Holly’s review of Silent Scream (Book 11) by Karen Rose
Four college students believed they were making a statement. They were activists, fighting to preserve the environment by burning down a new apartment complex. But they didn’t realize that someone was watching. A blackmailer hides in plain sight, using people’s secrets for personal gain, and when this criminal sets his sights on the four young arsonists, he begins his most deadly game yet.
When a teenage girl dies in a suspicious fire, Detective Olivia Sutherland is assigned to track down the arsonist. Then she discovers something more sinister: a vicious blackmailer who preys on young people and murders without hesitation. Making her work even harder is sexy firefighter David Hunter. He’s not only sharing the case but sparking memories of their long-ago night of passion, when feelings were left unspoken and hearts were broken.
David has his own ghosts, and a million regrets. But while he and Olivia try to face the wall of pain between them, a diabolical puppet master is pulling strings to make a group of twentysomethings do his bidding. Soon Olivia and David are scouring the city for a calculating criminal who seems tantalizingly close–and is moving in for the kill.
Another stellar novel from Rose. I’ve been waiting years for David’s book and I’m happy to report it was worth the wait. Although the characters in this book appear throughout the series, I believe Silent Scream can be read as a stand-alone novel.
We meet David Hunter for the first time in Rose’s debut, Don’t Tell. He’s popped up now and again throughout the books, most notably when he fell into bed with Olivia Sutherland at her best friend’s wedding – the best friend David has been hopelessly in love with for years. But that was then, and this is now. Now David is living in Minneapolis, hoping for a second chance with Olivia. Unfortunately she doesn’t seem to be very receptive..until they’re forced to work together during an arson/homicide investigation.
For years Olivia has been avoiding thinking about David and the night they spent together. Now that she’s forced to work with him she has to admit she still finds him just as attractive before. But last time she was with David he wanted to be with someone else. Before they can get to the bottom of what happened back then a madman demands their attention, threatening people they’re both close to.
Silent Scream clocks in at just under 600 pages. Yet I finished it in one day. This novel is filled with misunderstandings and bone chilling suspense. The combination shouldn’t have worked, but Rose blends both aspects beautifully. David really made some mistakes with Olivia. At one point in particular I really cringed and thought, “no you didn’t just say that!”, but as the novel progresses and we learn more about each character their motivations are revealed and it’s easy to sympathize with them.
The main villain wasn’t hard to figure out, but Rose offers us 4 more villains – unwitting ones. The four college students who accidentally murder a girl while setting a fire in protest, they weren’t as easy to figure out. On the surface they seemed shallow and young. But as the pressure intensifies their true nature’s are revealed, causing unexpected bumps and twists.
Rose is a master at blending romance and suspense elements together to create spine-tingling thrillers. Silent Scream
4.5 out of 5
This book is available from Grand Central Publishing. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
I am a HUGE Karen Rose fan. Love all her books but the more she writes the better she gets!