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Silent River
A gripping psychological thriller inspired by true events.
Robert Collins is Portland’s best investigative detective. When the Stevens family goes missing, he goes to work. As he uncovers clues the family may have been targeted for a professional hit by organized crime, it gets personal.
Too personal. Can he face down his inner demons before he loses himself?
He confronts the mob and police bureaucracy to find the missing family. Jake, partner and friend, thinks he's spiraling into obsession, when Robert's taken off the case but refuses to give up the investigation.
Can he get past this shameless tragedy and his own past to move on with his life?
Silent River is a fictionalized version of a real investigation in the late 1950s in Portland, Oregon, a time when money and power ruled the city. This story will appeal to fans of true crime and detective fiction alike. Readers who enjoy Ann Rule, Rex Stout, and Mary Higgins Clark will love CM Weaver.
Robert Collins is Portland’s best investigative detective. When the Stevens family goes missing, he goes to work. As he uncovers clues the family may have been targeted for a professional hit by organized crime, it gets personal.
Too personal. Can he face down his inner demons before he loses himself?
He confronts the mob and police bureaucracy to find the missing family. Jake, partner and friend, thinks he's spiraling into obsession, when Robert's taken off the case but refuses to give up the investigation.
Can he get past this shameless tragedy and his own past to move on with his life?
Silent River is a fictionalized version of a real investigation in the late 1950s in Portland, Oregon, a time when money and power ruled the city. This story will appeal to fans of true crime and detective fiction alike. Readers who enjoy Ann Rule, Rex Stout, and Mary Higgins Clark will love CM Weaver.
277 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2019
4 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 20, 2019
A well-crafted psychological thriller...
Silent River by C.M. Weaver is a wonderfully written and richly descriptive novel, with brilliantly drawn characters driven by obsession and the need for justice. The author weaves a well-crafted psychological thriller with intriguing twists and turns that will captivate the reader from the first page to the last. Skillfully constructed, the story is a fictionalized version of a real investigation in the late 1950s in Portland, Oregon.
The book description gives a sneak preview: ‘Robert Collins is Portland’s best investigative detective. When the Stevens family goes missing, he goes to work. As he uncovers clues the family may have been targeted for a professional hit by organized crime, it gets personal. …Can he face down his inner demons before he loses himself?
He confronts the mob and police bureaucracy to find the missing family. Jake, partner and friend, thinks he's spiraling into obsession, when Robert's taken off the case but refuses to give up the investigation. …Can he get past this shameless tragedy and his own past to move on with his life?’
Now, if that’s not enough to get your curiosity juices flowing, I don’t know what will. But if you want to find out what happens, you’ll just have to turn the pages for yourself! However, I will say it was well worth the read. It’s my first time reading this author and I must say I was very impressed.
The story had every element a good story should have. A solid plot, attention to detail, but best of all fleshed out, well-written and well-rounded character development. There’s an abundance of well-illustrated scenes that make you feel like you are right there in the story, and that’s something I really look for in a good book.
I enjoyed the story, character development, and dialogue. There were plenty of plot twists that I didn’t see coming and that added to the book’s mystique. When I stopped reading to work, I found myself wondering what happened in the book, and replaying parts of the novel in my head to see if I could figure more out. It has been a while since I enjoyed a book this much.
This was a fascinating and captivating read that had me immersed from the beginning. The story flowed from scene to scene with ease, and the author shows exceptional ability when it comes to storytelling. There are plenty of attention-grabbing moments in this page turner that will take the reader on a truly mesmerizing journey. Five stars.
Silent River by C.M. Weaver is a wonderfully written and richly descriptive novel, with brilliantly drawn characters driven by obsession and the need for justice. The author weaves a well-crafted psychological thriller with intriguing twists and turns that will captivate the reader from the first page to the last. Skillfully constructed, the story is a fictionalized version of a real investigation in the late 1950s in Portland, Oregon.
The book description gives a sneak preview: ‘Robert Collins is Portland’s best investigative detective. When the Stevens family goes missing, he goes to work. As he uncovers clues the family may have been targeted for a professional hit by organized crime, it gets personal. …Can he face down his inner demons before he loses himself?
