Customer Reviews

Silent Scream: An Anna Travis Mystery (Anna Travis Mysteries)

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This is a good, solid, no frills crime thriller and is the 5th book which features DI Anna Travis. I hadn't read any of the previous books, in fact this is the first time I've read anything by Lynda La Plante, but I've watched her books being made into successful TV Series such as 'Widows' and 'Prime Suspect' so I knew some of what to expect.

DI Anna Travis's back story was carefully woven into the story which made me feel as if I'd known her for some time, and didn't think I was missing some vital information.

Amanda Delany's character was very flawed and sad and seemed very real as Travis delved deeper and deeper into her personal life and the murky world she inhabited, whilst I felt sorry for her I also disliked her very much, she treated people cruelly and made quite a few enemies.

While the police were investigating Amanda's murder, Travis's soon-to-be-retired boss put her up for promotion but it was felt by some of her colleagues that she didn't share enough of her information with them and they thought this made them look incompetent and there were a few conflicts with her peers which all added to the story, and made her look human, and a fascinating character.

Even thought it was over 500 pages long it didn't feel like it, La Plante's fast paced descriptive writing was easy to read featuring mostly well-defined characters and believable situations.

In Lynda La Plante's "Silent Scream," Amanda Delaney, twenty-four, is a rising film star who is headed for disaster. She is a deeply troubled individual who abuses drugs, suffers from anorexia, and has numerous lovers, both married and single. Tragically, her life is cut short when she is stabbed to death by an unknown assailant. After DI Anna Travis and her colleagues are assigned to the case, they are pressured by their superiors to produce a quick result. When weeks go by and the detectives fail to identify a suspect, DCS James Langton shows up to breathe down their necks. Anna is still recovering from her failed relationship with Langton, who has since returned to his ex-wife.

Travis, twenty-nine, is married to her job; when her boss puts her name forward for possible promotion to DCI, she is elated. However, the Delaney case may prove to be her undoing. There is little physical evidence, and even after Anna and her partner follow up every possible lead and interview anyone who might have pertinent information, they are left with little more than a tragic portrait of a neurotic actress on a path to self-destruction.

La Plante effectively depicts Anna's ambition and unhealthy obsession with her job. She has no friends, family, hobbies, or other interests to help reduce the stress in her life. She endures resentment from her coworkers, condescension from Langton, and the frustration of interviewing witnesses who lie time and again and do whatever they can to obstruct justice. If anyone harbors the illusion that being a homicide detective is glamorous, the author sets us straight. Anna's existence, for the most part, consists of sleepless nights; weekends at the station or in the field; endless hours spent reading reports and sifting through evidence; and the tedium of interrogating the same people repeatedly--with no guarantee that the answers to the puzzle will ever materialize. To make matters worse, Anna has a tendency to go it alone, and her reputation for not being an effective team player may hurt her chances for advancement.

At over four hundred pages, "Silent Scream" eventually becomes tedious and repetitious. Red herrings abound, and as the novel progresses, it becomes increasingly contrived and melodramatic. Still, the reader will sympathize with Anna and understand her determination to find the killer, no matter how long it takes. All in all, this is an occasionally engrossing but depressing tale of greed, jealousy, cruelty, and exploitation in which La Plante demonstrates that beauty, wealth, and fame matter very little to someone who is chronically insecure and deeply unhappy.

I'm a huge Lynda LaPlante fan way back to Widows that I saw when visiting London. I've read and seen nearly all of her work. While this novel is not her best that doesn't matter to me; it's still a very good read. She does thorough research and pulls the reader into the story. Some who watched Prime Suspect do not like Anna Travis - it hasn't the same gritty quality - but if you don't try to compare the two women this novel holds up very well.

Twenty something movie star Amanda Delany is a favorite of the paparazzi and tabloids as she always makes infamous news with drugs and sex. When a publisher offers a ton of money for a tell-all titivating autobiography, Amanda accepts the offer. However, before she can write her exposé, someone murders her in her Belgravia mews house that she had occupied for only eight weeks.

