cover image Silent Scream: An Anna Travis Mystery

Silent Scream: An Anna Travis Mystery

Lynda La Plante, Touchstone, $15 paper (416p) ISBN 978-1-4391-3928-8

In La Plante's disappointing fifth mystery to feature London's Det. Insp. Anna Travis (after 2009's Deadly Intent), Travis looks into the stabbing murder of 24-year-old movie star Amanda Delany in her Belgravia mews house. The case is a jumble of dead-ends from the start, even though Delany had a reputation in the film community as a drug user prone to affairs with her male co-stars. But without a murder weapon, usable fingerprints, or even a motive, Travis and her team struggle to find viable leads. Complicating matters is the arrival of Det. Chief Supt. James Langton, Travis's former flame and ex-boss, who wants fast results. Eventually, Travis discovers not only that Delaney had been writing a scandalous memoir but that she suspected someone close to her was stealing her money. Travis is no longer a rookie (in fact, she's up for promotion to detective chief inspector), but her detecting skills are elementary at best, and the predictable plot doesn't give her much room to shine. (July)