Silent Scream

Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller, Book 1

By: Angela Marsons

Narrated by: Jan Cramer

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's Summary

Even the darkest secrets can't stay buried forever.

Five figures gather 'round a shallow grave. They had all taken turns to dig. An adult-sized hole would have taken longer. An innocent life had been taken, but the pact had been made. Their secrets would be buried, bound in blood.

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

But when human remains are discovered at a former children's home, disturbing secrets are also unearthed. DI Kim Stone fast realizes 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?

Fans of Rachel Abbott, Val McDermid ,and Mark Billingham will be gripped by this exceptional new voice in British crime fiction.

A detective hiding dark secrets, Kim Stone will stop at nothing to protect the innocent. Silent Scream is the first book in the series. Watch out for Evil Games, coming soon.

©2015 Bookouture (P)2015 Bookouture

Critic Reviews

"A superb debut by an assured new writer. Blending sharp wit with emotion, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride alongside DI Kim Stone and look forward to the next outing." (Mel Sherratt)

"I absolutely loved it!.... This one is one of the best crime thrillers I've read in a long time, and that includes mainstream authors such as James Patterson! I would seriously put this book in the same league." ( Fiona's Book Reviews)

Ended much better than it began

The dialog in the first chapters is meant to show how the team of detectives is a witty, carefree group of people who are so good at their jobs they can make light of everything. It comes across like an elderly grandmother trying to speak to teenagers in their own language. It's so painful and off target I almost stopped listening. All of the characters come off the same and definitely not very interesting. It doesn't help that the narrator is completely tone deaf to the story. The problems with the dialog fade as the story progresses and the dialog turns to the case, but there are still moments so bad I couldn't help but groan.

Ultimately the story turned out ok, though not groundbreaking. The author puts in some long passages that are well written and interesting. Maybe later books are built on that foundation, and if so they are probably worth a read, but much of this book was too hit or miss to give it a higher rating. It would probably be better not as an audiobook.

And for what it's worth, I don't think the tough-as-nails, fight the system as long as she gets the bad guy police woman would insult her teammates by calling them little girls. In the end she even brags about how great women are. Doesn’t seem like someone like that would find being a girl insulting.

I don’t think I would read another book by this author, and I definitely would not listen to this narrator again, but I’m guessing some people will relate to the way the story is told.

Great start to this crime thriller series

One of the best books I've listened to this year. I love the cast of characters, Marsons made me want to know more about many of the supporting characters, in addition to my curiosity about Stone's past.

The plot winds its way around and keeps you guessing all the way to the end. The pacing is blazing fast and perfect, I never once wanted to stop listening.

I've already downloaded book 2, Evil Games, can't wait to see what new adventure lies ahead for D.I. Kim Stone.

Superb story and wonderful performance!

Angela has catapulted herself to stand with the best crime writers out there today.

This story is a fantastic blend of mystery, twists and investigation while giving us insight into the mind of the cops and killers involved.

I'm an instant fan and would recommend Angela Mason's to those who love Ranking, Cornwell and Billingham.

Great story! Good plot twists.

DI Kim Stone is the " House M.D." of the English Constabulary. A very good story without unessecary gore or explicit sex, but plenty of action and plot twists. I enjoyed very much and will look for other DI Stone stories

Police Procedural with Fair but Unsatisfying Plot

This is the first in a series about DI Kim Stone.

Kim Stone and her team investigate serious crime in the black lands (a favorite place for mysteries to be set in the UK). They have just helped to win a conviction against a serial rapist and her team have been out celebrating with a drink. Stone has gone home to work on the Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle that she has been restoring in her garage. Then she gets a call about a body that has been discovered.

This is one of my favorite types of books--- but the author almost seems to writing off a list. DI Stone is socially inept-- check. She is emotionally unavailable in many circumstances-- check. She is more emotionally invested in the victims of crime than in her former lover-- check. She fights for her territory-- check. Head hopping into a killer's mind for the killer's eye view of certain events-- check. I could go on longer but I'm probably going to hit a spoiler so I better stop.

There's odd episodes dropped in here and there that don't particularly connect to this mystery and just seem to be left hanging. For example an interviewee is obviously attracted to DI Stone which might have made an interesting twist, but it doesn't go anywhere. Then she verbally spars with an expert at a crime scene who has a one eyed dog and that doesn't go anywhere.

It's not poorly written but I ended up feeling dissatisfied. I'll probably read the next one to see if the author can pull it together with a little more time to work on the series.

Happy Customer says, "This is aces!"

Having watched Prime Suspect and Endeavor series, I have grown quite fond of British mysteries, colloquial language, humor, and police ranks. A DCI led team lends familiarity to this novel. The characters are well developed and I drew clear pictures of them in my mind. The voices of the performers added a lot to the story.

The story itself derives from what happened to girls at a "care" home, of which the lead character also has first hand knowledge. The action moves along at a good clip and suspense builds to a climax that surprised me. There are more surprises that follow and an epilogue of sorts wrapping up the story with a neat bow. I hate loose ends.

In summary, the plot is suspenseful and the characters are interesting; they keep you coming back. The performance definitely adds to the enjoyment. I gave it 4 stars because I really don't have anything bad to say, but it's not "I Am Pilgrim".

Totally unexpected!!!

I am very critical and never leave reviews... That having been said, bravo! This was everything a book should be. I hope the author reads this review. I want to thank her for many hours of pure enjoyment. I look forward to the next installment.

The Harpy would have been a more accurate title

Would you try another book from Angela Marsons and/or Jan Cramer?

No.

