Silent Fear by Lance & James Morcan

Description:

“Scotland Yard detective Valerie Crowther is assigned to investigate the murder of a student at a university for the Deaf in London, England. The murder investigation coincides with a deadly flu virus outbreak, resulting in the university being quarantined from the outside world.

When more Deaf students are murdered, it becomes clear there is a serial killer operating within the sealed-off university. A chilling cat-and-mouse game evolves as the unknown killer targets Valerie and the virus claims more lives.

A stunning, claustrophobic, "whodunit" murder mystery, Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) is the eighth novel by father-and-son writing team Lance & James Morcan. Included is a commentary by Deaf filmmaker Brent Macpherson on the unique aspects of Deaf culture the story covers. Together, the Morcans and Macpherson are currently developing a feature film adaptation of Silent Fear.”

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First off, I want to thank the authors for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review; please be reassured that receiving this book for free in no way influenced my review in any way.

What a fantastic read that was!

Excellent characters, brilliant and unique story line, gripping and full of suspense … what more can you ask for? Well, throw in a serial killer and a deadly flu virus and you have Silent Fear! But that’s not all … the Morcans write in a way that immerses you into the story so that you become absorbed into the lives of the characters and the dire situation they have found themselves in through no fault of their own.

I have to admit that it was quite daunting to find my Kindle copy was 708 pages long!! That’s one heck of a beast, however, you quickly forget that as you are swept along from chapter to chapter with ease picking up the subtle clues dropped along the way that you don’t initially recognise as being clues until the excellent twist at the end when all is revealed.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good whodunnit or mystery or thriller or serial killer story or … actually, anyone who loves reading a great book and I would urge you to check out the Morcans other works some of which I have been lucky enough to have also read.

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Please click on the links to take you to more information and my reviews:

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Author website:  Morcan Books & Films

Twitter:  James Morcan and Lance Morcan 

Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda

Description:

"A loving husband. The perfect killer?

‘I wonder if Mia thinks I have a dark side. Most likely as far as she knows, I am just her dear loving husband.’

Paul Strom has spent years building his perfect life: glittering career, beautiful wife, two healthy boys and a big house in the suburbs.

But he also has his secrets. That’s why Paul has promised his wife a romantic weekend getaway. He proclaims this day, a warm Friday in May, will be the best day ever.

Paul loves his wife, really, he does. But he also wants to get rid of her. And with every hour that passes, Paul ticks off another stage in his elaborately laid plan…"

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A disturbing but strangely compelling read!

The book is told from the perspective of Paul Strom who you quickly discover is a thoroughly vile and loathsome character who is so full of his own self-importance that you just want to jump in the book and wring his neck whilst giving him a good slap!!!!  I don't think I have ever disliked a character as much as Paul Strom .... I was desperate to see if/when he got what he deserved.

The book is not what I would call action filled but it is a slow burner and, I feel, this was deliberately done by the author to create tension and a sense of "something's going to happen here" and although it's not a massive surprise when it does, it is rather satisfying.

Overall, a pretty good book from an author I will keep my eyes open for in the future.

Thank you to the publisher, HQ, via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review.

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Author website:   Kaira Rouda

Author twitter:  @KairaRouda

Publisher website: HQ Stories

Publisher twitter:  @HQstories

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