Homicide detective Sam Harper is the new officer on the beat; Silenced Cry is his calling card. Torn between guilt and suspicion, Harper tries to make sense of the events that led to his partner’s murder during a routine surveillance of a drug supplier. It quickly becomes evident that his late partner, Frank Gillies, intentionally muddied the facts. Key points don’t add up and make Harper believe Gillies is involved in illegal activities. When questions surrounding his partner’s death go unanswered, Harper suspects a cover up.
Determined to find Gillies’ killer, Harper plunges back into his work. He and his a new partner, Dave Mann are called to their first case at the Harbor View Apartments, a building marked for demolition where workers discover the skeletal remains of an infant entombed in one of the walls. The investigation into the infant’s murder opens the floodgates of questions. When the suspects in the Baby Doe case link back to Gillies, the evidence mounds as quickly as the bodies in the morgue, and the truth leads Harper to the person he least suspects.
Excerpt
“You ever kill a man, Doc?” A subtle twitch of her brow told him he had her attention. “A split second. That’s all it takes, pull the trigger, and whoosh! He’s gone.”
Professional Reviews
Exciting plot worth your time
"This quick and easy read will keep your attention throughout ever page. With a wide range of characters and sub-plots, the novel is exciting and interesting.
Marta Stephens is able to weave several intricate stories into one cohesive novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat." --Nicole M. Boals, Armchair Interviews says: The novel is a fast-paced, exciting read
Euro-Reviews (Netherlands)
"Silenced Cry is a convoluted and complex story that demonstrates a vivid imaginative gift on the part of author Marta Stephens. It is common to speak of a mystery as being complex and possessing numerous plot twists and turns; but rare to find a novel quite as complex as this one. This reviewer has read mysteries since childhood, and even I was hard-pressed to guess the villainous identities, and found it impossible to predict the turns this roller-coaster story would take. Truly, Marta Stephens delivers a winner of high promise in Silenced Cry, a story whose truths will linger long in the mind." --Annie, GA
Silenced Cry
"Being a cop is a tough job. Being a homicide detective is probably the toughest job for a cop. Being a homicide detective working for the same force where your father was a homicide detective, working under some of the same people who worked with him, well, that’s about as tough as it gets. Detective Sam Harper loses his narcotics partner in a shootout and ends up in homicide on cold cases. Then he is called out on a decade-old child homicide. His past--and the past of his friends, family, and nemeses quickly combine to turn this case into the biggest case Harper has ever known. First in a planned series, lets hope those plans materialize. Recommended." 08/07 Jack Quick--Bookbitch
