About the book: Silent Fear is dedicated to the many millions of deaf people around the world. It is the eighth published novel by New Zealand father-and-son writing team Lance and James Morcan, authors of The Ninth Orphan, Into the Americas and White Spirit.
Set in present-day London, Silent Fear was inspired by the murders of several deaf students at Gallaudet University, one of the world’s most prestigious learning institutions for the deaf, in Washington, D.C.
A decade in the making, it was written under the guidance of leading deaf filmmaker Brent Macpherson whose commentary on the unique aspects of deaf culture the story covers appears at the end of the book. Together, the Morcans and Macpherson are developing a feature film adaptation of Silent Fear.
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Blurb: 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.
Review Silent Fear
I received an ARC from the authors for an honest review.At first, when I opened the book my heart dropped when I saw the number of pages waiting for me. A daunting task when you have a full program but after reading the book I can honestly say that I was well informed and entertained. With their fluent writing style the book captivated me from page one, and at the end the number of pages became irrelevant and I was lost in the story.Since the very first book I have read from their pen I can honestly say that they are one of my favourite writers. All the genres in fiction I love: spy, romance, thriller, suspense, history and a few more, they capture in one book without any difficulty. Silent Fear is no exception.Silent fear, a very appropriate name for this book, did not disappoint and I had a great time reading until the late hours of the night. The story itself was very well planned and executed making it easy to follow while persistently growing to a striking finale.Each character was continually evolving as a person making it believable and realistic. Some, I couldn’t stand at first but as the story continue they grow on you as well. Even the villain had his good qualities – and since it wasn’t mentioned in the book: Eddie was correct in his assessment of the killer. Who is Eddie? Read the book to find out… LOL501 people were placed in quarantine because of the Monkey Flu epidemic that went viral all across the globe. The first affected person in England was found in a Deaf University, South Kensington, and shut down was a sure thing. Students, lecturers, staff and people that was unfortunate to be in the Uni on that day plus one detective were barricaded inside the 6 storey building. Add a serial killer – the reason for the detective – and a heatwave to the mix and you have a live hurricane that left nothing standing: figuratively speaking.The story is based on true events that happened in the early 1980’s in a Deaf community and the authors created their own version and setting to bring us this wonderful book. At the conclusion the authors gave us their reason why they have chosen England as the desired location and I must agree with the setting. England, with their gloomy weather, rich history and old buildings does give stories a mysterious feel that you struggle to find anywhere else.Reading other reviews from deaf people I can understand why this story was so captivating. The authors did a thorough study to capture the hearing-impaired’s difficulties. The fact that hearing people are suddenly on their playing field could you sense the frustrations of both parties as they try to cope during this turmoil. They had to find a mutual ground and understand each other in order to co-exist for the duration of the outbreak. This bring me to the detective which I felt was the bridge between the two worlds. Her character brought the two worlds together making it thought-provoking. Since there are so many characters within the story I am only going to highlight a few.
First Class Detective Superintendent Valerie Crowther was a no-nonsense Scotland Yard cop fluent in British Sign Language. The ideal person for the job. As a woman she was severely tested, proofing to every person involved that she was more than capable to do the work. With a heatwave that send the temperature up to 39ᵒC, with no working air-cons inside which raised the temperature inside the Uni to more than 40 Degrees. Add the growing tension of a serial killer on the loose and the H7N7 virus on the prowl for its next victim the temperature was 50 degrees going to 100. A boiling pot that she had to manage as best she could. During the entire ordeal she had to cope with difficult lecturers and students alike and be depended on people. Amidst it all she had to face a mother’s depression, an ex-husband, her immediate boss, and the occult plus nosy reporters. These two tested her patience to the max. Between all the deaths surrounding her she kept her focus and levelheadedness. Even during her own abduction she remained calm, her emotions always in control while tension was growing around her. Her pain and fears elevated her sense of survival and she stayed true to herself. My admiration and respect for this woman grew with each obstacle she had to face. She was thrown in at the deep end and persevered. Her strength and agility a true testimony of her persona.Chancellor Ron Fairbrother’s was her biggest support inside the 4 walls of the Uni. His character was equally tested and he advanced from an arrogant man to an endearing man. He had to face a lot of changes within his territory and you could sense his emotional turmoil within. He had to deal with angry students and parents to a steadfast Prime Minister, not willing to budge.Chief Superintendent Mark Bennett and ex-husband of the pretty detective had his own difficulties to overcome. Because it was such a high priority case he was rebuked for using his ex-wife as the head detective. Not that he had a choice when she was barricaded into the Uni with 500 other people. She was elected to investigate a murder which became more than he would have thought off in the beginning. His character, too, grew immensely within the pages while still staying in control of the entire investigation. When he did the unexpected to find Valerie when she disappeared you get to learn to know the man really well. A true hero that is worthy of his position.Nurse Simmons was another character I have to highlight. This woman was the real superwoman throughout the story. Her calm conduct made her the perfect person for the job of fighting the virus with the little she had. She brook no arguments, and her word was law. She had to organise the entire epidemic. From nursing the sick, to testing, the ever growing problem of beds and cremation of the infected bodies while wearing a hazmat suit. With the ever growing patient list she stood out like a beacon and she is worthy of knighthood, for sure.Then we have the villain. Hatred and greed was the two biggest motivations for this monster. I was surprised to learn who he was. Nowhere, throughout the book, the authors gave away the culprit’s identity. They simply kept your attention with the craftiness of the killer building the suspense from the prologue to the closing. He was a clever bastard that kept you guessing right to the end.Again, buy the book… you will not be sorry you did.
Selling via Amazon – The kindle version is available now in Amazon’s Pre-order program and will be auto-delivered to kindle buyers on October 31; the paperback is available now on Amazon.
Relevant links:
Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0473
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Authors’ Amazon bios:
We have also set up Silent World, a new Goodreads discussion group, to promote the book at:https://www.goodreads.com/ group/show/237556-silent- world-a-discussion-group -New members welcome!
YouTube trailer promoting the book and the planned feature film: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=-8bv1vbQxYo
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