Silenced

A Cybil Lewis SF Mystery, Book 1

By: Nicole Givens Kurtz

Narrated by: Darla Middlebrook

"It wasn't pretty, but rarely is death as glamorous as we've been lead to believe by movies. Death, up close, isn't beautiful. It is gritty. Death pushes its way into life, snatching loved ones at inopportune times, taking hearts with it and leaving in their place a cold box of grief." (Cybil Lewis)

In the ruins of the collapsed United States, private inspector, Cybil Lewis and her inspector-in-training, Jane, fill a need. When Jane insists they look into her cousin's disappearance, Cybil agrees and is catapulted into a world of lies and deceit. As they investigate, they move far into the reaches of the divided states and deep into the upper crest of political turmoil. Caught up in the malestrom of betrayal and corruption, Cybil and Jane unearth long buried secrets and survive attempts on their lives.

As they move closer to the truth, they discover that the people, who are entrusted with the safety of the territories, will do anything to keep their secrets, including murder. Especially murder.

Cybil and Jane will do what they must to get to the truth. They will never be silenced.

©2002 Nicole Latrice Kurtz (P)2020 Nicole Latrice Kurtz

Enjoyed the story

Cybil Sheppard is a kick ass heroine! Nicole Kurtz is a talented author! I look forward to more of these books, but will probably get the ebook or paperback book version because the narrator’s voice was a little grating.

Join the club

Cybil Lewis is a future p.I in an unique intereptation of the future united states. The story is endlessly compelling as you chase every twist and turn toward the truth. I truly couldn't tell where the case was heading. I would love to see more adventures of cybil and jane.

Exciting and Engaging

I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed the other novels in this series (Cozened, Replicated, Reunited) as well as Collected, a book of stories about Cybil Lewis, my favorite science fiction private eye. Somehow I had missed reading the very first novel in the series, Silenced. Having read it now, I found it to be just as exciting and engaging as the other stories in this series. The Audible narration by Darla Middlebrook is rich and expressive, a perfect fit for this story. Nicole Givens Kurtz combines mystery, science fiction, action, and romance to make the Cybil Lewis series one of the hallmarks of Afrofuturism. Highly recommended!

Future Noir

Cybil Lewis knows it's a bad idea to take a personal case. But when her younger protege asks her to find her missing cousin, she agrees. As the case progresses, a man from her own past resurfaces and complicates things even further.

I enjoyed the character--a woman of experience who still can be blindsided. The world was intriguing with just enough detail about the technology and changes to society so far in the future without losing the story or characters in the mix.

Quite a quick and enjoyable read, neither light fluff nor heavy drudgery, but a nice middle ground that entertains while making you think. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Darla Middlebrook and enjoyed the voice she brought to the pages.

Mystery, science fiction, and a headstrong female

I really enjoyed Silenced by Nicole Kurtz. It’s a mystery with science fiction elements including genetically engineered humans. The heroin in this book feels like a fleshed out, relatable character. Her inner thoughts and the observations at times made me chuckle. The writing style is smooth, and the story is fun. I would recommend this book to fans of mystery and feisty heroines. My least favorite aspect would have to be the narration itself. It’s a fun, upbeat story and I felt the narrator slowed the story down a bit. But that could just be my personal tastes in narrators and someone else might love it.Kind of reminded be of the video game Fallout 4, with the detective character and the genetically engineered humans. I’m not a huge Fallout fan but I loved fallout four because the well written characters.