Silent Fear (Detective Ella Marconi, #5) in Aussie Readers

Jan 06, 2012 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-are, aussie-author

Silent Fear is the fifth novel by Australian crime fiction writer Katherine Howell featuring Detective Ella Marconi and, as with the other installments in the series, it is a page turning blend of police procedural, action and suspense.

Paramedic Holly Garland is shocked to find her estranged brother, Seth, standing over the body on a routine call out for a collapse, while two bystanders perform clumsy CPR on the man. When she discovers that her patient has been shot, she is certain her brother i Silent Fear is the fifth novel by Australian crime fiction writer Katherine Howell featuring Detective Ella Marconi and, as with the other installments in the series, it is a page turning blend of police procedural, action and suspense.

Paramedic Holly Garland is shocked to find her estranged brother, Seth, standing over the body on a routine call out for a collapse, while two bystanders perform clumsy CPR on the man. When she discovers that her patient has been shot, she is certain her brother is somehow involved and is determined to keep her distance, wary of the secrets he keeps.
Detective Ella Marconi finds Seth suspicious as well, there is something the dead man's friends are hiding and she is determined to find out what it is, especially when an innocent man is brutally executed and the ring of conspirators begins to weaken.

Howell's Detective Ella Marconi series is distinguished by the inclusion of a paramedic as a major character in each book. In this instance, paramedic Holly Garland's own secrets become tangled in mystery surrounding her deceased patient, with devastating consequences. Howell skillfully weaves Holly's personal and professional story into the main plot, both which are potentially at risk from the past that has come back to haunt her. Her brother, Seth, becomes an omen of doom when a close friend comes under investigation for overtime rorts, a colleague is harassing her and she is fighting with her partner.

Solving the mystery of Paul Fowler's death is the priority for Detective Ella Marconi but as in any investigation there are uncooperative witnesses, false starts and leads that go nowhere. Trying to trace the shooters movements after the fact, there is a car lurking on a suburban street, another that screams out of a parking lot, bystanders who supply false names and addresses and objects dropped from a bridge. I really appreciate the level of realism Howell uses within her books. Her officers wade through paperwork, follow up on tips, interview people and piece together their case methodically rather than relying on improbable coincidence or lucky guesses. Marconi suspects a conspiracy but is surprised when their investigation leads them from the suburbs of Sydney to the seedy city streets of drugs, prostitution and vicious turf wars. The plot is layered and well paced with the author parceling out information judiciously, maintaining mystery and tension. The conclusion is tense and exciting though, realistically, not as neatly tied up in the way crime authors often seem compelled to do.
Howell's police officers are not just cops, while things for Ella are relatively calm in this installment, aside from a sleazy and smug colleague getting on her nerves, she does invest herself in this case. Ella doesn't like being made a fool of and makes one of the suspects a personal enemy. Her partner on the case is concerned for his father who is recovering from a stabbing. His distraction affects the case somewhat though as it ends up the two cases are tangentially linked. This is probably the only aspect of the plot I thought was entirely too convenient.

Exciting, authentic and a great read I enjoyed Silent Fear and read it in one sitting, unwilling to put it down. Silent Fear is a page turner, and just as the sticker warns on the cover,(as one of the 50 books highlighted in Australia's National Year of Reading program), it's "A book You Can't Put Down".
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Apr 15, 2012 Helene Young rated it it was amazing

Silent Fear is another page turner from Katherine Howell. Detective Ella Marconi is back at work unravelling a complex crime involving brothels, drugs, and murder. Holly, a paramedic, provides the other point of view for the story. It's a good contrast between the conflicted paramedic and the dedicated detective.

As usual the cast of characters is large, interesting and oh so real. The suspects are linked by spidery connections that gradually pull together for the ending. Ms Howell's stories are ...more

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Jan 08, 2012 Sheree rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2012, reviews, suspense-thriller, own, aussie-author

4.5 stars

As I wait with bated breath for each of Katherine Howell's novels to be released there's delicious anticipation but there's also a twinge of fear, a niggle of doubt. Katherine's novels landed on my auto-buy list after her 2nd book The Darkest Hour proved Frantic wasn't a one-hit-wonder. So ... 5th book, what if its not as good? Katherine's record so far has proven this unlikely but ... in defence of my niggling doubt ... it's possible. This author sets the bar high and I have high expe 4.5 stars

As I wait with bated breath for each of Katherine Howell's novels to be released there's delicious anticipation but there's also a twinge of fear, a niggle of doubt. Katherine's novels landed on my auto-buy list after her 2nd book The Darkest Hour proved Frantic wasn't a one-hit-wonder. So ... 5th book, what if its not as good? Katherine's record so far has proven this unlikely but ... in defence of my niggling doubt ... it's possible. This author sets the bar high and I have high expectations. I've been a fan since coming across Frantic in my local library and I now consider Katherine a friend ... ooh the pressure.

So, finishing Silent Fear at 2am I do a *happy dance* and give Katherine a 'virtual' high-five, I also breathe a sigh of exhaustion and relief ... this book was 'unputdownable' and YES Katherine Howell nails it again!!

Paramedic Holly Garland shares equal billing with Detective Ella Marconi in Silent Fear. Holly's secrets are entangled in the overall plot, and Katherine's writing draws you in; a realistic sense of place and natural dialogue, it's so easy to care about a character.

She watched the woman lean out and reach up and wondered why she didn't fall, because the world had shifted on its axis and nothing - breathing, gravity, life itself - was ever going to be the same.

While all the Ella Marconi series work well as stand-a-lone novels I love how a little more is revealed about Ella's private life in each book, she's become an old friend that I enjoy spending time with.

Silent Fear is the consummate blend of police procedural and paramedic detail, mystery and suspense. It's a labyrinth of twists, turns and red herrings, tension builds 'til it reaches fever-pitch. I loved the crescendo of nervous excitement that comes with the chase and just as Ella wondered which lead would pan out, I wondered how it would all tie together? I admit I'm a total ghoul and I wanted even more paramedic action but I loved the fact that over halfway through the novel I still hadn't figured anything out.

Through the pages of her novels Katherine Howell connects us with the suffering, pain, joy and heartache of the paramedic and investigative world. It's the very reason I love this author's work.

News Flash: All of Katherine Howell's novels are now available in ebook format from Amazon. Go on ... you know you want to :) ...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Brenda rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-authors, borrowed-from-library, 2012-release

Detective Ella Marconi gets involved in her next case after paramedics Holly and Joe are called to the scene of a man who had collapsed whilst he and his friends were kicking a football around one blisteringly hot Saturday. On their arrival, two bystanders were doing their best to apply CPR to the man, but Holly could see that they were too late. Their CPR efforts weren’t the best, but at least they were trying. To her horror, she saw her estranged brother, Seth, standing with some other men, ob ...more

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Apr 30, 2017 Kathryn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: australian-authors, added-because-part-of-series, reading-list-2017, fiction, 4-stars

I read this one and Violent Exposure running on from each other in order, and they are kind of imprinted in my mind together, so I’m going to do a joint review! Classic Katherine Howell in the Ella Marconi style - we found out a bit more about her, and a bit more about the original paramedics from the first book (wished I hadn’t read the first book quite so long ago now…) and how things were tying in together.

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