Silent Scream [Mass Market Paperback]

Karen Rose (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 25, 2010

"A high-octane thrill ride that kept me on the edge of my seat and up far too late at night!"
--Lisa Jackson

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers may never use an unsecured free Internet connection again after plowing through Rose's engaging new thriller. Four Minneapolis college students burn a condo complex, apparently for political reasons, killing a young woman and a security guard. Homicide detective Olivia Sutherland catches the case; when firefighter David Hunter discovers crucial evidence, he and Olivia must set aside their believably difficult romantic past to find the story behind the arson. Meanwhile, a stalker considers what to do with video of the students' incriminating conversations. Rose (I Can See You) packs action into every moment of four intense days as the meticulous, capable cops and firefighters race to stop a deadly blackmailer with his own distorted sense of morality. Thriller fans will love the high-adrenaline story and robust cast of intriguing supporting characters. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Rose packs action into every moment...Thriller fans will love the high-adrenaline story and robust cast of intriguing supporting characters." (Publishers Weekly )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (May 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446538361
• ISBN-13: 978-0446538367
• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 1.6 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,521 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Award winning, #1 internationally best-selling author Karen Rose earned her degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland. For a number of years she worked in the engineering field, earning two patents, but began writing novels when scenes began filling her mind and her characters would not be silenced.

Her debut suspense novel, DON'T TELL, was released in July, 2003. YOU BELONG TO ME, her twelfth novel, was released in 2011.

Seven of Karen's books have been RITA finalists. Her third book, I'M WATCHING YOU, won the 2005 RITA for Best Romantic Suspense. To date, her books have been translated into nineteen languages.

Karen's books have been New York Times, London Sunday Times and Germany's der Spiegel bestsellers. Karen lives in Florida with her family, her dog, and two cats.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner for Karen Rose, May 27, 2010

By 

JJN-1313 "JJN-1313" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silent Scream (Mass Market Paperback)

This book started off just a smidge slow for me. You're bouncing around between a lot of characters with a lot going on. It kept me from digging into the story right away. But it wasn't a big thing and pretty quickly I was hooked into the story and just wanted to keep reading.

"Silent Scream" is nowhere near as creepy as some of Rose's other books (like the Vartanian sub-trilogy). It's not a particularly dark tale like those, but there's still a pretty decent body count! This story is more a complicated web of deception, revenge, greed and probably some good old-fashioned psychotic tendencies. There are a lot of plot threads, a lot of characters. So it's not a book you want to read casually. You gotta be paying attention.

I loved the way Rose had it all work out though. She weaved all the story threads together seamlessly. When you get to the end and everything has been revealed, it all fits together perfectly and logically. I love that. Such a complicated story, a story that would be easy for the author to get a little lost in and a reader to finish and be confused, but it's all tied up nicely. I finished and was just like, damn, how does she do this? (write such amazing suspense plots).

I admit that I like her psycho serial killer stories a little better, but you can't have a Simon Vartanian in every book. That would get old. Still, this one has a great plot. Once I got hooked into the story, I just wanted to keep reading because I really wanted to know how it all tied together. You know the whos for most of the book, but the whys take to the end to be completely revealed. And I was surprised on a few things. I also loved some of the subtle tie-ins to the previous book "I Can See You."

The book has its sad moments, too. I cried a little over the death of a character. It was so damn sad! I kind of expected the death...characters tend to die in the situation that one was in. But it still had me all teary eyed.

Now, as for the romance...I know a few KR fans who wish she'd up the romance element a bit (like in her first bunch of books). Will this book satisfy you? Maybe yes, maybe no. The suspense plot is still the most dominate aspect of the story. That's the main focus. But I do think the romance was stronger than in some other books. Olivia and David get to spend some significant time together. It takes a while to get to that point, but once they connect, you get some sweet scenes between them. I enjoyed the way Rose wrote their relationship. It fit (and the FREE epilogue available gives readers a nice fluffy bunny HEA extra). It also helps that both characters are very likable. David is a sweetheart and Olivia's a nice, strong woman.

The book also lets you visit with some other series characters: Noah Webster (I Can See You), his troubled former cop partner Jack has a small appearance, and there are mentions/small appearances for Eve, Mia, Ethan, Caroline, Max, Dana...maybe some others. Great to catch up with all those guys!

Just a very satisfying book to read. The plot was excellent, the romance good, the characters great. I honestly had no complaints at all...no loose ends, no mistakes, no unlikable characters, nothing. I was a happy camper when I finished. I will be anxiously awaiting Rose's next book. My guess is that it will be about Brie, Olivia's friend

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Karen Rose, Master of Romantic Suspense, May 27, 2010

By 

suspensejunkie - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Silent Scream (Mass Market Paperback)

Karen rose, the Master of Romantic Suspense, has done it again. In her latest (11th) novel, SILENT SCREAM, Rose delivers heart-pounding suspense and fiery romance as only a pro can.

Although this is a stand-alone novel and easy to love for new Rose fans, long-time fans of Rose will be thrilled to read about David and Olivia, and get some updates from other fantastic characters from earlier novels such as Phoebe Hunter and Noah Webster.

Set in Minneapolis, SILENT SCREAM has arson, murder, blackmailing, mystery, romance and a villain whose diabolical strategy for getting others to do his bidding has Olivia and David racing to stop him before he adds to his victims.

It is no exaggeration that Rose gets better with every new book, even though she has consistently given her fans fabulous characters, exciting mysteries and read with all the lights on suspense.

This is truly one for the keeper shelf, and a great gift for the suspense and romance readers on my gift-giving list this summer.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Karen Rose delivers an exceptional story, June 15, 2010

By 

Judy "book reader" (Cincinnati, ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silent Scream (Mass Market Paperback)

Karen Rose writes another spine chilling tale in Silent Scream.

Detective Olivia Sutherland is assigned to investigate a suspicious fire where a teenage girl has died. Its still to close to her last case that still plaques her nightmares. Olivia vows to do justice for this young victim. Adding another stresser to her life is the return of sexy firefighter David Hunter. Their one night of passion has haunted her for the few years. But Olivia is a pro and figures she can handle David.

David Hunter recently moved to Minneapolis, Minn. to reconnect with friends he has living there. Also he wanted to work his way back into Olivia's world, that is if she lets him. He wasn't expecting a serial arsonist and murder to be the catalyst to getting Olivia to open up to him.

Working closely with David on this case has them both opening up their hearts and working through their pains. Just as their connection starts to grow, the danger to their loved ones increases.

Silent Scream is a riveting tale of romantic suspense. Karen Rose pulls you into the killers evil mind and makes you wonder what will happen next. Just when you think things are calming down, the tension goes up a couple of levels. David and Olivia both have been hurt by love before. It makes their journey to find each other a tough challenge but one worth taken. Their interactions on and off the job are compelling. You find yourself hoping these two will find a way to make it all work. I have been waiting for David's story for a long time, and I can tell you its well worth it. Kudos Karen Rose.