HOUSE OF SILENCE [Kindle Edition]

Linda Gillard (Author)

Book Description

***Selected for Amazon UK's "Top Ten BEST OF 2011" in the Indie Author category.***

A country house mystery... A family drama... A Gothic romantic comedy...
REBECCA meets COLD COMFORT FARM in Linda Gillard's complex new novel, HOUSE OF SILENCE.


SYNOPSIS

"My friends describe me as frighteningly sensible, not at all the sort of woman who would fall for an actor. And his home. And his family."

Orphaned by drink, drugs and rock n' roll, Gwen Rowland is invited to spend Christmas at her boyfriend Alfie's family home, Creake Hall - a ramshackle Tudor manor in Norfolk. Soon after she arrives, Gwen senses something isn't quite right. Alfie acts strangely toward his family and is reluctant to talk about the past. His mother, a celebrated children's author, keeps to her room, living in a twilight world, unable to distinguish between past and present, fact and fiction. And then there's the enigma of an old family photograph...

When Gwen discovers fragments of forgotten family letters sewn into an old patchwork quilt, she starts to piece together the jigsaw of the past and realises there's more to the family history than she's been told. It seems there are things people don't want her to know.

And one of those people is Alfie...

~~~

Praise for HOUSE OF SILENCE...

"Brilliant book." LESLEY COOKMAN (Murder to Music)

"A story layered deep in pretence and secrecy, HOUSE OF SILENCE provides readers with the puzzle-solving pleasure of golden age detective fiction, complete with letter fragments from the past and the gothic backdrop of Creake Hall. The writing is sharp and crisp, with an edge of dark humour. Unwinding through the narrative like a chain is the hold that the dead have upon the living. I loved it."
ROSY THORNTON (The Tapestry of Love)

"HOUSE OF SILENCE is one of those books you'll put everything else on hold for."
CORNFLOWER'S BOOK BLOG

"This is an author at the top of her form who knows exactly what she's doing. Brilliant. It's an intelligent book for people who like their reading to challenge them."
THE BOOKBAG

"Gillard's consistently smart writing and fully-fleshed characters are the only recommendation I need to read anything she writes."
BOOKHARBINGER BLOG

"A totally engaging read, full of warmth and perception."
VICTORIA CONNELLY (A Weekend with Mr Darcy)

~~~

Praise for Linda Gillard's other novels...

"The emotional power in these novels makes this reviewer reflect on how Charlotte and Emily Bronte might have written if they were living and writing now."
NORTHWORDS NOW

"Haunting, lyrical and intriguing."
ISLA DEWAR (Keeping up with Magda)

"I can heartily recommend Linda Gillard... Excellent."
ADELE GERAS (Facing the Light)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you like dysfunctional Christmases, snowy gardens, peculiar mothers, gothic houses, mystery photos, a bit of quilting or attractive Polish gardeners who play the cello, get downloading!" --HARRIET DEVINE'S BLOG

About the Author

Linda Gillard lives in the Scottish Highlands. She's been an actress, journalist and teacher and is the author of six novels, including STAR GAZING, short-listed in 2009 for Romantic Novel of the Year and the Robin Jenkins Literary Award (for writing that promotes the Scottish landscape.)

HOUSE OF SILENCE became a Kindle bestseller and is now available in paperback.

Linda's latest novel is THE GLASS GUARDIAN, a supernatural love story set on the Isle of Skye.

Product Details

• File Size: 1182 KB
• Print Length: 289 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1479237086
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004USSPN2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,566 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Harbinger: Intriguing and satisfying April 28, 2011

By Hollybally VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Now a successful costume designer, orphaned Gwen Rowland has come a long way. While all her family has fallen victim to either drugs or alcohol, she is sober, grounded, and relatively normal. So with Christmas approaching and her relationship with terminally typecast actor Alfie approaching the five month mark, she isn't shy in voicing her desire to join him and his family for the holidays. But usually easy going Alfie is strangely hesitant to bring Gwen along. Christmas is the only time he sees his motley mother and fours older sisters and it's an awkward and pleasure free visit for him. It is when he envisions Gwen spending yet another Christmas by herself that he relents. Considering her past Gwen couldn't be more excited for a family Christmas at Creak Hall, the family's Tudor mansion in Norfolk. However even Alfie doesn't know how quickly her enthusiasm will wan upon arrival, when it immediately becomes apparent to Gwen that the estate isn't the only thing that is rundown. There are secrets behind the mentally broken mother, Alfie's affected affection for her, and an odd family photo - secrets that only Gwen can reveal.

