Customer Reviews

No One Heard Her Scream

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Jordan Dane hits a solid homerun with her debut novel, NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM. The book is marked as romantic suspense, but the accent is on suspense, with clearly defined characters, a taut plot, and forensic and police terminology that will satisfy the armchair crime scene investigators looking for a new buzz.

The novel's pacing is frantic, the prose pared down and swift, the love scenes torrid, and the bad guys as creepy and evil as anyone would ever want. I had a good time blazing through this book. It offers a lot of excitement and twists, as well as the San Antonio background that I'd recently visited. The scenes along the historic riverwalk really jumped out at me.

I liked Detective Rebecca "Becca" Montgomery right out of the blocks. She's cut from the same larger-than-life cloth that a lot of action/suspense heroes are cut from, but she wears it well. I liked the fact that she was tough, independent, and good in a fight, though that isn't what most romance heroines are noted for. However, more and more young women in our world are getting that way - including familiarity with the martial arts - and I think Becca presents a good role model in several respects.

Dane grabs our attention immediately in the beginning with the short action piece, then segues smoothly into Becca's story. Still reeling with the guilt and pain from her younger sister's disappearance months ago, Becca is pulled off Dani's investigation and placed on a cold case assignment. Along the way she's hauled into an investigation involving the body of a young woman that was bricked up in a recently burned-down movie theater.

While at the theater crime scene, Becca crosses paths with Diego Galvan, who quickly proves he's more than he seems. Diego is a strong lead that easily holds his own with Becca, and he's a man hiding a lot of secrets.

Real life has to be squashed almost into sound bytes in a novel to keep the pacing up, and Dane masters that art easily. Her strength lies in the plotting, which has enough twists and turns to keep most readers guessing or second-guessing which path she's going to take.

With the meteoric pacing of Becca's investigation, the budding relationship with Diego sometimes gets overshadowed, but I found myself accepting the fact that the author would handle it. My main attention focused on Becca's pursuit of the bad guys and who everyone really was. The headlong storyline made it almost impossible to let the relationship breathe, but I think it'll be satisfying to romance fans.

However, the suspense, action, and detailed police knowledge should have fans of Tami Hoag and Lisa Jackson picking up Dane's books as well.

Dane scored a great deal with her publisher. Over the next three months, three of her novels will be released. NO ONE LEFT TO TELL comes out next, followed by NO ONE LIVES FOREVER. Although they sound like a series, all of them feature different heroines and heroes.

Pick up Jordan Dane's novels even if you don't have time to read them now. They're perfect beach books, though you may be more tense lying in the sun and lawn chair than you'd planned on being!

Detective Rebecca "Becca" Montgomery has been in a state of emotional limbo since her younger sister, Dani, disappeared five months prior. To get Becca off the case's head investigator, Lieutenant Arturo Santiago (her boss and friend) sends her to investigate the body found in the ashes of a recently burned down theater. Upon arriving at the fire scene Becca scans the by-standers for anything odd. (One man stood out from everyone else and she makes a mental note to have someone check out the handsome guy and his car tags.) The body found has already been reduced to a skeleton. There is no clothing, but an expensive locket is found at the feet. The body had been bricked into the theater wall, near the stage, during the last reconstruction. Sam Hastings, the team leader for the crime-scene technicians could tell the person had been a young female. The scratch marks within the brick tomb clearly shows that the lady had been buried alive. Becca's duty will be more difficult than normal since the clues prove that someone has been missing a daughter or sister, just like her, with no idea if the girl were alive.

It is not long before mystery man's identity is known. Diego Galvan is one of the top men working for Hunter Cavanaugh. Cavanaugh is a high profile business man. He is as dirty as they come, but no one can ever prove anything. If Diego is working for Cavanaugh, he can't be good and this makes Becca wonder why he was at a fire scene. Diego makes contact with Becca, claiming that he was only giving her warning about Cavanaugh. Yet the man never comes right out and tells how he is connected to Cavanaugh. Diego neither admits his boss is in any way connected to the body, nor that his boss is not. One thing is for sure, anytime Diego is near Becca, her knees go weak and she yearns for things out of her reach.

Diego Galvan hates Cavanaugh. But there is one person he hates even more and this is Matt Brogan, Cavanaugh's muscle man. Diego has to be very careful due to the fact that Brogan keeps an extremely close eye on him. Yet Diego cannot stop himself from warning the lovely detective about his boss. Once he meets Becca face-to-face, Diego is fascinated and unable to stay away. Feeding Becca information could easily get him killed; or worse, get her killed. One way or another, Diego is determined to bring Cavanaugh to justice. But is the price too high?

***** I am unable to tell more in the synopsis without totally giving away some vital clues and information. I can say that Cavanaugh has more than one shady business going on. Brogan knows most, if not all, of Cavanaugh's business dealings (legal and illegal). Yet Brogan is not very intelligent. He can't get his mind off of killing Diego someday. The body's identified early on and Becca must contact family, anyone last with the deceased...the normal stuff. But again, I can't go into more detail than that.

