Don't Say a Word - David Mark

Despite a few superficial similarities, David Mark's Sal Delaney series is a very different beast from his DS McAvoy series. Sure, both are police detectives and both have very close relationships with their families and are very protective of them. Above all both series usually involve some pretty gruesome killings. Hey, it's David Mark, what do you expect? Any similarities end there however, or at least if there are similarities they are explored from different angles. McAvoy deals with crime that comes from unexpected places, threats from new areas and corrupt dealings in a changing world. As far as the Sal Delaney series goes - which is not a series as such as much as a three-parter, I believe - she's a Collision Investigation Officer in a rural Cumbrian backwater and the focus is more on how families and individuals are affected in the present by the crimes and injustices of the past.

Which means there are lots of dark family and community secrets that continue to resonate and eventually resurface in shocking ways. Certainly as far as Sal’s family life goes "it's complicated" doesn't quite cut it. Shakespearean is maybe closer to the mark. Her life has taken a number of unexpected turns following the revelations and events of the first book, When the Bough Breaks. No spoilers, but it has left Sal temporarily with responsibilities for the two step children of her ex-partner, and it has seen her twin brother Jarod leave home to possibly sort himself out. And then there’s Uncle Wulf, currently helping young Theo Myers restart his life after a wrongful conviction, despite the ongoing concerted efforts of some of Sal's police officer superiors to put Wulf back behind bars. That brings a strange mix of joy and pain, and it's not as if Sal has been coping well herself lately.

Considerably better though than the victim she encounters however on the latest collision call-out, a rotting living corpse who has just managed to dig himself out of a grave like a zombie only to be almost run over by a local landowner, Sycamore Le Gros. That much, along with the nature of a dangerous killer and a hint of supernatural linked to local folklore is also classic Mark, and that’s going to keep the reader intrigued and horrified. The complicated relationships and the impact of the events in the last book will however be harder to grasp for a reader who hasn't read When the Bough Breaks, but they are very much a part of the whole character and feel of how the Sal Delaney series is shaping up. And it's shaping up very nicely indeed in Don't Say a Word.

Mark finds a tasty bit of local history and lore for the horror side of the work in Blindworm, who legend has it was Edward I's torturer and executioner. Theo is researching the character as part of a job application as a guide to Redburn Castle, and it looks like someone is literally donning Blindworm's mantle. As effective as that is, it's not half as scary as the way Mark can write characters that can get under your skin. There are kind and good ones who often feel inadequate, and there are bad ones like Sal's superior officer Magda Quinn, whose every word and action on the page makes your blood boil. I shouldn't mention boiling blood in a review of a David Mark book, as it might give him ideas, or it would have only for the fact that he has of course already indicated that this was one of Blindworm's terrifyingly creative torture techniques. That and quite a bit more.

There is indeed a lot to take in here and I don't think you would get the best out of Don't Say A Word if you haven't read the first Sal Delaney book, When the Bough Breaks. That said, this one is a treat for anyone who is following the series and both books wrap up their storylines thrillingly well while leaving further gaps and avenues to be explored in the next book. That seems too long a wait but it will at least give my blood enough time to cool down after this one. That's the David Mark effect, and it's abundantly in evidence here.

Reading notes: Reading notes: Don't Say a Word, a Sal Delaney Mystery, Book 2 is published in hardcover and eBook editions by Severn House on the 3rd June 2025. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance review copy.