Book Review-Newer Books 24

Review—Scream for Me

Karen Rose wrote the novel Scream for Me. Grand Central Publishing published the book in May 2008; the novel has 436 pages.

            Small towns and the secrets they can hold. There may be truth in the statement that familiarity breeds contempt. Dutton, Georgia holds more than a few secrets. Many small towns seldom count murder in the lists of crimes recorded. A young woman found dead in a ditch recreates a murder from the past of this small town. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) sends in agent Daniel Vartanian, who has some issues of his own with this small town. Daniel grew up in Dutton and he has just come back to work after horrors of his own. Alex Fallon is the twin sister of a young girl tragically killed 13 years ago, a death that set off a series of crimes and now leads to the uncovering of a history of rapes and murders in this small town that were perpetrated by the entitled of the area.

            Alex Fallon, an emergency room nurse, receives a call that she is needed to care for a baby she knew nothing about and that the child’s mother is missing; her step-sister has abandoned her child. Alex is listed as the guardian for this baby and she goes to Dutton. This small town was a place she left after suffering her own horrors and crisis’s, facing these may be a hurdle she had needed. She finds the child unable to speak, a child, who for now only communicates through red crayons. In trying to find her step-sister, Alex is lead to Daniel who is stunned by the resemblance to a past murder victim and this just opens the door to many past issues for this small town and the crimes that have transpired. Alex and Daniel also find an undeniable attraction to each other that propels them through not only a budding relationship, but also mystery, murder and mayhem.

            Karen Rose leads these strong and capable characters through situations that combine danger and investigation with complicated family situations and a small town with many secrets to hide. This is a sequel to a previous book; but this in itself is fast-paced, witty, in addition to being insightful regarding the psychological trauma that children and young adults sometimes have to deal with. The characters are well developed and enjoyable in this easy to read novel.