Scream Books

The book covers a wide variety of interesting topics. It begins with an exorcism by a monk in Burma that transfers a magical bead and a powerful energy to the narrator, a house haunted by 'nats' - spirits who have died tragically in a past life, the 1988 student uprising and the Orwellian rise of dreaded SLORC (the State Law and Order Restoration Council), a meeting, in the isolated Kora camp in Kenya, with the white hunter, game warden and conservationist George Adamson of 'Born Free' who raises orphan lion cubs, tracking a lion that has strayed from the pride and the threat of ambushes by Somali poachers and bandits armed with AK-47s.

He lives in the Comoros Island run by a mad man-turned-messiah and his pot smoking teenagers, who is overthrown in a coup by the mercenary and international bandit Bob Denard. Since they control 'the means of destruction', the white mercenaries now control the island. They talk about bizzare torture techniques and install a puppet president who they later assassinate.

The narrator later attends a vegetarian love fest, deprogramming and orientation process at a religious cult in Bangkok called the Church of the New Messiah. The New Messiah who has been predicting the Apocalype for the last twenty years instructs his people to implant a microchip into their forehead so that they can gain entrance into the 'new paradise'. In Manila, the narrator meets the Filipino action star Joe 'Macho Man' Garcia and his entourage of models. In the 'red light' district he meets Bambi, Girlie and Baby at the Pink Lady and takes them to a suite in a love hotel.

He is seen beach bumming in Boracay, living with the Ifugao tribe, previous headhunters, who were extras in the film Apocalypse Now and living in the Himalayas of India. He goes to exotic night clubs in Miami, experiences crystal meth induced psychosis that leads to confinement in an insane asylum and has a secret meeting with a rebel alliance of rastas and Cuban revolutionaries that has established Rock Creek Park in Washington DC as a guerrilla base area in preparation for a liberation war against the U.S. government.

You do not need to be a fan of the band in order to fully enjoy this book, but fans of the band will enjoy all of the hidden Kiss references. Brian Holguin is one of the best comic book writers in the business and he works very well with Angel Medina/Kevin Conrad. Their visual storytelling style is excellent. Go visit the circus, you won't regret it.

Brian Holguin really knows how to write compelling tales, and Angel Medina and Kevin Conrad work really well together as far as the art goes. The art in the last issue is by Clayton Crain, the current penciller. Great art + Great Stories = Must have book!

Here's an example of a short digression that I found particularly insightful: "One of the ironies of modern culture is its peculiar treatment of high art. Either we subject it to the rigors of modern critical theory, so as to disclose the hidden ideological arrangements it contains; or we piously commit it to the scholar's care, with the implicit view that we "laypeople" do not have the tools of access to frequent such work with any degree of profit. It would be better if we taught our students to view all art as fair game, to approach the most formidable and hermetic works as an aspiring thief might; with intent to break and enter, to discover, steal and possess what is there." Page 334.

Summarizing his insights at the end of this highly engaging text, he meditates on the tragedy of modernity, which he sees as a surfeit of consciousness combined with a lack of human connection. Weinstein illustrates this observation most dramatically through Faulkner's Quentin Compson. First, he cites Robert Penn Warren as having gotten it right when he said that it is not that Quentin suffers from a consciousness of doom, but rather the doom of consciousness. Hamlet was perhaps the first hyperconscious modern, and Weinstein does a fine job of showing how Hamlet and Quentin are connected, too.

Implicit in this, at least in my opinion, is that hyperconsciousness has been promoted by the consumer society. It has filled the world with things, variations of things upon things, filling up our lives with endless vexed choices and in so doing both stokes and attempts to put out the fire of hyperconsciouness. In either case we are seduced into ignoring the fast beating heart of our own humanity as this world of things muffles the scream that goes through the house of our bodies and consciousness.

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!

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.

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

After a motorcycle ride in the hills, one afternoon, Richard opened the front door, of his home, to find his beautiful mother, and his pet dog, Ruffy, laying in pools of blood on the floor. Both had, had their throats slit.

Richard didn't know what to do. There was no phone in the house. The Zanker's ranch was at least ten miles down the hill from the Clifford's little farm, and the only other person living anywhere near, was an old hermit named Jerome who lived up the hill from them. Both were not home. What could he do other than to try and preserve all the evidence he could, and protect the bodies from predators until help could be found.

And so begins the story of a remarkable seventeen year old, and the people who came forward to help him.

After what to Richard seemed like months, but in actuality was only four days, Herb and Elsie Zanker returned home from a visit with one of their daughters. Herb thought he should take up some supplies to the Cliffords as they were probably running low on things since he and Elsie had been gone longer than they expected. Upon arriving at the Cliffords farm, Herb found out what had happened.

Herb called the police. While the police were examining the scene for evidence, and recovering the bodies of the dog, and Richard's mother, Tom Casey, Private Investigator, otherwise known as Hawkman by his family and friends, was training the new falcon that his wife, Jennifer, had given him for his birthday in the woods nearby. He soon sees all the commotion up at the farm and decides to go investigate.

Standing in the shadows, and listening to the police talk to Richard, and to Richard's explanation of what happened, Hawkman decides that this young man needs someone to help him. Otherwise he doesn't feel that Richard has much of a chance against the legal system at all.

Ms. La Pierre has written a story that you absolutely will not be able to put down. She gets your total attention on the first page, and continues to hold it until you have finished the last page.

Her characters grab all of your emotions, from compassion to complete, and total hatred. I went through whole spectrum. I also went through a box of tissues before I finished the first chapter; it was so compelling.

I can't recommend THE SILENT SCREAM enough. To miss this wonderful book is something no one should do. You will not forget it even after you have finally put it down. It will stay in your memory for a long time to come.

I can't wait to read more of Betty Sullivan LaPierre's books. She is a very talented author, and I am so glad that she has decided to share her talent with the world. Her talent is one that should never be hidden, and she sure displayed it at it's best in THE SILENT SCREAM.

and loving dog Ruffy have been brutally murdered in his home and he
finds
their bodies in his kitchen. After tenderly washing his mothers
beautiful
face and trying not to disturb any evidence from her neck down he wraps
her body carefully and places her in the feed bin in the barn till he
can
summon the authorities. Then he lovingly buries his dog under his
mothers
favorite tree in the yard.

Although in a terrible state of emotional pain, something in the back of

his mind keeps Richard from destroying any evidence as he cleans the
kitchen and scours the property for evidence. Now he's fully responsible

for running his farm by himself. Plans of finding his mothers killer
and
exacting revenge for her begin to take root in his broken heart.

Hawkman and his wife Jennifer find themselves drawn to Richard. During
the
investigation to find his mother's killer, Hawkman uses his Gryfalcon to

earn Richard's trust and help him. Soon Hawkman realizes that he's doing

more than just help Richard find a killer. He's giving him a lifeline to

the outside world and friendship.

THE SILENT SCREAM will grab you from the very first page. Betty Sullivan

Pierre has a wonderful talent with words and description that will hold
you spellbound from the beginning to the very end.

Her cast of characters will keep you on your toes. You'll wish you had
half of them as close friends and the other half behind bars until you
could figure out if they're innocent or guilty. THE SILENT SCREAM is a
fantastic story and I recommend it to anyone who loves a great mystery!