The protagonist is a one-dimensional caricature who evokes no sympathy. She's always right; everyone else is always wrong. She alone treads the moral high ground, and she never makes a mistake. Nor does she care about the how her actions affect those around her.

The narrator doesn't know how to pause and overemotes.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Something with a more complex, nuanced protagonist and a storyline that recognizes the ambiguities of life.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jan Cramer?

No. Breathe, Jan, breathe. Pause from time to time.

Was Silent Scream worth the listening time?

No. It's one of the few audiobooks that I abandoned halfway through.

Zero Stars Narration

This would've been a decent experience if not for the terrible narration, and by terrible, I mean bottom three of hundreds of audiobooks. Except for a few accent changes there was absolutely no differentiation between characters. And as someone else mentioned, no breaths between sentences. Awful, awful, awful.

Excellent

Perfect thriller. Loved the story and the narration. I will be reading more from this author. I often find police banter annoying in crime novels, but enjoyed it here.

Good story, dreadful narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

The story was well written and exciting. It held my interest and as I am familiar with the area in which the novel is set this added another aspect for me.

How could the performance have been better?

Unfortunately I found this the worst professional narration to which I have ever listened. It was read too quickly in places and without inflection. The accents were inconsistent and at times poor. A further minor annoyance was the mispronunciation of place names. I would avoid Jan Cramer in future if at all possible.

Disappointment

What made the experience of listening to Silent Scream the most enjoyable?

I did not read this book for long. I found I started to silently scream with the narrators voice! So sorry, not read, story seems ok but completely spoilt for me by her voice

Would you be willing to try another one of Jan Cramer’s performances?

No

Awful narration

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Such a shame this excellent book was read by such a dreadful narrator, I kept wanting to read it for her, the inflection and stresses were completely out of sync with the mood of the story, it was as if she was reading without understanding the content. I gave up listening after an hour and bought the kindle book to read myself.

Good story

I enjoyed this book despite the very annoying reader! If the next book is narrated by her I doubt I will buy it.

Fabulous story but the narrator ruined it

An intriguing mystery with a good smattering of humour. I like the way the plot unfolds - I usually guess the villain, but not this time!
Unfortunately I really didn't like the narration. It was as if she were reading the book without any punctuation. She started new paragraphs without drawing breath and this made it very difficult to follow. I'd certainly listen to another book by this author but sadly not if it were narrated by Jan Cramer.

Silent Scream

This was a fantastic crime thriller full stop. There is just one problem. The narrator. I will avoid her at all costs in the future.

The short clip I listened to before downloading seemed ok-ish. As the booked progressed the narrators lack of skill became all too apparent. I have yet to hear a more one dimensional narration. Impossible at times to tell one character from another. There were no voice inflections to speak of and times she would read at break neck speed (had to slow to .75 speed). Needless to say I always quit listening with a headache.

My advice: Get this book, but get it on Kindle.

Sort out the narrator!

I do all sorts of crime thrillers - especially the Scandi ones - but always endeavour to try out and support home-grown talent. Silent Scream might possibly be far better NOT as an audio book (or perhaps a better narrator)! As stories go, it has all the elements of a disturbing and unsettling crime.

Detective Kim Stone is an uneasy person to like. She's rude, impatient, bossy (to name a few), but like all good police characters, these flaws are rather endearing. She's not very feminine, rides a motorbike, has a troubled and sad background, and is single (aren't they all?). The sidekick is, as ever, a perfect foil to her foibles, and inevitably, the head of department is irascible. The story line is a tad simple - bodies found, tracking down the suspects, fitting the puzzle together, get into some bother, and Bob's your Uncle.

It's not great, but not bad either. The structure is good, the flow works and the main characters are forming into believable people. I'm not too sure I want to listen to another - but might try and read the next one instead, as I suspect the author's confidence might've grown. As for the narrator - in the most part she was too quick. It felt like it needed to be slowed down a bit, putting more emphasis on important areas of the story. She sounded like a translator, without any emotion or inflection. She was good at the different accents - as its not always easy for a woman to 'man up', she handled the male characters well - but lesson here - slow down and inject some feeling into the narration.

Excellent debut

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me hooked and guessing right till the end. Can't believe this is a debut, as it's written extremely well and the story is captivating. I like how there were no loose ends and everything was tied up. I also like the fact the ending wasn't an anti climax like other crime/thriller books I've read. Only criticism: the narrator made every character sound like they were shouting/angry/annoyed, even during the 'banter' scenes. During the dialogue, I found the narrator to speak quickly and had to keep rewinding to fully catch the dialogue (this wasn't down to the speed settings as during the rest of the book, she went at nice pace).
I would recommend this book!

Awful narrator

Unfortunately I bought several books at the same time by this author. Not bad if you like this genre. However, the narration is terrible and ruins it.

Ms Cramer has a lovely voice, however, her "voices" in this series of books are dreadful. Hard, cold and demanding for the main character which makes you doubt she could possibly have a loyal team or command any sort of respect. Others have a peculiar sing song voice with the stresses in the wrong places. All in all distracted me far too much from the story itself. Normally an avid listener I kept switching to radio to break from the narrator.

Terrible narrator

I struggled to listen to this. Couldn't get past a few chapters as the narrator is the worst I've ever listened to. She gabbles on at a mile a minute with barely any pause between sentences and barely any pause or change in voice for characters. I understand narrator's have to read from a script but this is the first book I've come across where that's exactly what it sounds like. Someone reading from a script. I'm told by others that it's a very good story but I just can't listen to this narrator.. I've listened to hundreds of audibooks and this is the first one I've not been able to listen to.