The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream by Christina Dodd

Posted March 8, 2018 in review Tags: 4 stars, revenge, secret identity

The Woman Who Couldn't Scream by Christina Dodd
Pages: 352

Series: Virtue Falls #4
Genres: Mystery
Source: Audible, ARC
Narrator: Andi Arndt
Also in this series: Virtue Falls, Obsession Falls
Also by this author: Virtue Falls, Obsession Falls, Wrong Alibi

Goodreads

Amazon Best Book of the Year!

"Tension builds and suspicion shifts with breakneck speed." (Publishers' Weekly) in this mesmerizing, emotional Virtue Falls thriller from New York Times bestseller Christina Dodd

Merida Falcon is a world-class beauty, a trophy wife who seems to have it all...except she has no voice. For nine bitter years, Merida served her wealthy elderly husband, never leaving his side, always doing his bidding... On his death, Merida vanishes...and reappears in Virtue Falls with a new name, a new look, and a plot to take revenge on the man who loved her, betrayed her and walked away, leaving her silent, abused and bound to an old man's obsession.

But Merida faces challenges. Her school friend Kateri Kwinault is the newly elected sheriff of Virtue Falls. A chance meeting with her former lover intrigues him and brings him on the hunt for her, and meeting him face to face shakes her convictions. Will she have time to discover the truth about the events that occurred nine years ago? For someone in Virtue Falls is stalking women and slashing them...to death. And Merida has to wonder--who is the killer stalking? Is he trying to silence forever THE WOMAN WHO COULDN'T SCREAM?

"The payoff Kateri fans have been waiting for!"--RT Book Reviews
"Another stunner!"--Library Journal Starred Review

Read the acclaimed Virtue Falls Suspense Series:
#1 THE LISTENER: A Virtue Falls short story
#2 VIRTUE FALLS: The First Virtue Falls Full-Length Suspense
#3 THE RELATIVES: A Virtue Falls short story
#4 OBSESSION FALLS: The Second Virtue Falls Full-Length Suspense
#5 LOVE NEVER DIES: A Virtue Falls short story
#6 BECAUSE I'M WATCHING: The third Virtue Falls Full-Length Suspense
#7 THE WOMAN WHO COULDN'T SCREAM: A Virtue Falls Full-length Suspense Sept. 5, 2017
-- THE WATCHER: A Virtue Falls Short Story starring Sheriff Kateri Kwinault
-- A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT: A compilation of three short stories: THE LISTENER, THE RELATIVES, and LOVE NEVER DIES, as well as extras from the Virtue Falls series.

Welcome back to Virtue Falls!! The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream brings us the story of Merida/Helen/Merry. She has had a tragic life and is now seeking revenge against the man who ruined her dreams. Of course, its never quite that simple, is it?

The book also gives us more Kateri, now the sheriff of Virtue Falls. Kateri is having some issues of her own. Some of the townspeople are NOT pleased with her as sheriff. She is a female and a Native American and they are sexist and racist. Also, she can’t seem to catch killer John Terrence. And then a serial killer arrives and starts carving up peoples faces!

The plot weaves between Kateri and Merida, who were childhood friends in Baltimore. Their stories don’t overlap much except for Kateri being the sheriff and Merida being in trouble. So, the story reads almost like 2 parallel tales that happen to cross paths a few times. It isn’t a bad thing, but it was a bit of a let down because I felt both stories could have been better. Neither outcome was surprising and that isn’t usually the case for a Christina Dodd book.

My issue aside, The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream is still a fantastic read. You have so many zany and interesting secondary characters in the people of Virtue Falls and Dodd layers the plot intricately well. If you like mystery with a dash of romance, The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream is a great pick. The narrator, Andi Arndt does a wonderful job with lots of different voices and accents. She adds to the story without distracting you.

POV: 3rd
Tears: no
Trope: revenge, secret identity
Triggers: none
Series/Standalone: stand alone (you really don’t have to have read any of the other virtue falls books to understand and enjoy The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream)
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »no « Hide Spoiler
HEA: View Spoiler »

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Pretend You’re Safe by Alexandra Ivy, Monster in the Closet by Karen Rose, Touch of Red by Laura Griffin…then you will probably like The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream!

The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream

About Christina Dodd

Readers become writers, and Christina Dodd has always been a reader. She reads everything, but because she loves humor, she likes romance best.

A woman wants things like world peace, a clean house, and a deep and meaningful relationship based on mutual understanding and love. A man wants things like a Craftsman router with attachments, undisputed control of the TV remote, and a red Corvette which will miraculously make his bald spot disappear. So when Christina's first daughter was born, she told her husband she was going to quit work and write a book. It was a good time to start a new career, because how much trouble could one little infant be?

Ha! It took ten years, two children and three completed manuscripts before her first novel, CANDLE IN THE WINDOW, was published. In the twenty-three years since, her novels have been translated into 25 languages, won Romance Writers of America's prestigious Golden Heart and RITA Awards and been called the year's best by Library Journal. Christina Dodd herself has been a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle (11/18/05, # 13 Down: Romance Novelist named Christina — her mother was very impressed.) With more than 15 million of her books in print, Publishers Weekly praises her style that 'showcases Dodd's easy, addictive charm and steamy storytelling.'

Christina Dodd is married to a man with all his hair and no Corvette, but many Craftsman tools.