Customer Reviews

The Screaming Room

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In The Screaming Room, you are introduced to two vicious serial killers who are on a killing spree in New York City. The difference in this book, compared to a typical mystery, is that the reader KNOWS who the killers are from the very beginning. It's a nice refreshing pace to ride alongside the detectives trying to find the killers, when you already know some of the answers. With this new formula, the reader is allowed to relax and enjoy the thrilling mystery without the fear of being blind sighted with a cat-out-of-the-hat trick at the end of the book.

Lieutenant John Driscoll has just buried his wife who was in a deep coma for several years. Before he has time to grieve his loss, he is assigned a new case. Someone is killing tourists in New York City and leaving their bodies prominently displayed so they are found easily. Every tourist spot in New York is being targeted and the police have no idea who is murdering these unsuspecting people. Without a motive or reason, the police have to search for clues that the killers might have left behind.

Sergeant Margaret Aligante has had feelings for Driscoll for a long time. She works alongside him in this harrowing case that brings back bad memories of her abusive childhood.

Driscoll starts to put the pieces to this puzzle together and thinks he's found the culprits. Once he finds out whom he is hunting, it becomes a cat and mouse game to try to find these elusive killers.

Will Sergeant Aligante be able to work to solve this case before these perverse killers murder more victims?

The Screaming Room is a highly emotional, spine tingling, scary ride that mystery fans can really enjoy. The search for the killers is so intense that you become extremely immersed in this story. Snap on your seatbelt before opening this book because it's going to be a bumpy ride with sharp turns and an explosive ending unlike anything you've ever read before.

Armchair Interview says: A real hold-your-breath, turn-the-pages thriller!

John Driscoll has laid the ghosts of his past to rest. He's ready to start over -- both personally and as an NYPD homicide commander. But it seems that a serial killer has other plans for Driscoll.

The victims' bodies are found, brutally mutilated and carefully arranged for the world to see -- on a Ferris wheel; in a dinosaur diorama; on a bridge -- grotesque visions to all except for the depraved killer, who considers them masterpieces. These blood rituals spell out a message to Driscoll. And they are just the beginning.

Driscoll's investigation will lead him down the darkest of journeys, toward an evil beyond his worst nightmares. In a hellish landscape conceived by the all-too-clever mind of a twisted schemer, Driscoll must play a killer's deadly game. It's up to him to save his city -- or die trying.

The Screaming Room was a past-paced read. It was well writen, and researched. It is Thomas O'Callghan's second novel after The Bone Thief. I didn't get the title. 'The Screaming Room' you assume is the place where the killer goes to kill people but the kills take place over different areas of New York City. The third novel in this series is due to be released in 2008. It is titled No One Will Hear You.

The day Dave Driscoll, commander of NYPD's homicide division, buries his wife the Chief calls because the Mayor is in an uproar. Someone is murdering tourists in New York City. This isn't the run of the mill murder - they brutally scalp them and pose them at a tourist site.

Tension builds as more bodies are found and the only clue is DNA proves that 2 of the murders were performed by identical twins - one female - one male. Even though this is a rare event - identical twins being the opposite sex - Dave's team is having an almost impossible time tracking them down. There is no apparent pattern factoring in other than the victims are tourist in New York City.

Imagine as a young child experiencing every kind of horrific abuse imaginable and more. Angus and Cassie did just that. Now in their teens they are out for revenge of the worst kind. They are out to right a wrong and protect many, many people while doing it.

As Dave and his team get closer a third party, the father of one of the victims becomes involved. Mr. Shewster is a multimillionaire and on the surface he just wants to help capture the monsters that killed his beloved daughter. All is not what it seems though because this man has his own agenda. As hard as Dave and his team are working to catch the twins, he is working equally hard towards his own goals.

The Screaming Room is a taunt fast paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Many of the characters have their own secrets to deal with and work through which makes it all the more interesting. Nothing is as it seems on the surface and there are many layers to uncover throughout this chilling story. Once you get drawn into the story it is almost impossible to put down!

I found "The Screaming Room" to be a well written tautly plotted thriller that would have earned 5 stars from me except for a weak, somewhat contrived ending...not that it was bad, in and of itself. The characters are well defined and the chemistry between and among them is clearly plausible. The plot itself has some unique takes on the serial killer genre and the pacing is designed to build suspense and terror as it leads to the inevitable showdown at its climax.

Lieutenant John Driscoll, NYPD homicide division commander, has just buried his wife after caring for her over the past six years while she was comatose following a collision with a drunk driver that also killed their daughter. He has already discovered emotions for Sergeant Margaret Aligante which forms a sub current to the book's plotting. Detective Cedric Tomlinson, a friend and confidante to Driscoll, can be seen growing as a professional as the storyline develops.

Mayor Reirdon leans heavily on Driscoll to lead the charge in identifying and capturing the perpetrator(s) of a series of gruesome murders of tourists in New York City. Each body is savagely killed, scalped, and posed in oddly meaningful ways at public tourist attraction such as the Coney Island Wonder Wheel, American Museum of Natural History, etc. Perplexing to the detectives is how the victims are lured to the spot of the killing and why they are subsequently killed---obviously, they know their killer.

