Silent World — A discussion group discussion

Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes), is my eighth published novel. Co-written with Lance Morcan it's what led to us creating this very group as in the course of researching Deaf culture over the decade it's taken to write it, and getting to know Deaf people including and especially leading Deaf filmmaker Brent Macpherson, we began to respect those within the Deaf community.

Silent Fear is a multi-genre crime, thriller, mystery, horror (with shades of sci-fi). Set in present-day London, the story 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., between 1980 and the early 2000’s.

Here’s the novel’s storyline at a glance:

Detective Valerie Crowther is assigned to investigate the murder of a student at a university for the deaf in London. 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’s clearly the work of a serial killer. The stakes rise when Valerie becomes the killer’s next target and the deadly virus claims more lives.

We are also screenwriters and filmmakers and have put SILENT FEAR into early development as a feature film through our production company Morcan Motion Pictures. The aforementioned Deaf filmmaker Brent Macpherson is also on board the project as Co-Producer and Deaf Consultant.

There's also a Silent Fear film trailer you can watch: https://www.goodreads.com/videos/1245...

James this is fran Lewis I would love to read and review your book in print. My nephew is deaf he is truly remarkable. I would love to read and share your story

Fran wrote: "James this is fran Lewis I would love to read and review your book in print. My nephew is deaf he is truly remarkable. I would love to read and share your story"

Sure thing, Fran.
Will get a copy to you once the paperback is out.
James

I have been fascinated with the deaf community ever since childhood. This sounds like an awesome book. Would love the opportunity to review the book in print.

Alex Szollo, avid reader and your Romanian fan.

Alexszollo wrote: "I have been fascinated with the deaf community ever since childhood. This sounds like an awesome book. Would love the opportunity to review the book in print.

Alex Szollo, avid reader and your Ro..."

Thanks Alex.

British author Harry Whitewolf recently reviewed the book: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Here's Harry's review in full:

The premise of this book alone is extremely enticing and original, which means my expectations were high from the start, but boy, do the authors deliver!

There are three main facets to this story:

1) It is a whodunnit mystery thriller, where the main protagonist, detective Valerie Crowther tries to track down a serial killer who’s targetting deaf students at a world-renowned university.

2) There is a worldwide virus known as Monkey Flu which is killing hundreds of thousands of people. The U.K has escaped the epidemic until there is a breakout at the very uni Crowther is conducting her investigations, so the school soon becomes quarantined and shut off from the outside world.

3) The story is a great insight into the deaf community.

Combining these three facets makes for an exciting and interesting read. At first, I was a little cautious at embarking on an 800 page story, but I needn’t have worried. It doesn’t feel like a long book at all, and the authors are so adept at breaking up the scenes and the various tangents, and pacing it so well, that I didn’t feel like I was reading a mammoth book at all. I’d thought it would probably take me a couple of months to get through it, but I raced through this in a week. Like all clever and well written thrillers, there are enough cliff-hanging chapters and side stories which made me think I’d just read one more chapter and then before I knew it, I’d read another fifty pages. So don’t let the length of this book put you off at all – it’s exactly the right length that the book needs to be – especially when it’s effectively combining two stories in one (the outbreak of the virus and the whodunnit mystery).

It’s superbly written, and there are plenty of red herrings and clues throughout to make you try to guess who the killer is, only for you to then completely change your mind a few pages later.

There are also plenty of other side stories going on, such as – unexpectedly - Satanic rituals, and the personal stories of the characters. And man, for a book with so many characters (as there needs to be), the authors make it such an easy read to follow who’s who and to have such solid, well-rounded, believeable characters. There are the students – who are a vast array of different types, including some punkish ruffians, there’s the main protagonist Crowther; and her Superintendent ex husband on the outside, there are two news reporters who have bluffed their way into the school and who soon find themselves being quarantined with the rest and becoming the eyes and ears of the media, there are… so many engaging characters with their own stories – and they are all effortlessly portrayed well throughout.

Even the opening scene in the prologue is exceptionally brilliant – it feels like a classic scene from a classic film: where the killer is taking care in bricklaying a wall to conceal his first victim behind it. The attention the killer has to using three parts sand, one part cement and the skill of angling his trowel, with little thought towards the fact that he’s just killed someone in cold blood, is the perfect introduction to a disturbed psychopathic mind. Not to mention that he also then masturbates upon finishing the job.
And knowing that this book is going to be made into a film, I can already see that scene being chillingly played out as clear as mud.

No way will you figure out who the killer is, but you’ll enjoy trying to figure it out. I can guarantee it.

This is such a meaty book, that I could go on for another thousand words detailing just how well it’s all been put together and how well it’s been written, but this review is already turning out to be a long one, so I’ll leave it on this point:

Not only is this a great epidemic-sci-fi and mystery thriller, it’s also a fantastic insight into the deaf community, and it’s very apparent how much research has gone into this book. Reading the afterword from the authors’ consultant makes this clear, and it’s good to know that the writers have gone to lengths to show a very realistic portrayal of that community. Forget the whodunnit and epidemic stories, this book works just as well at being a much needed insight for hearing people into a community we may not know much, or anything, about. As their liaison Brent Macpherson says in the afterword:

“Silent Fear is one of the few mainstream novels to address the unique challenges faced by members of the Deaf community in any great detail. As a member of that community, and as someone who has been Deaf since birth, I believe this book is an important addition to the dearth of literature that exists about Deaf people and Deaf culture.”

Highly recommended!

I just downloaded your novel, Silent Fear. I have written a novel, Silent Grace, which I published on Amazon. There is a child in the story who became deaf from Meningitis, and learns to hear with bilateral cochlear implants. My research for the novel gave me great respect for anyone living with deafness or who are hard of hearing. A deaf friend helped me with her own cochlear implant experience. I know I will enjoy your read!

Gerri wrote: "I just downloaded your novel, Silent Fear. I have written a novel, Silent Grace, which I published on Amazon. There is a child in the story who became deaf from Meningitis, and learns to hear with ..."

Happy reading Gerri! And all best for your own novel, which sounds intriguing.

This sounds like it’s in my wheelhouse. I would love to get a copy and review on my blog. Is that possible?

Give my free book a read at stantasyland.com

STOPPNow: (Stop the Organized Pill Pushers) Now Silent Fear is a great book. They were offering a kindle version for free if that helps you.

Thriller novel about a Coronavirus-style pandemic



Leading U.S. health experts reportedly predicted in October that a new coronavirus could kill up to 65 million people in a year — in a warning issued three months before the recent outbreak in China... This would be a near identical scenario to the global virus pandemic plot of my 2017 thriller novel Silent Fear, co-written with Lance Morcan, in which countries all over the world go into lockdown...and tens of millions die after being infected with the virus.

Here's one article which reported on the predicted death toll of the current virus:

The U.S. Scientist Who Predicted Coronavirus Could Kill 65 Million People–Three Months BEFORE the Outbreak in Wuhan, China https://electroverse.net/the-u-s-scie...

Silent Fear is a claustrophobic, "whodunit" murder mystery...

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.

Silent Fear can be found here on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Or on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Fear-no...

Speechless!