Author Jordan Dane has set a very strong foundation for the "NO ONE" trilogy. Rest assured that this IS a stand-alone story. All major loose ends are tied. Whether you are a fan of Romantic Suspense or Crime Scene Thrillers you will not be disappointed. There are some bedroom sections, but not enough to turn off male readers. I have never read this author before now, but I will definitely be keeping my eye on her. If Jordan Dane's writing stays this good, I see wonderful things in her future. Excellent! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Plenty of reviews will tell you what the book is about, but I want to talk about how this book made me feel. NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM is in that category of book that you don't want to put down, yet should fate or the vagaries of life require you to, you can't stop thinking about it while you're doing other things. Not only will it interrupt your sleep -- in that delicious way thrillers do -- but it will distract you as you do the dishes, drive to work, walk the dog. (Or, if you're me, you'll read and walk the dog at the same time!)

NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM is fast-paced, with compelling characters and genuinely creepy villains. It grabs you by the throat from the first page and doesn't let go. Becca commands your attention through the wends and winds of her investigation of the death of a young woman found sealed up in a theatre wall even as the mysterious Diego commands hers. Through it all, this disappearance of her sister haunts and drives her. The multiple plots twist and weave, draw you in and hang on tight.

My recommendation? Start it when you know you've got enough time to finish it. And then, lucky you (and lucky me), Jordan Dane's next book is only a month away.

It's been five months and the only thing that police have managed to find of homicide detective Rebecca Montgomery's kid sister Danielle is a bloody crime scene. Guilt rules her and she desperately wants on the case, but is reassigned to an arson investigation which turns into a murder when skeletal remains are uncovered. At the crime scene she runs into the dashing Diego Galvan, a shadowy man with unsavory friends. When she links the possible victim to a man under FBI surveillance, her case is soon taken from her and she's put on leave; but not before putting her cards on the table with wealthy and shady businessman Hunter Cavanaugh. On leave and still investigating, she finds herself drawn to Diego, who is not who he appears to be, and her many questions and relationship with Diego put her in danger.

Dane's romantic suspense takes a little while to build up, but after getting through the first couple chapters, the story picks up and turns into a really satisfying novel. I didn't feel that the romance between Diego and Rebecca was fully explored - it just seemed a little too abrupt, but Dane manages to make both her characters really strong without sacrificing the plot. There is also a nice twist at the end.

Five months ago, San Antonio Police Detective Rebecca "Becca" Montgomery's younger sister, Dani, vanished without a trace. Distraught, Becca keeps "shadowing" the case led by dedicated professional Detective Paul Murphy who wants her to stay out of his investigation. To somewhat occupy her mind and to get her away from fighting her peer, Becca's boss Lieutenant Arturo Santiago assigns her to look into the humans ashes found at a burned down theater.

Becca knows why her boss assigned her this case, but plans to conduct a professional inquiry. At the inferno sight, Becca glances at the crowd of curious on-lookers, but only one person seems out of place. The human remains are that of a female skeleton with only an expensive locket nearby; the victim was walled inside a "prison" during the last renovation with evidence she was interred while she still lived. Becca learns the out of place stranger is Diego Galvan, who works for allegedly corrupt businessman Hunter Cavanaugh. Diego informs Becca to be careful with her investigation as her case touches Cavanaugh and his nasty Matt Brogan

This is a superb police procedural with enough of a romance between Becca and Diego to enhance the investigation. Becca is a strong protagonist who knows she is over the edge over her sister, but cannot stop herself from wanting to break Murphy's nose. Ironically readers know Diego's intentions while Becca wonders whose side is he on. Fans will enjoy the exciting first "No One" tale as the lead pair each has hidden agendas that come before any feelings they might have for one another.

Harriet Klausner

I got the book from my local library and altho I'm only page 37 I'm already bored. The dialogue is ridiculous and the descriptions barely hold up as realistic. I wanted a mystery with a strong female lead set in a city I know a little, but all I get is a series of scenarios that are almost laughable. Granted, it has had a few moments of interest that tempt one to keep going but if things haven't improved by page 100, I'll be following the librarian's rule and returning this one unread.

Mixing romance with mystery, Jordan Dane introduces characters that jump off the page and land, vividly, in your imagination. The heroine, Rebecca Montgomery, is a troubled police detective assigned to investigate a possible arson where skeletal remains have been discovered. As Rebecca uncovers clues, her life is surprisingly and dramatically altered. "No One Heard Her Scream" is an exciting, easy-to-read, debut novel that leaves the reader craving more. I am definitely looking forward to reading Jordan Dane's next novel.

Rebecca Montgomery is a San Antonio detective suffering from the disappearance and apparent murder of her younger sister, Danielle, five months earlier (Danielle's body has never been found, but, a blood stained motel room proves she had died there). Unhappy with the pace of the investigation into her sisters' murder, Rebecca has gotten herself in trouble by interfering with the case when she has been ordered to stay away.

Instead of forcing Rebecca to take vacation, her boss, Lieutenant Santiago assigns Rebecca to investigate a suspected arson case at a local theater where a body (or rather skeleton) has been found behind a wall.

Arriving at the scene, Rebecca notices a mysterious man watching her as she enters the building. Inside, she starts her investigation and vows to solve the case so that the family of the dead person can reach closure. Rebecca also asks for video to be taken of the people watching outside, and license plate numbers. After leaving the theater, she follows mystery man (he knows she is following him). They have coffee and the heat intensifies......

The license plate information identifies the mystery man as Diego Galvan. He works for Global Enterprises with super rich Hunter Cavanaugh who, coincidently, used to own the theater where the skeleton was found.

Verrry interrresting.

The skeleton is tentatively identified as Isabel Marquez and the list of suspects grows as Rebecca digs deeper. And more girls disappear. The FBI suspects human trafficking by one of the suspects, but, the evidence does not point in the right direction for Rebecca to be convinced.

We find out that Diego is not what he seems as he an Rebecca ignite the passion.

Eventually, Rebecca and Diego's world is turned upside down and the action and danger increases exponentially.

Does Rebecca find out who killed Isabel? Is Diego bad? Does Hunter figure into the mix? Who lives, who dies?

Like I always say: You'll just have to read the book to find out.

By TracyReaderDad

Jordan Dane has written a terrific first novel. She has placed intrigue everywhere in this book. I could not find a slow spot while reading this tale of murder that begins with the apparent death of the sister, Danielle, of homicide detective, Rebecca Montgomery. It was as though Becca's life stopped when that disappearance occurred. Becca couldn't forget the case. When several other women disappeared under somewhat similar situations, Becca dug too deep and became too personally involved making the detective that was in charge of the investigation, Paul Murphy, very annoyed to the point that he set the Lieutenant on Becca to order her off the case because she had too personal an interest. Santiago did order her off the case but Becca had too much penned up inside of her to forget the disappearance of her sister. He informed Becca that the FBI had entered the case suspecting human trafficking in the area. With their involvement, he didn't want any detective of his messing up a case.

Santiago placed her on a cold case thinking it apart from Becca's deep-rooted interest. A body was found in the walls of an old theatre downtown and that was now Becca's assignment, like it or not. The victim had left scratches in the walls around her location showing she had been buried alive and "No One Heard Her Scream" as she tried unsuccessfully to get out of her concrete grave. While doing her routine investigating, Becca sensed someone shadowing her. Finally a good-looking man approached her and seemingly knew almost everything about Becca, who had no trust of this man but had pretty strong intimate feelings toward him. Diego Galvin's closeness set Becca's emotions off and running while trying to maintain the separation that a detective had to observe while working cases.

Naturally Becca could not help but see the possibility that Danielle may have vanished in a way that these new found murdered girls had been. Becca continued to dig deep finding those involved through her research and physical hard work. Diego seemed to be "there" when Becca went to a different witness or suspect to interview them and he also appeared at her home. Becca didn't know how far she could trust this man. Hunter Cavanaugh owned a huge estate and had several tough bodyguards around. He seemed to control far too much while having an excess of riches. Becca finds out that Diego works for Cavanaugh, which spun her mind deeper in circles while questioning whether his trust was to her or Cavanaugh.

Many more characters intertwine in this book but not to the point of confusing the reader. The author does a fantastic job of locating her characters in the proper places and the reader can keep all phases of "No One Heard Her Scream" straight in their mind. I highly recommend this book. An impossibly hard-to put-down novel.

I'm so very used to starting with a series and finding that the author is still learning their trade and still has some room to grow. With Ms. Dane's, debut, I am wondering what the heck else she can pull out of her sleeve and what the future will hold. As a long time mystery reader, I found the characters complex and compelling in a field that often has shallow characters with obvious motivations. All the loose threads were dealt with in a rather full and interesting plot. Yes, it involves a mysterious murder investigated by a character with their own agenda, but that's where the standard mystery plot ends and goes off in unexpected directions. I can hardly wait to see what the rest of the series will reveal for all of us!

I came across this book by accident when shopping on Amazon and had no idea what I was getting myself in to. I never look at anything except the book description on a novel and that is how I judge whether or not I want to buy it.

After finishing the novel, I had to find out more about this author. I found out Jordan Dane is a new author and I will be buying more of her work. Her writing is exquisite and the way she describes scenes, characters, and feelings are spectacular. She uses words to paint pictures and to beat it all, she does this throughout the whole novel - not just at certain points in the novel like most authors. Her writing is brilliant!

Detective Rebecca Montgomery is trying to recover from her sister's disappearance - no body recovered. She never gave up hope of finding her but, belittled herself for not solving the case not to mention, struggling with the realization that her mother blames her for not finding her sister. Her Sarge informs her that she cannot be involved in her sister's case but, she begs the Sarge to keep her in the loop. He promises to do his best.

While working another case, she happens upon a dead body that is buried inside a theater wall and this case digs her deeper and deeper into secrets, lies, and deceit that happened seven years ago. Rebecca is relieved of all her duties because an FBI agent suddenly thinks he has a link to her sister's disappearance and her Sarge asks her to take a much needed vacation.

But, Rebecca keeps up her investigation on the case of the dead body found, without anyone's approval. She feels the pain and anguish of the family because she herself is going through the same pain. What Rebecca uncovers will blow your mind.

From the first chapter, I was hooked on this novel.