Silent Scream by Angela Marsons

Five figures gather round a shallow grave. They had all taken turns to dig. An adult-sized hole would have taken longer....

Years later, a headmistress is found brutally strangled, the first in a spate of gruesome murders which shock the Black Country.

But when human remains are discovered at a former children's home, disturbing secrets are also unearthed. D.I. Kim Stone fast realises she's on the hunt for a twisted individual whose killing spree spans decades.

As the body count rises, Kim needs to stop the murderer before they strike again. But to catch the killer, can Kim confront the demons of her own past before it's too late?

I love it when I read and enjoy the first book in a series as I have the excitement of knowing that there are more books about a particular set of characters to read.

This is a real page-turner of a book. Reading this was one of those occasions when I felt slightly cross at real life interfering with my reading pleasure.

The characters are very easy to engage with. Kim Stone is a detective with issues of her own to contend with and it was interesting to see the impact that those issues had upon how she carried out her day to day life as a police detective. She is efficient, strong-willed and driven and does not mind bending some of the rules if she feels the end justifies the means.

The rest of the characters are equally well fleshed out and Ms. Marsons has created a very believable and interesting set of characters that I can hardly wait to learn more about in the next book in this series, Evil Games. 

We are also given glimpses of the killer in the form of occasional chapters in the voice of the murderer. I found myself re-reading these particular chapters to try and guess who the killer was which, incidentally, I did not manage to do. I had my pet theory as to who was responsible only to be very surprised when the culprit was eventually revealed.

The plot is fast paced with plenty of twists and turns to ensure that I was up way past my bedtime reading 'just one more chapter'. A situation with which, I am sure, we are all familiar with.

If you enjoy a good crime novel then you will really enjoy this book and I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

ISBN: 978 1785770524

Publisher: Zaffre

About the Author:

Angela discovered her love of writing at Primary School when a short piece on the rocks and the sea gained her the only merit point she ever got. She wrote the stories that burned inside and then stored them safely in a desk drawer.

After much urging from her partner she began to enter short story competitions in Writer’s News resulting in a win and three short listed entries. She self-published two of her earlier works before concentrating on her true passion – Crime.

After many, many submissions she signed an 8 book deal with Bookouture as their first crime author.

She lives in the Black Country with her partner, bouncy Labrador and potty-mouthed parrot.