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SILENCED CRY by Marta Stephens: 
by Jack Quick, Bookbitch Review

Being a cop is a tough job.  Being a homicide detective is probably the toughest job for a cop.  Being a homicide detective working for the same force where your father was a homicide detective, working under some of the same people who worked with him, well, that’s about as tough as it gets.  Detective Sam Harper loses his narcotics partner in a shootout and ends up in homicide on cold cases.  Then he is called out on a decade-old child homicide.  His past--and the past of his friends, family, and nemeses quickly combine to turn this case into the biggest case Harper has ever known.  First in a planned series, lets hope those plans materialize.  Recommended. 08/07

A New Force to Be Reckoned With
A reviewer, an avid mystery fan, 

Marta Stephens amazed me with Silenced Cry, her first novel. I felt knotted and twisted like a pretzel as I tried to unravel her tightly woven plot. Tremendous action throughout. I fell in love with Sam Harper and look forward to many more thrilling crime investigations with him driving home the final justice. Stephens may be the new kid on the block, but she's a force to be reckoned with! 

Silenced Cry: A Terrific Read (Amazon.CA)
by Meg Westley, Sratford, Ontario, A fiction writer and avid reader

Silenced Cry is a terrific detective novel: easy to read, fast-paced and intriguing in unexpected ways. Marta Stephens has created a complex and varied cast of characters whose relationship dynamics form a large part of the novel's appeal. Although I'm no expert in the area, her depiction of the stresses of police work - the politics and frustrations - rings absolutely true. The plot is full of fascinating twists and turns in which past and present collide in a chilling fashion. The finding of an infant's corpse leads Harper to other, far more unsettling discoveries, and the reader is kept on edge until the end. It's a great read, and the protagonist is both human and heroic enough that I look forward to seeing more of him. Stephens' writing is crisp, evocative and always engaging. It is hard to believe this is her first novel. I'm sure it won't be her last. Don't miss it!

Highly Recommended
By Michael Reed, FL, A fiction writer and avid reader

In her debut novel, Stephens has penned a story tight as piano wire. Her characters, featuring Detective Sam Harper, are both palpable and veiled, a regular who’s who of likely suspects, revealed in earthy dialog reminiscent of the best of crime fiction. Silenced Cry held my interest from the first gun shot, past the first, second and third plot twist into the clubhouse turn and on, to an ending I hadn’t anticipated. Pay attention to this writer. She’s a natural in this genre.

Hate Fells the Innocent!
By Viviane Crystal, Crystal Reviews, NY

Marta Stephens is a master crime novelist. She knows how to spin a complex, credible, action-packed and gripping story with plot, subplot and more subplot. Every page crackles with intrigue, questions, and clues! This lady could easily write for any TV crime drama and hopefully will continue to keep writing great and greater novels like this superb crime novel!”
 

"... details that are as vivid as watching a movie." (US Amazon)
By R. Grass, Detective, Ball State University Police Department

“Marta Stephens has hit the nail on the head with Silenced Cry and Detective Sam Harper. With his partner’s death, one unforgettable stormy night, Harper was left to pick up the pieces of a puzzle he knew nothing about.  As the cloud over Harper’s head continued to grow, the passion Stephens projects into his life, his career and the unpredictable events that surrounded his case, captured this normally nonfiction reader’s attention with pure amazement. Being a police detective with an abnormal suspicious mind about people, I was amazed how Stephens pegged the personalities of Harper and his fellow officers as well as the way a criminal mind rationalizes behavior.  Stephens’ words are brought to life with the details that are as vivid as watching a movie.  Her descriptive crime scenes come to life with such reality I found it hard to believe I was reading fiction. Definitely a must read for police mystery enthusiasts.”

Muncie Public Library (Indiana)

"Local Author Marta Stephens’ debut thriller is one you won’t want to miss! Silenced Cry is the first in a new series featuring homicide detective Sam Harper, and it’s full of suspense, witty dialogue, intriguing sub-plots, and lots of surprises.

Sam Harper’s life changes when his partner is murdered.  He gets transferred from Narcotics to Homicide, where he becomes obsessed with a cold case involving a toddler’s murder. As he delves in, Harper realizes the case holds many more secrets than the surface reveals. Silenced Cry is an intense, fast-paced read that you will quickly devour."

Euro-Reviews (Netherlands)
By Annie, GA

"Silenced Cry is a convoluted and complex story that demonstrates a vivid imaginative gift on the part of author Marta Stephens. It is common to speak of a mystery as being complex and possessing numerous plot twists and turns; but rare to find a novel quite as complex as this one. This reviewer has read mysteries since childhood, and even I was hard-pressed to guess the villainous identities, and found it impossible to predict the turns this roller-coaster story would take. Truly, Marta Stephens delivers a winner of high promise in Silenced Cry, a story whose truths will linger long in the mind."

