SATAN'S SILENCE


Alex Matthews 

Intrigue Press

  ISBN: 1-89078-04-9  

April 1998

 Mystery

 
The second in the Cassidy McCabe mysteries, SATAN'S SILENCE is filled with chills, twists and long hidden family secrets.  Allow Alex Matthews to take you on a riveting journey into the happenings of Cassidy McCabe's daily life and work as a psychotherapist.

Cassidy McCabe's clientele may have picked up since the first peek into her life in SECRET'S SHADOW.  However that does not mean her finances are yet in order.  Still struggling to pay off her ex-husband's debts, Cassidy's latest patient, Dana Voss, regresses to her childhood during a visit and recalls witnessing a Satanic murder in a remote Chicago area forest preserve bordering St. Paul's Cemetery.  Cassidy teams up with Dr. Victoria Kramer to help this young woman overcome her past abuse.

Trouble multiplies as the drugged out father of Dana's toddler-aged daughter, Cypress, breaks into Cassidy's house, someone begins leaving Cassidy deadly presents, and then to top it off, Cypress is kidnapped. Working alongside her new lover, Zach Moran, Cassidy is lured into a twenty-year-old murder case that threatens not only Dana's life, but also the lives of Cassidy and Zach.  Together can Cassidy and Zach work their way through age-old clues and a town filled with people who do not want to discuss the happenings from long ago?

I could list so many reasons why mystery fans and cat lovers alike should not miss this wonderful series by Alex Matthews, but no one wants to read pages and pages of a review <g>, instead let me highlight a few of the aspects that make the Cassidy McCabe books stand out.  First, anyone can relate to Cassidy!  She is divorced from an irresponsible man who left her with a load of outstanding debt, as she struggles to pay this debt off, there are weeks when she has no money for groceries, let alone other bills.  Most of us today can certainly relate to financial problems.  Also, Cassidy's latest romance with Zach Moran is starting to show signs of ruin as well. Zach comes and goes when he wants, with no word from him in between appearances.  Cassidy believes she has made another bad choice in men, but her feelings for Zach are strong, leaving her with a desire to make this relationship work out.

All of that makes Cassidy seem real to the reader, but for me the added humorous antics of Starshine, the stray cat that barged her way into Cassidy's life in the first book, SECRET'S SHADOW, makes the book.  Starshine vanishes early in this book and Cassidy, who did not want a cat, suddenly feels betrayed and lonesome without her. When Starshine reappears, Cassidy realizes Starshine is not a kitten, but a cat that is going to be a mother in a short time.  To watch Cassidy evolve from "No Cats!" into the soon-to-be owner of kittens as well added humor, which breaks the tension within the book.

You just cannot go wrong with SATAN'S SILENCE.  A splendid mix of mystery and romance with an added dash of wit, are sure to please any reader.

 

Reviewed by Tracy Farnsworth

Rating: 

 

 

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