He confronts the mob and police bureaucracy to find the missing family. Jake, partner and friend, thinks he's spiraling into obsession, when Robert's taken off the case but refuses to give up the investigation. …Can he get past this shameless tragedy and his own past to move on with his life?’
Now, if that’s not enough to get your curiosity juices flowing, I don’t know what will. But if you want to find out what happens, you’ll just have to turn the pages for yourself! However, I will say it was well worth the read. It’s my first time reading this author and I must say I was very impressed.
The story had every element a good story should have. A solid plot, attention to detail, but best of all fleshed out, well-written and well-rounded character development. There’s an abundance of well-illustrated scenes that make you feel like you are right there in the story, and that’s something I really look for in a good book.
I enjoyed the story, character development, and dialogue. There were plenty of plot twists that I didn’t see coming and that added to the book’s mystique. When I stopped reading to work, I found myself wondering what happened in the book, and replaying parts of the novel in my head to see if I could figure more out. It has been a while since I enjoyed a book this much.
This was a fascinating and captivating read that had me immersed from the beginning. The story flowed from scene to scene with ease, and the author shows exceptional ability when it comes to storytelling. There are plenty of attention-grabbing moments in this page turner that will take the reader on a truly mesmerizing journey. Five stars.
April 20, 2019
This is based on a true story from the late 1950's. Two detectives are working thru a personal tragedy, conflict within the police dept, the mob, and some powerful people in order to find out what happened to a family of 5 that went missing. After months and many clues, they finally realize what their dealing with . I'm not sure I liked the way it ended, however this was a different time in history, yrs ago.
Thanks to Italics Publishing for the opportunity to read this story.
Thanks to Italics Publishing for the opportunity to read this story.
April 25, 2019
Very awkward phrasing at times ( “Her thumb in her mouth he felt no movement.” Actual sentence 13% in)and historical inaccuracies, we also know the ending on the first page. We already know the fate of the missing family, so it’s not like there’s a sense of urgency for them to be found, hopefully alive.
Everywhere our protagonist went-shopping, birthday parties, diners-women were literally falling over themselves to be around him. It seemed unbelievable, as if it was the author’s fantasy to have his own harem. I’m sorry, I don’t care how attractive a man is, entire groups of women don’t throw themselves at a man the way the author describes. I found myself rolling my eyes more than I should.
I tried SO hard to get into this book, I really did. I live for mysteries, and wanted to love this, but I put it down and read a different book. Picked this one back up again, only to put it down and read ANOTHER book. Third time, couldn’t bring myself to do it. DNF.
Everywhere our protagonist went-shopping, birthday parties, diners-women were literally falling over themselves to be around him. It seemed unbelievable, as if it was the author’s fantasy to have his own harem. I’m sorry, I don’t care how attractive a man is, entire groups of women don’t throw themselves at a man the way the author describes. I found myself rolling my eyes more than I should.
I tried SO hard to get into this book, I really did. I live for mysteries, and wanted to love this, but I put it down and read a different book. Picked this one back up again, only to put it down and read ANOTHER book. Third time, couldn’t bring myself to do it. DNF.
May 10, 2019
Take a few facts, add some imagination and C.M. Weaver crafted an enthralling plausible story about a family that seemingly just up and disappears. Follow along with Detective Collins as he sifts through threads of evidence trying to get the answers to the fate of the Stevens family. What led to the disappearance and what became of them? The closer he comes to solving the case the more dangerous it becomes not only for him but for everyone close to him and anyone who would help him.
There are some editing issues, missing or extra words or letters, a misplaced apostrophe or two, an awkward sentence here and there and I found a word that totally made no sense in the sentence so determined it was just a typo and must have been coughed instead of couched. But all in all an excellent read and only one that I found very confusing.
I look forward to finding out what else Author Weaver will come up with.
There are some editing issues, missing or extra words or letters, a misplaced apostrophe or two, an awkward sentence here and there and I found a word that totally made no sense in the sentence so determined it was just a typo and must have been coughed instead of couched. But all in all an excellent read and only one that I found very confusing.
I look forward to finding out what else Author Weaver will come up with.
