who struggle to cope in society (eg some youngsters who try to survive by bag snatching and can’t hold jobs) through to an unpleasant country club ‘old boys network’. The lead detective, relatively senior in the hierarchy, has a sad backstory and isn’t exactly a modern day Sherlock Holmes. But he’s competent and has to cope with mislaid evidence, slow forensics, staff sickness. A nice realistic touch compared to police dramas with instant high tech analysis of crimes.
The plot is intricate. A web of connections emerges between apparently unconnected individuals. I guess I had to suppress the realism that keeps trying to emerge when I read fiction - that most murders are simple but tragic cases centred on dysfunctional families or gangland rivalry. It wouldn’t be much of a fiction if the plot didn’t try to give us something more complex, worth investigating!
It’s not at the darkest end of crime fiction but violence and child abuse feature from time to time. Tactfully done I think though that’ll be a matter of your sensibilities..
Maybe the resolution at the end, with so many threads being tied up in quick succession, was the aspect least to my liking. I’d have preferred less of rush of revelations; maybe spaced out a bit more. But then I’m unfamiliar with how this genre paces itself.
An accidental read for me. The author is someone I’ve stumbled across online. She isn’t quite self published but almost effectively so, with this coming from a small publisher, and apparently assisted from working in writer’s workshops.
I did enjoy the story; it kept me interested, well written, and well drawn characters. There’s several more in this series and I’m sure I’ll dip into them in the future. Plus side of 4*.
A police detective investigates a murder in a contemporary English provincial city. I believe it’s based on Salisbury, an historic location fairly close to me but the author makes only limited references to that and doesn’t emphasise it’s touristy aspects.
I liked the very recognisable contemporary society and characters she sketches out. It includes people who struggle to cope in society (eg some youngsters who try to survive by bag snatching and can’t hold jobs) through to an unpleasant country club ‘old boys network’. The lead detective, relatively senior in the hierarchy, has a sad backstory and isn’t exactly a modern day Sherlock Holmes. But he’s competent and has to cope with mislaid evidence, slow forensics, staff sickness. A nice realistic touch compared to police dramas with instant high tech analysis of crimes.
The plot is intricate. A web of connections emerges between apparently unconnected individuals. I guess I had to suppress the realism that keeps trying to emerge when I read fiction - that most murders are simple but tragic cases centred on dysfunctional families or gangland rivalry. It wouldn’t be much of a fiction if the plot didn’t try to give us something more complex, worth investigating!
It’s not at the darkest end of crime fiction but violence and child abuse feature from time to time. Tactfully done I think though that’ll be a matter of your sensibilities..
Maybe the resolution at the end, with so many threads being tied up in quick succession, was the aspect least to my liking. I’d have preferred less of rush of revelations; maybe spaced out a bit more. But then I’m unfamiliar with how this genre paces itself.
An accidental read for me. The author is someone I’ve stumbled across online. She isn’t quite self published but almost effectively so, with this coming from a small publisher, and apparently assisted from working in writer’s workshops.
I did enjoy the story; it kept me interested, well written, and well drawn characters. There’s several more in this series and I’m sure I’ll dip into them in the future. Plus side of 4*.
April 27, 2020
When local businesswomen Holly McLeod is found dead in a grotty public toilet, DI Jeff Lincoln is on the case and uncovers lies, secrets and deceit and lives kept hidden for years. Lincoln's team are also juggling cases involving a handbag snatcher and a local bigwig firing a gun at trespassers.
There are a lot of characters to get to grips with and how they all relate to each other but as the secrets become uncovered, everything starts to gel together as the seemingly loose ends and red herrings are gradually released to the reader although not always how I expected!!
It's very multilayered and unlike many crime fiction books the bodies DONT pile up even if the questions do! Although it's not a cozy, its not overly graphic either and very storyline and character driven and (I think) I actually recognised a couple of the locations described in "Barbury". Overall it's a highly enjoyable read as a whodunnit but more so as a whydunnit.
There are a lot of characters to get to grips with and how they all relate to each other but as the secrets become uncovered, everything starts to gel together as the seemingly loose ends and red herrings are gradually released to the reader although not always how I expected!!
It's very multilayered and unlike many crime fiction books the bodies DONT pile up even if the questions do! Although it's not a cozy, its not overly graphic either and very storyline and character driven and (I think) I actually recognised a couple of the locations described in "Barbury". Overall it's a highly enjoyable read as a whodunnit but more so as a whydunnit.
December 30, 2019
The Price of Silence by Nikki Copleston has received a Chill with a Book Readers' Premier Award.
www.chillwithabook.com
The Price of Silence was an excellent read which I couldn’t put down. There were many characters, all with distinctive and credible personalities. This novel was full of intrigue with its twists and turns. I would highly recommend it.
Pauline Barclay - Founder of Chill Awards
www.chillwithabook.com
The Price of Silence was an excellent read which I couldn’t put down. There were many characters, all with distinctive and credible personalities. This novel was full of intrigue with its twists and turns. I would highly recommend it.
Pauline Barclay - Founder of Chill Awards
August 5, 2025
It`s always good to discover a author who i have not come across before, so when i started Nikki Copleston The Price of Silence i was looking for all the ingredients of a good "who done it", a good cast of characters, a selection of Red Herrings to explore and a plot that moves at pace and The Price of Silence has it all . So would i buy another DI Jeff Lincoln novel? the answer to that is yes and the best thing about that is i have another 4 to look forward to.
March 11, 2022
A good read
I loved meeting DI Lincoln. The twists and turns in the plot kept me turning the pages. The characters are well drawn and believable. I'm looking forward to reading more.
I loved meeting DI Lincoln. The twists and turns in the plot kept me turning the pages. The characters are well drawn and believable. I'm looking forward to reading more.
October 18, 2024
Lots of good things about this book but I found it too long. Just over half-way I gave up caring who did what.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews