Scream in Silence [Mass Market Paperback]

Eleanor Taylor Bland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2001

Beloved for both her complex mysteries and her fascinating main character, African-American female cop Marti MacAlister, Eleanor Taylor Bland is "one of today's most talented mystery writers" (Booklist). Now Marti is newly married, juggling domestic bliss and a blended family, when an arsonist/bomber shatters the peace of their sleepy Chicago suburb. Suddenly Marti and her partner Matthew "Vik" Jessenovik are working overtime to investigate a series of crimes that appear victimless--until a woman's charred body is discovered in the smoking ruins of a vacant house. There's no time to lose as they race to find a sociopath who has them in his sights--as he graduates from backlot blazes to wholesale homicide, in search of the ultimate thrill....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A relentless arsonist, an elusive bomber, a puzzling murder--this burst of unrestrained mayhem in Lincoln Prairie, Ill., has Afro-American police detective Marti MacAlister and her partner, Vik Jessenovick, exhausted and perplexed. Virginia McCroft, political gadfly and busybody with "the personality of a lemon," is found dead by gunshot in the basement of a home destroyed by arson. Hard-working Marti, a widow who has just remarried, learns that Virginia had been irritating almost everyone and may have been involved in shady land deals or even blackmail. Interwoven with this ongoing investigation are passages in the intense and anonymous voice of a psychopathic bomber and arsonist who displays rage, frustration and plans for future violence. Marti's detective work, which reaches into a tragic past, continues in a convoluted yet absorbing fashion, but a subplot about a petty con man and his lofty aspirations for a big-time scam steals the show. Geoffrey Bailey, worthless but charming, is endearingly inept, and a hair-raising encounter with the arsonist brings him some unexpected consequences. Also enriching the story is Marti's extended family--a grandmother, children, stepchildren, new husband and friends, some troubled, some loving, but all unique in their small roles. This is a generously layered novel, with the best parts peripheral to the mystery. Author tour. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Mystery's first African American female homicide detective joins partner Matthew Jessenovik in tracking down a deadly arsonist and bomb-maker in suburban Chicago. Now juggling a new husband in addition to her kids, Marti MacAlister feels the pressure. A fine procedural.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (February 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312974949
• ISBN-13: 978-0312974947
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,027,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marti and Vic, the dynamic duo, April 21, 2000

By 

Reecia Thompson Stoglin "Re'" (Arlington, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Scream in Silence (Hardcover)

I read this book in a day. It was superb. I enjoyed it as well as her previous books. I kept waiting for Isaac the wino, one of her previous characters to turn up and give some clues as to something he had witnessed by accident. I can hardly wait for the next book to be written!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good book...but., March 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Scream in Silence (Hardcover)

This was a good book with an decent plot and interesting characters. I've been reading this series since the beginning and my only criticism is that Marti is kind of dry. After reading several of these books, I still don't really feel like I know her or her likes and dislikes, what motivates her. I know she loves her family but beyond that Marti is a mystery. I liked the last book a lot better.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MOTHERS AND SONS, March 27, 2001

By 

Bonita L. Davis - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scream in Silence (Hardcover)

It is hard being a mother especially if you are old and helpless. Your only child, a son, becomes your keeper. At times he appears mean, just like his father, but that's okay. You do wonder what he does as he leaves you in your home alone, tired and frightened.

Detectives Marti and Vik find themselves on the trail of an arsonist and bomber whose unleashed anger begins to terrorize their community. A dead body found at one of his fires unfolds a mystery involving Vik's past loves and a series of corrupt land deals. As the detectives methodically unravel the evidence they encounter mothers and sons whose relationships set off a time bomb of abuse, deceit and dependency.

Eleanor Bland once again does a great job in exploring the psychological and emotional forces that lead sons to commit acts that only a mother would forgive. Through the investigation Marti begins to examin the relationship with her own son while Vik explores a teenage relationship long dead. Join with these two detectives as they attempt to make sense out of incidents that hit to close to home in their personal lives.