Published by Vinci Books,
22 October 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-03673338-4
Ten years ago, Flis Carrington’s four-year-old daughter died. She was, and still is, devastated. Flis finds some solace in her work as a clinical psychologist, but over the years she has lost touch with many friends and her relationship with husband James seems fractured beyond repair. James is a ferociously ambitious barrister, and Fliss is respected as an expert witness within the legal profession. They seem to be the perfect high-flying couple. Sadly, whilst they are still living together, they lead increasingly separate lives, and the façade is about to crumble.
As the book opens Flis is preparing food
for a small dinner party that James has arranged hoping to forge links with an
influential high court judge Anthony Beaumont. The discord between
husband and wife begins when James gets home to be told that Flis has extended
the invitation to include her old friend Cydney Granger. Anthony and
his wife Dora, also a high court judge, arrive just before Cydney and her
partner; both women pick up on the tension between their hosts and empathise
with Flis’s still raw feelings of loss. Dora is the first to reach
out to the grieving mother, then Cydney arrives and senses that something even
more troubling and profound is unsettling the Carringtons’
world. Thus begins a tragic, complex and absorbing story.
Cydney is a renowned corporate forensic
investigator, and it is she who drives the narrative. Her day job involves
exposing, analysing and providing evidence to employers who suspect misconduct
from criminals working either within or from outside their
organisations. Such detective skills, of course, also equip her to
discover other illicit activities and an instinctive ability to know when
someone or something is disturbed. But that’s not all, she also has
a paranormal spirit guide. These mystical abilities set Cydney apart
from other characters in the narrative, whilst never distancing her from the reader
– quite a feat.
As chilling events from the past reach
unexpectedly into the present, carefully curated back stories are exposed and
several of the characters find themselves confronted by memories and villains
they thought were long gone. Cydney is determined to help Flis and
expose the lies that threaten to cause emotional, psychological and physical
harm to good people. It is a dangerous pursuit. Her
spirit guide is just that, a guide; his input tantalizes without telling all, and
as his observations tease Cydney, an ever-increasing sense of tension and
jeopardy develops.
A Thousand Silent Cries is the third
novel to feature Cydney Granger; it works perfectly well as a
stand-alone. Karen Millie-James writes beautifully as she weaves
together detective fiction, romance and paranormal fantasy to create a
thrilling read.
A gripping novel of intrigue, violence,
love and highly recommended.
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Reviewer: Dot Marshall-Gent
Karen Millie-James was born in North London to a father who had escaped Germany with the kindertransport in 1939 and a mother who was a talented window dresser and designer in London's West End. Inspired to do well, Karen studied business and languages at the University of Westminster which led to her joining the legal department of Levi Strauss, quickly being promoted to European Group Company Secretary where she remained until the company closed down its UK headquarters. Karen never intended to write a book but what started as a hobby in her spare time away from the office, working in the evenings until late into the night and at weekends, has now become a new and exciting part of her life. Karen now lives in the Buckinghamshire countryside with her husband.
Dot Marshall-Gent worked in the emergency services for twenty years first as a police officer, then as a paramedic and finally as a fire control officer before graduating from King’s College, London as a teacher of English in her mid-forties. She completed a M.A. in Special and Inclusive Education at the Institute of Education, London and now teaches part-time and writes mainly about educational issues. Dot sings jazz and country music and plays guitar, banjo and piano as well as being addicted to reading mystery and crime fiction.

















