Reviews

Green Man Review: From a Whisper to a Scream is the second of Charles de Lint's books written under the Samuel M. Key pseudonym. From a Whisper to a Scream is also noteworthy in that it was the first full-length novel de Lint set in his much beloved city of Newford, specifically that part of the city known as The Tombs. In 1988, child murderer Teddy Bird was shot and killed by officer Thomas Morningstar, thus putting an end to a series of unsolved cases. It is now 1990 and the killings have started again. Local newspaper photographer Jim McGann has noticed graffiti with the word "Niki" scrawled near the crime scenes - with the same woman always in the vicinity of the graffiti. Is this woman connected with the crimes in some way? Perhaps street musician Cindy Draper can help, as she knows the woman's true identity. As the pseudonym would appear to tell us, this is a very dark novel. Not as gruesome as Angel of Darkness, perhaps, but it covers territory involving child abuse that some readers may prefer not to tread. These reprints of the Key novels underplay the fact that the books were originally pseudonymous (making mention of it only in a small line of text on the back cover); thus I feel compelled to warn de Lint's readers that its contents may not be what they would normally expect. These inhabitants of Newford feel like real people, people I would like to revisit (and probably will, given that de Lint's Newford tales often interlace). His well-known ability to write believable females truly shines here as well. From a Whisper to a Scream is a typically well-written de Lint novel and will certainly be of interest to fans curious about the early days of Newford - so long as they don't mind limiting their visit to the town's darkest alleyways. Customer Reviews, Amazon.com: In 1988 Newford police officer Thomas Morningstar chases after a speeder only to have the other driver pull a gun on him forcing the cop to fire and kill the man. The follow up investigation exonerates Thomas, but also shows the victim is pedophile Teddy Bird, who had three dead little kids in his trunk and several others in his apartment. Thomas eliminated a monster. Two years later, Thomas believes a new serial killer targeting teenage prostitutes displays a similar MO to Bird. Since he personally saw Bird buried, Thomas wonders what is going on, but turns to his Native American heritage for the answer. Jumping off of conclusions drawn by a reporter, Thomas believes that Bird's malignant spirit is chasing after someone named Niki, but not sure why. Having stopped Bird when he was human, Thomas feels it is his responsibility to halt Teddy now that that he is as deadly as ever as a spirit. This is a reprint of an early much darker Newford novel written under the pen name Samuel M. Key. The story line contains all the de Lint magic that makes him a fan favorite as the author in this case uses a malevolent essence as a form of symbolism to display the uglier side of modern society. The paranormal serial killer investigation is intriguing as Mr. de Lint provides his audience with a deep mystical thriller with an even deeper message.