There is little doubt of who the killers are as they are identified almost immediately to the reader as Angus and Cassie, teenagers who seek less than stellar victims to heap some sort of vengeance for the sexual, physical, and emotional abuse they suffered as children. The reader will be enlightened as to how it is possible for identical twins to be born of different genders and how something called Turner's Syndrome affects their lives. There is some emotional confusion for some characters over how responsible the twins are for their behavior--but that very behavior itself rules out any real sympathy for them.

Knowing the identities of the killers early on only makes the cat and mouse pursuit more chess like, especially after a "wild card" enters the picture. Malcolm Shewster is a multi millionaire pharmaceutical mogul who is the father of one of the victims. He appears upon the scene making demands and threats if his daughter's killer is not found. He complicates the investigation by offering 3 million dollars for information and conducting his own investigation--hoping to find the killers before John Driscoll. What are his real motives?

This was a five star read for me until the last 70-80 pages when it seemed the author whimsically decided it was time to end the story. The bringing together of all the disparate characters and protagonist appeared contrived in an uncomfortable manner to me as was, once again, the kidnapping and/or endangering of a protagonist's loved one whose sole existence it seems is to serve as bait. Be this as it may, the climax is still suspenseful and pays off satisfactorily.

One question: How do 2 out of 5 previous reviewers of this novel misidentify John Driscoll as Dave Driscoll in their reviews? Curious.

Dave Driscoll is the commander of the New York Police Departments homicide division, he buried his daughter six years ago after she was killed by a drunk driver, his wife had been at home in a coma, now he has buried his wife. Getting back to his life after trying to put the ghosts from his past aside there is a serial killer lose that is killing tourists in New York City, there are very bizarre killings as the victims are scalped and then posed at tourist sites, including a Ferris wheel, Brooklyn Bridge, and the zoo. And to add to all the twist and turns, the serial killer is not one person but a set of twins, identical twins that are of different genders, they are brother and sister.

If you are looking for a fast paced thriller with edge of your seat impact then look no further, this was a thrilling and engaging read. The author has done an excellent job and has done his research, once you start you will not be able to put this thriller down. An excellent thrilling and engaging read from the first page to the last. A must read and an astounding 5 stars!

This book is the second in a series by Thomas O'Callaghan. This author has a talent for writing thriller's that is to the likings of Stephen King and Dean Koontz. I find his books to be riviting, having you on the edge of your seat where you just can't put the book down!! I would HIGHLY recommend this book and I am awaiting the next great book in this series!!

Talented author Thomas O'Callaghan does it again! Another tale guaranteed to give your goose bumps, goose bumps. Tourists from all over the world visit New York City to meet a gruesome end.

It is said that each serial killer has a reason for what they do, that they may have what they feel is a mission that compels them to kill. Or they may simply kill for the sense of power or pleasure they derive from the act.

Those are the questions that New York City Police Lieutenant John Driscoll and his team must answer in their frantic search for the killer whose acts threaten the tourist industry and therefore, make the mayor threaten Driscoll if he doesn't catch the killer.

Tracking this killer isn't easy and a surprise awaits Driscoll when the identity of the killer is known. Will he be able to stop the killings before the entire city is in a panic?

I'm pleased to recommend this tale to any thriller fan. It will have you eyeing strangers carefully when you travel alone. Guaranteed to keep you awake if you read this tale at bedtime.

Enjoy. I did.

If you are looking for a fast paced, well-thought out thrill ride, then I plead for you to get The Screaming Room. Intelligent characters, great storytelling and the inability to put it down makes it a winner in my eyes...Applause to Mr. O'Callahan...I will purchase his others today...I needed a new author to pursue!

I read 'THE BONE THIEF' and rated it 4 stars. 'THE SCREAMING ROOM' I am also rating 4 stars. Driscoll, Margaret and Tomlinson are all back from the first book and I believe in this one they are given a little more depth and a bit more believability. Much like the first novel, 'THE SCREAMING ROOM' is an easy read, although I am still waiting for the return on Andrea Gerhard, the assistant district attorney of 'THE BONE THIEF'. Is this shameless lobbying? Oh well! The action is pretty constant and the police work interesting. There isn't much mystery in this one and the killers are revealed immediately in the book. I think the only thing that prevents me from giving either of these books five stars is the sheer perfection of character in the main character. Driscoll is just too good to be true. Not that I want him to be corrupt or anything, but the man is almost qualifying for sainthood. The bottom line is I enjoyed this one and am looking forward to the release of 'NO ONE WILL HEAR YOU.'

I like most books, even the ones that not well written. If it is a good, entertaining yarn I can get past workman prose. Sadly, Thomas O'Callaghan's "The Screaming Room" is simply bad. The book reads like an abridged version of ideas from other, better books.

To disguise the fact that the book is devoid of any interesting angle, the author ups the shock factor. Incest? Check. Child rape? Check. Racism? Check. Scalping? Check.

We get that inserted in strong passages like this one describing a child finding the first murder victim in a museum.

"Isn't the plateosaurus a plant eater?"
"Of course it is."
The boy pointed his finger at the assemblage of bones.
"Then how come that one's got a dead lady coming out of its butt?"

Run far away from this one. Literally any other thriller you could pick up would be better.