Silent Scream

Four college students set a condo on fire because it's being built on wetlands—their crusade falters when a professional blackmailer films them. Detective Sutherland and Kane are on the case of multiple arsons.

I can't believe I read a romantic suspense and loved it. The romance was very slow and didn't interfere with the case and I adored the love interests. I loved all the police and firefighter characters, too. I also enjoyed the crime and didn't figure it out until just before the reveal. The beginning was slow and I was unsure I wouldn't DNF but I got caught up in the characters and never looked back. My first in the series but number eleven. It did tell about past events but never gave anything away. I'll be starting with number show more one now. Recommended to try if you don't typically like the genre. show less

As I've said previously in my review of Don't Tell, I worship at the altar of Karen Rose. She isn't just a master of romantic suspense, she is THE master.

As with all of her books, you can read this one as a stand alone, but I can't recommend enough starting with Don't Tell and reading the books in order. The characters all appear in several of the novels and are all connected in some way (or become connected as the series progresses). Even though things are explained and each book makes sense on its own, you don't have the same depth of feeling for the characters that is achieved by reading the whole series.

There were so many little moments in this book that would not have been the same had I not already known everyone. Most of them show more actually involved Tom, one of the main characters in the first book. He gets a little emotional hearing about his best friend's engagement, and at another point in the story has to check up on his Uncle David when he hears a firefighter was hurt even though he'd already been told it wasn't David. I got warm fuzzies from both those moments, but if I'd just picked this book up blind I probably wouldn't have thought twice about them. I really hope Karen has plans to give Tom his own book one of these days!

David and Olivia are both great characters, I have loved David for ages. I'm glad we finally get to know more about him and see him get over Dana, who I never thought was right for him anyway!

The suspense/mystery part of this story was so full of twists and turns. With Karen Rose, it isn't about trying to figure out the "who", it is trying to guess what the bad guys will do next or when the cops will finally catch up with them. Nonetheless, she usually manages to fit in plenty of shockers toward the end, and this book was no exception! I think my jaw actually dropped a couple of times.

So anyway, read Karen Rose. You will not regret it. She is the best at what she does. show less

Some authors you click with, some you don't.
I didn't with Karen....straight away I realised this book had lost me.
I don't like her breezy style, use of jargon though hthe premise sounded promising.
EDIT ..Wow what a difference a ?few years makes. Must have hung on to the copy as I've just read it in a few days.
This time round it took a few pages to get into it ( again ) but I was intrigued. Romantic mystery / crime like other reviewers isn't normally my thing and I probs wouldn't have picked it initially had I realised. But yes ..she knows her stuff. Kept me guessing and when we first are allowed a clue that buh bye made me freeze. A bit hard to keep track of the characters as I hadn't read the prequel . Her books are grouped show more according to the city in which she's based them and this is Minneapolis set . Says on her website she'd planned for 3 but swapped publisher so it didn't happen . So Olivia and David's story ends there.
2 character losses that were sad. Loved David's mum . Hope she and Glenn would have gotten together had there been a number 3.
Interest piqued enough to tweet Karen and ask her which city I should go to next ..

Read the first few pages but it was a non starter. show less

Four college students believed they were making a statement. They were activists, fighting to preserve the environment by burning down a new apartment complex. But they didn't realize that someone was watching. A blackmailer hides in plain sight, using people's secrets for personal gain, and when this criminal sets his sights on the four young arsonists, he begins his most deadly game yet.

Firefighter David Hunter is devastated when he's too late to save a teenage girl from a Minneapolis fire. Authorities soon discover that it was a case of arson and homicide detective Olivia Sutherland and her partner Kane are assigned to the case. David and Olivia shared a night of passion some time ago, and sparks fly when they are drawn to one show more another again. But just as they begin to revisit that fateful night and address the events that tore them apart, David and Olivia are forced to pursue the blackmailer, whose horrific plans threaten to destroy those closest to them.

My Thoughts:

Romantic suspense is one of my favourite genres, and certain authors such as Erica Spindler, Tami Hoag, Sandra Brown and Karen Rose are the ones who do it well.

I found with this one by Karen Rose that she has got the right balance between the romance and the crime. Sometimes this genre can be too slushy. In this book the main characters are Olivia Sutherland and David Hunter, who previuosly have been minor parts in other books. By looking on Karen Rose’s web site you can see how characters are connected with with book and whether they are major or minor roles. I have read books by Karen Rose as I have come across them and although the crimes are stand alone I have found that perhaps I should have read them in order as the lives of the characters seem to develop and I feel like I have missed something.

As usual there are lots of twists and turns and the main characters play cat and mouse with each other until they finally connect. There was plenty in this book to keep my interest till the very end with a few shocks along the way. show less

Silent Scream
3.5 Stars

Two years ago, detective Olivia Sutherland and firefighter David Hunter shared an ignominious night together. Now Olivia and David must work together to solve a series of arson attacks that may or may not be connected to an extremist environmental group. Can the two resolve their personal issues to catch a malicious murderer?

Olivia and David have strong chemistry, but the lack of communication concerning their one night stand makes them seem childish and immature. This improves once they get over themselves long enough to have a conversation and the romance is satisfying overall.

The investigation into the fires is compelling and there are some intense situations for the characters. Unfortunately, the identity of show more the culprit/s is revealed early on and all that remains is determining the motivation. The eventual explanation comes somewhat out of the blue as there are few clues along the way and it all seems a little too contrived.

Nevertheless, Silent Scream is a fast paced and entertaining read with some bittersweet moments. The next book changes location and characters, so it will be interesting to see how it links into the ongoing series. show less

Strong story line with meaty characters, environmental ecoterrorism goes awry amid a backdrop of revenge and family loss. Makes one think about the value of keeping personal information private and avoiding free-wifi. Innocuous coffee shop becomes the scene for hacking and blackmailing.

I read this book in bits and pieces on my phone, so it took me quite a while to get through. The good thing was, I was able to put it down and pick it up again a couple of weeks later and still figure out what was going on.

The mystery was solid, and kept you guessing, even when you are in the killer’s head part of the time.

This is set up to be more of a romantic suspense novel, but really I think it’s a police procedural with a heavy romantic element. Besides the parts where Olivia and David are each torturing themselves about their present and past actions, the romance is actually a rather small part of the book. Neither of them acted in a very logical way in between their first meeting and their second, but it’s not too hard to show more chalk that up to people being dumb about love.

Overall, I rather enjoyed this and will definitely keep more Karen Rose books on my to-read list. show less