Review: Lost Causes Silent Scream by Donna J. Thompson

From Goodreads.com What is happening at Lakeview? When beautiful Psychologist Casey West goes to Detective Karl Larkin with a wild story about the mental hospital where she works, he quickly dismisses it. He has worked in Springfield for twenty years and Lakeview has never had a complaint lodged against it. But when Casey's friend, a nurse named Trudy Madison, is brutally murdered and the management's story doesn't agree with the evidence, Detective Larkin begins to think Casey's story doesn't seem so far-fetched anymore. Having friends in high places, Jerry Connors, who runs Lakeview, uses his influence to stop the detective's investigation. Casey then begs Larkin to allow her to become his eyes and ears inside of the place. Will she help him crack the case, or will she wind up dead like her friend?

                                                      

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 My Rating: 5 stars out of 5

The premise of this novel attracted me immediately when it came across my review pile. A murder in a psychiatric hospital? A conspiracy in which someone places their own life on the line to work with the police? It sounded like a winner... and it was. 

The story-line immediately begins to pickup within the first few chapters of the book, and it does not let up. In fact, I found this novel to be so unpredictable and fast paced that I literally finished it in one day as I found myself unable to put it down. Would the police uncover the real murderer of Trudy Madison? How far did the hospital conspiracy reach? Was there anyone the heroine Casey West could trust? Thankfully, all of these questions (and more) were answered over the course of the novel in a way that more than left the reader satisfied. 

There is little doubt in my mind that the author spent considerable time on this novel as not only were the characters well developed, each with their own flaws, their own agendas and quirks, but the descriptions of the hospital were also obviously well planned. I felt like I was there as I read this novel - that I had been transported to Lakeview and was watching events as they unfolded. I felt Casey's pain, her anger, and yes, even her fear and confusion. All of the emotions one would expect to feel when confronted with the types of situations depicted in the novel. 

Overall, Lost Causes Silent Scream is a fantastic blend of murder, conspiracy and intense story-telling that I would definitely recommend!

DISCLAIMER:   I received an advanced copy of Lost Causes Silent Scream in exchange for my honest review. This has not reflected on my review in any way.

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Lost Causes Silent Scream is available for purchase from Amazon.com