April 21, 2019
A good read
Having read many new writings, I appreciate one that moves the reader quickly through a case. This read just like a cop taking you from start to finish, a plausible technique. However, the English teacher, and avid reader, in me was jolted from time to time by awkward phrasing (I don't know think he), a missing word [a hunting (jacket?)] hunting , or an incomplete spelling (he eyes). Furthermore, the end was too pat! Any dedicated officer would have found a way to "solve" this case. So three stars it is. That said, I will look for more by this author and hope to see a stiffer editing.
Having read many new writings, I appreciate one that moves the reader quickly through a case. This read just like a cop taking you from start to finish, a plausible technique. However, the English teacher, and avid reader, in me was jolted from time to time by awkward phrasing (I don't know think he), a missing word [a hunting (jacket?)] hunting , or an incomplete spelling (he eyes). Furthermore, the end was too pat! Any dedicated officer would have found a way to "solve" this case. So three stars it is. That said, I will look for more by this author and hope to see a stiffer editing.
April 23, 2019
The beginning of this book was gripping and I looked forward to a great novel. It suddenly began to drag and start to get confusing. A small problem with editing as well when questioning a suspect without an attorney present and when you ask your last question an attorney pops up and says "don't answer that". I had to go back and see if I'd missed something. Most disappointing was the abrupt ending. I'm at a loss as to what happened. I know from the beginning of this book that the author is better than the total of this book. I would take a chance on another novel from this author.
April 25, 2019
A new author for me, and he has a different approach, setting this in the late 1950’s and based on true facts. The house looked as though they had gone on a vacation. The detectives had their own problems, then dealing with bulky equipment,the mob, people in command over them. The settings of Portland, and descriptions where good. An usual ending, was quite short. Overall a good narrative type of thriller to enjoy.
May 7, 2019
Justice System Works For The Rich
When a family of five disappears, and are presumed dead, the police appear to jump into action. Two honest cops are stopped at every turn. They know that wealthy families are involved, but money really can stop an investigation. The two run into a wall of frightened cops and others on the take. Realistic without the perfect solve at the end. I was gifted this from the author.
When a family of five disappears, and are presumed dead, the police appear to jump into action. Two honest cops are stopped at every turn. They know that wealthy families are involved, but money really can stop an investigation. The two run into a wall of frightened cops and others on the take. Realistic without the perfect solve at the end. I was gifted this from the author.
May 29, 2019
Good Story
Knowing that a book is based on a real event usually makes it more interesting. I enjoyed the twists and I shows that truth can be stranger than fiction. As people have mentioned in previous reviews there were a couple of spots where you feel you missed something but that doesn’t ruin the story. A little surprised with the ending but I guess that this is real life.
Knowing that a book is based on a real event usually makes it more interesting. I enjoyed the twists and I shows that truth can be stranger than fiction. As people have mentioned in previous reviews there were a couple of spots where you feel you missed something but that doesn’t ruin the story. A little surprised with the ending but I guess that this is real life.
June 20, 2019
What I liked about this story is it is based on something that actually happened in 1950 in Portland. This detective gives himself up selflessly to try and save a family and bring those who are guilty to justice. I enjoyed this book very much. I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book.
July 21, 2021
I really liked the book and did not let a few typing error and awkward phrases take away from my reading enjoyment. Knowing that this was based on a true story and the outcome of that story made looking at it from a different perspective all the more interesting.
April 28, 2019
Interesting book based on a true story. A good mix of action, mystery, and romance. Well written but the end was a let down. I was left wanting to know more.
May 14, 2019
Absolutely amazing and suspenseful story that has you gripped.
June 6, 2019
This is well written and based on a true unsolved crime.
June 11, 2019
Great read
Well written mystery. A search for a missing family in a mob-infested town. New love and friendship. Something for everyone!
Well written mystery. A search for a missing family in a mob-infested town. New love and friendship. Something for everyone!
February 5, 2022
Good story !
I really liked the story. However I wish the book had ended with the real solution to the story. Still wondering what happened to the family.
I really liked the story. However I wish the book had ended with the real solution to the story. Still wondering what happened to the family.
September 5, 2022
Not very impressed. A boring detective story written in a very amateurish style.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews