The Silence (A Nell West and Michael Flint Haunted House Story Book 3)

Sarah Rayne gives us another Nell and Michael book, and another great ghost story. This is a well-written book (all of Ms. Rayne's books are), and has some seriously creepy moments. An old house, set apart from a village in the middle of nowhere, empty and without power, in a rainstorm -- well, you get the picture. Add multiple ghosts, and old deadly secrets, and a few unforeseen (at least by me) twists, and you have a great book. I was entertained, and stayed up much too late because I had to finish it. I felt the ending was a teensy bit anticlimactic, mainly because I wanted a more frightening ending, but it did wrap everything up with some surprises, and I can't ask for better than that. If you haven't read any of her books before, read this one, but do go back and read her earlier ones. They are all well worth a good read, especially if you like some real history with your scary books! (and no gratuitous gore, sex, or violence to substitute for real scares)

If you enjoy a good mystery you will enjoy this. The story starts with Nell, an antiques dealer, being asked by her late husband’s Aunts if she would be able to value the contents of a house owned by their late Aunt in Derbyshire. She agrees to do so and sets off with her small daughter, but when she arrives strange events start to take place, like piano music being heard when nobody is there. Then the sighting of a small boy playing the piano and a strange lady tapping on the windows at night, where did they come from and why do they appear. Nell, together with her friend Michael, start to research the history of the house and land finding old papers, letters and diaries etc. which give an insight to what happened in the past and finally laying the ghosts to rest. A great book which was very hard to put down

Esmond West 9, didn't speak in life. He didn't speak in ghostum. This book didn't speak to me either. Until the half way mark I struggled to continue on. Contained therein is the repetitive narrations of each household member as they saw/remembered the tragic happenings at Stilter House where Esmond lived with his father in the small town of Derbyshire Peaks. Stilte is the Dutch word for silence. The house is built on land said to be haunted by unsettled spirits from a centuries old murder. Unknown family ties to that long ago time come out of the shadows through the amateur sleuthing of antiques dealer Nell West who has come to value the contents of her late husband childhood home. She hears piano music. But it has been heard before, by many.I think this could have been better as the second half did finally peak my interest. In truth, I wasn't enthralled by this book. I much prefer my first introduction to Sarah Rayne in "The Dark Dividing'.

Own all of Sarah Rayne's books-- she is an author who really knows how to create an atmosphere! This book just had me asking why the heroine kept doing rather illogical things-- I know the plot needs to be advanced but readers get tired of that same scenario. I will still buy her books however--have the new one on order.

I enjoyed reading this installment, but the only complaint that I have is the story is kind of dragged out. The writing is good, and the characters are good, but I felt that it left me hanging. The ending was a little left to be desired and still it was an interesting book. I will try the next installment and hope that it picks up where this book leaves off. Recommended!

I am a big fan of Sarah Rayne. I love the way she takes a single thread and before you know it, she has woven a tapestry that transcends time and space.

Once again Rayne pulls the reader into a world of shadows and darkness.

I wish I could say I enjoyed this book...I was so looking forward to a good old fashioned scare...I found the plot to be...rather slow moving and predictable. There were instances in which the author understands her story to be a bit thin...and or unbelievable...after which the author adds painful first person explanations by way of reasoning for the lack of plausibility. I'm simply confused as to how the book has garnered such great reviews...

Nell West returns in another historical mystery. In this novel Nell is invited to Stilter House to catalogue its contents. Nell takes her daughter Beth along with her as it was Beth’s deceased fathers childhood summer home. Immediately Nell gets entangled in uncovering the past and the truth about the mysterious Isobel Acton. This story is the third in the Nell West series and differs from the previous Nell West novels in that the historical plot is mostly revealed through the use of old documents, letters, diaries and the odd newspaper cutting. I think this format worked really well and was very intriguing as a reader to follow. For me, Rayne’s writing really shines during the historical timeline. Edmund and his relationship with his father is brilliantly described and very believable. The characters Jack and Samuel were also really interesting and how each character’s story knitted together was brilliantly tantalising right the way through the story. As with all Sarah Rayne’s books I have read, the settings and atmosphere are excellently written and the reader can’t help but be absorbed into the dark and mysterious environments. The only minor downside in this novel was the modern storyline takes a very minimalist approach with Nell only really being there to discover the historic story. I do think Nell and Michael are both really great characters and would have liked a little more of them in this book (particularly Michael who was so interesting in the Sin Eater). Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. As a few others have mentioned it did take a little longer to get into that previous books by Sarah Rayne but I think that was mostly due to the historic storyline being revealed in a different manner. Once you get into it though, it is really intriguing and I must say I really enjoyed the outcome.For those that haven’t discovered the Nell West collection, I would suggest these novels are quite similarly written to Phil Rickman’s work; old story exposed, great characters and slightly eerie. Please leave a helpful vote if you think my review/feedback of the item was helpful to you. Alternatively, please contact me if you want me to clarify something in my review.

Started off in promising fashion and had some good creepy moments but I found the relationship between the two main characters rather saccharin and the daughter unlike any child I have experienced. Sometimes she appeared fairly mature and then the next minute like a five year old. The elderly lady who appeared in last part of book also,did not seem realistic to me and after finishing book thought I would not bother with any further books in the series.

too much detail tedious

Chilling, compelling, menacing and macabre, The Silence is the third in Sarah Rayne's spine-tingling supernatural suspense series featuring antiques dealer Nell West and Oxford don Michael Flint.Rayne's vivid writing captivated me from the first page. I was hooked with these words:'I don't think we need to worry over what Charlotte said about the house. She was always a bit eccentric and given to imagining she saw things. I always thought she simply needed stronger reading glasses.'The subtle touch of humour simply underlines the fact that the reader needs to worry - and the reasons emerge via a gripping narrative packed with secrets and edge-of-seat suspense. In no time at all, ghostly music - and the stirrings of century-old sins - echo down the years and through the rooms of the spookily atmospheric Stilter House.The stories behind the hauntings are skilfully told through a series of letters, deeds, statements and court reports. The author gives even these minor off-page characters distinctive `voices' and I love how she's developing the relationship between the main players, Nell and Michael.Like a spider's web, its intelligently-paced plot is both extraordinarily intricate and beautifully constructed. It trapped this reader to the final line. For me, The Silence is a book to shout about.

This was Ok but rather disappointing in a lot of ways. It was supposed to be a bit spooky but I felt it was rather far fetched in a wrong sort of way. I like a good yarn and it doesn't have to be real life but this was a bit of a non-event for me.