The Silent Scream (Hawkman Series)

Rating:
Summary: An Incredibly Sensorial Mystery
Review:

Seventeen-year-old Richard Clifford returns to his isolated ranch home from a motorcycle ride to find his mother and dog both slaughtered in their kitchen. Not having a telephone, he rides his motorcycle to the Zanker house ten miles away. The Zankers are gone and the only other neighbor, old Jerome isn't home either. Richard is deaf, his father died of cancer a year ago, he doesn't know where his only uncle is, he knows of no other neighbors but the Zankers and Jerome.

The smell in the house becomes nauseating. Richard buries his dog under his mother's favorite tree. After washing his mother's violated body and dressing her in a clean dress he wraps her in a quilt and a plastic table cloth and seals her body in a granary to protect it from rodents and insects. Richard cleans up the rest of the mess in the house and anxiously awaits the return of his neighbors. As soon as the crime is reported to the authorities he can begin to search for the murderer himself.

Private Detective, Tom Casey, better known as Hawkman assists the sheriff's office in their investigation. He alone is convinced of Richard's innocence. The boy does show an unusual ability with a knife, proven when he's attacked by a mountain lion and kills it, skins it and tans the hide. He becomes a focal point of abuse by an gang of outlaw bikers and since he can't hear, he can't anticipate the approach of predators whether two or four legged. Richard does perform his mundane chores as usual, milks the cow, does the chores, tends his mother's garden-appears to be going about life as usual, intent on staying on his own land. But he's a minor and unless his uncle can be found Richard will become a ward of the court.

Once again Betty Sullivan La Pierre has involved me in the lives of her characters to such an extent that after beginning, I didn't have the option of closing the book until the surprise at the end. Having a hearing disorder myself, I can attest to the authenticity of her character's struggles. This author consistently writes good clean, captivating mysteries peopled with substantial characters in sensorially credible scenes and settings that live in the reader's memory after the solution. I give THE SILENT SCREAM five stars.

Reviewed by ©Evelyn Gale 2/2002

Rating:
Summary: Timeless Tales review
Review: By TT reviewer John Richard

Richard Clifford, a deaf boy living on a farm with his mother, arrives home after a motorcycle ride.THE SILENT SCREAM is a fast read, blazing through the pages with the speed of a falcon in a dive. The main character, Tom Casey, and his wife are in a sense, the modern version of Nick and Nora Charles, only with their own unique bent. Tom's disfigurement for example only adds to his likeableness. Plus he's caring and compassionate, and almost non-violent, which are very rare elements in the modern PI story. The only downside though, is the ending, which slowed after the climax, though thirty pages remained! Despite this minor shortcoming, the novel is an amazing read, going back to the age where the PI often referred to his mental skills, got along well with the police, and often assisted them in the investigations. A delightful read for any mystery lover, though especially for those who miss the golden age of the thinking PI.

Rating:
Summary: Another Fantastic Hawkman Mystery!
Review: Ms. Sullivan La Pierre writes another intriguing Hawkman mystery that kept me turning the pages. I truly love this author's clean style and plot twists. She always keeps me guessing!

Richard Clifford, a deaf seventeen-year-old, comes home from a motorcycle ride to find his mother, Francine, and dog brutally murdered on the kitchen floor. Not having a phone to contact the police, he decides to wait until his neighbors, the Zankers, get home from vacation. Mr. Zanker would know what to do.

Private Eye Tom Casey, also known as Hawkman, spies Richard watching him and his wife, Jennifer, while they train a falcon to hunt and return to them. Hawkman is puzzled as to why the young man doesn't come out to at least say hello, and his suspicious nature kicks in. Later he discovers the boy's mother has been murdered and decides to help him find the killer.

Hawkman finds himself in a twisted mangled mystery to untangle with very few clues. Richard has some clues, but he's not in the mood to share, because he's bent on revenge and wants a whack at the killer before the police get there first. Only problem is, the police have Richard on their suspect list.

Frank Alberts, a new deputy in town, has a snotty attitude toward Richard, because Francine brushed off his romantic advances. Could Frank have been so mad he resorted to murder?

Richard's Uncle Joe Clifford fled town and doesn't want anyone to find him. Why? And what did Joe have to do with Frank Alberts?

Jerome, "hermit of the hills" Arnold disappeared for several days around the time of Francine's murder. Did he leave town the day before or the day after her death? And what is Jerome hiding in that shack he calls home?

I must admit while reading THE SILENT SCREAM late at night all alone at home I got spooked and had to get up to make sure all my windows and doors were locked! This is a fantastic mystery!