Detective Inspector Anna Travis leads the police investigation knowing the unscrupulous media will do anything including interfering and intruding on her inquiry to gain a scoop. However, the crime scene provides no useful information. Worse motives are galore as Anna trafficked in drug and man usage as she was a serial marriage destroyer and then there is the memoir. With the media clamoring for instant results, Anna's former lover and a previous direct reports supervisor Detective Chief Superintendent James Langton demands she resolve the case yesterday even as a financial scam surfaces that adds a potential monetary motive to the complex case.

In her fifth case, Travis is terrific as she shows little growth as an investigator from her previous cases like Deadly Intent; yet is up for a promotion as the Peter Principle apparently is winning out. Her somewhat early ineptitude enhances a fun whodunit though the culprit will be easily identified by readers much earlier than the cops do. Silent Scream is an entertaining British police procedural starring a cop who may have risen above her skill level yet remains confident in her abilities to stride for a promotion.

Harriet Klausner

Book arrived on time and in perfect condition. I have read almost every Laplante book published and this is up there
with the best of them.

This is the story of two women whose lives become intertwined, one a beautiful and upcoming actress, the other a talented and ambitious detective. The former, Amanda Delany, is a promiscuous, drug- and sex-addicted film star found brutally stabbed in her bed. Anna Travis' career is put to the test as she and the rest of the Metropolitan Police team investigate the bizarre murder.

This is a highly detailed British police procedural, with lots of suspects and false leads. In the beginning there is certainly a great lack of leads, but Anna, who, by the way, is up for promotion, goes solo too often to come up with the breakthrough information to solve the case.

The plot is cannily crafted to keep the reader absorbed, with the suspense building page by page. The author brings to life the unfortunate victim as Anna looks back deeply into her past to determine just who the murderer may be. And not until the very end when we learn all the necessary information can the reader even begin to guess the result. Written with simplicity but great detail, the novel is recommended.

Having read all the previous Anna Travis books in this series, I was pleasantly surprised that the author has again brought us a top-notch police procedural we can sink our teeth into - one that continues to keep us awake at night. Silent Scream has Anna investigating the brutal murder of a beautiful young actress on the verge of superstardom. Her ethereal portrayals often bring chills to those who watch her on the big screen, while her private life begins to unravel at warp speed.

Amanda Delany is the latest hot actress who is destined for a long career as a leading lady. She has been paired, on screen and off, with the best actors of her generation. What her adoring public doesn't see is the troubled actress with a growing addiction to cocaine, starvation diets, and her myriad sexual escapades with every man who comes along.

When Amanda is found dead in her bed, her body desecrated but her face left untouch, the world mourns her loss. Behind the scenes, those who knew her wondered how she had survived as long as she did. The evidence showed that the murdered must have been someone she knew and trusted.

Anna Travis was assigned to the team investigating Amanda's murder. Anna is now a DI up for promotion if she can show she can work as a team member. While Lynda LaPlante brings back some of the same characters such as DCI James Langton, and team members Barbara and Joan who have worked with Anna on other cases, many of the team members are new to the reader which keeps the stories fresh. Langton only appears when the case appears to be breaking down due to lack of evidence.

Although Anna tries to be a good team member, eventually the frustration of not making progress and bringing the killer to justice causes her to again hold back evidence she should share with the team. Spending hours digging into the myriad of false leads and conflicting evidence, lack of sleep, and relationship challenges all bring Anna to the breaking point.

Finally, will the team get its collective act together or will someone have gotten away with murder? And, will Anna receive the promotion she longs for?

Read this exciting fifth book in a wonderful series.

Silent Scream: An Anna Travis Mystery (Anna Travis Mysteries)

I am still reading Silent Scream but am almost done. It is another in a great series (Anna Travis series). Ms. La Plante is a mystery fan's author and I'm sure she has written most of her books for me especially. I loved the Prime Suspect series and would love to see Helen Mirren play in another good follow-up. I also loved the Lorraine Page series and was very sad when the series stopped after the third book. Looking forward to reading the next one and hope it comes soon.