Gotta Writer Network.com
by Jennifer Fisch-Ferguson 

Things start with a bang in homicide when the bones of an infant are found in wall of an apartment being ripped down.  Everything Sam thought he knew is thrown into a blender and tossed back out in a dizzying array of corruption, bribes and death for hire. Not to mention it all seems to involve his friends, family, enemies and their pasts. All these together combine to turn this case into so much more than a cold case and the twisting end is more than Sam ever thought possible.

Marta Stephens has done a masterful job of intricately telling an easy to read story that keeps the reader guessing from character to character.  This quick and easy read will keep your attention with a wide range of well written sub-plots and the easy flow of words.  Sam, as the lead, is wholly believable and drags you right into his world from the beginning. The book is full of surprises, thrills and unseen corners that it keeps the reader up way past bed time to squeeze in the last few pages! Over all Marta Stephens brings you fully into her world through her novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you eagerly turn the pages of this excellent mystery."
 

Alternative-Read--Sassy Brit Review (England)
By Lucille P. Robinson

The first chapters did a great job of setting the mood, tone, and background of the story. Ms. Stephens did a superb job of handling the various characters and their stories and showing the connections between them all. This book is a fast read and held my attention from start to finish. I’m looking forward to future Sam Harper Crime Mysteries.

More Twists than a Bag of Pretzels (US Amazon)
-- Warlen Bassham, author of Always, and Two Forevers, and Five Days, Bothwell, WA

Do you like jigsaw puzzles? Are you such a fanatic that you sometimes turn all the pieces over and solve the puzzle 'upside down' with no sample picture to guide you? If so, you'll love this book. Especially if you are into Noir-type stories teeming with seedy underworld characters, good movie-script dialogue, and settings so realistic you can smell them-- and wish you hadn't.

There are thus a multitude of sub-plots, but they never get in the way of Sam's twin obsessions-- to solve the baby's murder and to get even with the guy who killed Sam's partner. It will come as no surprise to the astute reader, and is therefore not a Spoiler, that the two apparently unrelated cases are in fact as related as two cases could ever get.

Sam Harper is lovingly drawn, with great detail, by this artist of an author. Every character, even the most minor, gets plenty of matching attention. Another great strength of this volume is the author's 'ear' for clever yet realistic dialogue. The author has promised that this book is the first of a series. I can hardly wait for the next installment." 

Exciting plot worth your time
by Nicole M. Boals, Armchair Interviews
Armchair Interviews says: The novel is a fast-paced, exciting read.

If you are looking for a novel ripe with twists and turns and intricate interweaving of plots, Silenced Cry by Marta Stephens is a novel for you. This is a classic detective story that is detailed, intricate, and full of surprises.This quick and easy read will keep your attention throughout every page. With a wide range of characters and sub-plots, the novel is exciting and interesting. Marta Stephens is able to weave several intricate stories into one cohesive novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat."

"Silenced Cry leads you by the hairs on the back of your neck through a chilling case, fraught with twists and long-buried secrets, and finishes you off with a sucker-punch to the gut. Stephens' debut novel is a strong start to a series worth watching. More Detective Sam Harper, please!"  -- S. W. Vaughn, Author of Broken Angel, NY

"... Talented author Marta Stephens opens a door into the darker side of society and human nature that will make the reader consider how much life is wasted here, how much hope is lost. You'll wonder that anyone survives in this world. Sit in with interviews of witnesses and learn the story of the lost baby. You'll want to cry.  A tale that could be taken from the news, this is a book you will remember and look for other tales by this creative author.  A realistic cast of characters lead us step by step into the past, into the darkness of the human soul. The twisting trail has a surprise at the end for the reader.  Enjoy.  I did." -- Anne K. Edwards, Author of Death on Delivery

Marta Stephen’s newest novel Silenced Cry introduces the world to Sam Harper, narcotics detective and his partner Gillies. The death of his partner sets Harper on a cold case file of a murdered infant. The cold case opens up lines of deceit to the top of the force and city hall. Murders, rape and fratricide all lead to one exciting conclusion. Readers of Sue Grafton and James Patterson, have a new cop to add to their bookshelves. Fast paced and full of more twists and turns than a new rollercoaster… I now have a new favorite ride." --Jake George, Senior Editor, Virtual Tales. Author of  Grandfather’s Song and A New Dawn, FL