Doesn't the mystery at Creak Hall sound deliciously gothic? Regardless of the premise I was delighted when Linda Gillard asked if I'd be interested in receiving a review copy of her latest erelease, House of Silence. I devoured Emotional Geology and Star Gazing and her consistently smart writing and fully-fleshed characters are the only recommendation I need to read anything she writes. In this case though, I liked the foreboding sound of the title, the ominous clouds and traditional British estate on the cover and the Cold Comfort Farm meets Atonement meets Rebecca tagline. You don't meet one of those books every day, so it was with piqued curiosity and hopeful anticipation that I picked it up.

Suspenseful and interesting, I can see the similarities to those works but House of Silence stands firmly on its own two feet. Gwen and Alfie drew me in from the start. How they meet and the development of their relationship made me want to know more about them. Could Gwen be as well-adjusted as she seems? How will Alfie rise above the towering shadow of his mother's popular Tom Dickon Harry books? Beyond the main characters, Alfie's dysfunctional and misfit sisters are just as well characterized. Capable Vivien, hopeful Deborah, cold Fanny and young-at-heart Hattie are all memorable and endearing in their own way. True to the old traditions of English estates, even the gardener Marek is part of the family's Christmas festivities. Rugged, mature Marek does not disappoint, neither does the dash of quilting and cello-playing, or the well-paced family mystery, which unfolds piece-by-piece and is surprising and satisfying at every turn. An unconventional mix of drama, mystery, and romance, House of Silence is a page-turner that will surely please many different kinds of readers. It's a shame that it was overlooked by publishing houses but I'm very glad Linda Gillard had the confidence in her story to go the ebook route because it was definitely warranted. The only novel of hers I haven't read is A Lifetime Burning and I will be rectifying that soon.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A well-told story about a family secret July 23, 2012

By Tahlia Newland

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

`The House of Silence' is a story about a family secret. We follow Gwen, a wardrobe assistant, as she unravels the truth behind her actor boyfriend, Alfie's family. When she finally convinces him to let her accompany him to his family home for Christmas, she finds that he becomes someone else, and she starts to wonder if she really knows who he is at all.

It's an interesting story and well told, though I didn't enjoy it as much as I did `The Glass Guardian' or `Untying the Knot' two other books by the same author, probably because I didn't find the characters in this one quite as endearing as I did in the other two stories. I'm also particularly partial to the paranormal element in `The Glass Guardian'

Linda draws her very real and complex characters deeply, and this is the real strength of this book. The way the family works together to maintain an illusion for their famous and mentally unstable seventy-year-old mother is very skilfully shown in a series of scenes written from different family members points of view.

Gwen, an only child, comes from a dysfunctional family (who are now all dead) and she looks forward to being part of Alfie's large family. She is received well by the family and she strikes up a friendship with Hattie, the youngest of the mature family. Gwen and Hattie's share a passion for quilting and needlework, and the use of needlework imagery to reflect aspects of life is one of the things I really like about this book. Whilst working on a quilt in the attic, Gwen comes across something that simply doesn't fit the story she has been told, and so she sets about uncovering the mystery.

The story shifts from Gwen's point of view written in first person to scenes from other characters points of views written in third person. This worked well--in fact I really liked it--when the third person scenes were a different character's point of view, but even though the changes were separated by a blank line, I found the third person a little disorientating when Gwen was in the scene, especially when the change happened within a chapter. It was a bold move by the author to do this, but I'm not sure that it was necessary when Gwen could have described all her own scenes from the first person.

Over all this is an excellent book and I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction with a mystery.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read February 12, 2013

By wendy82 mu

Format:Kindle Edition

I liked that individual chapters were set from the perspective of the main characters. Not meant to be spoilers, but there was subject matter about Psychiatry, quilting, and teaching (odd combinations, I know, but it all fits). As a teacher with a counseling background, it's apparent the the author did her research. The book had some great twists making it an enjoyable read. My only wish is that epilogue was further developed. I say this only because I was so taken with the characters.

More About the Author

Linda Gillard is the author of six novels and she lives in the Scottish Highlands. She has a website at www.lindagillard.co.uk and an author page on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LindaGillardAuthor

Linda graduated from Bristol University, then trained as an actress at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Whilst under-employed at the National Theatre, Linda developed a sideline as a freelance journalist. She ran two careers concurrently for a while, then gave up acting to raise a family and write from home.

Twelve years later, she re-trained as a primary teacher and taught in Norfolk for some years. She moved to the Isle of Skye where she lived for six years in a house on a hill overlooking the Cuillin mountain range which featured in her first novel, EMOTIONAL GEOLOGY, short-listed for the 2006 Waverton Good Read Award.

A LIFETIME BURNING was published in 2006 and STAR GAZING, set partly on Skye, in 2008. STAR GAZING was short-listed for "Romantic Novel of the Year 2009" and "The Robin Jenkins Literary Award", the UK's first environmental book award. STAR GAZING was also voted "Favourite Romantic Novel 1960-2010" by the readers of Woman's Weekly magazine.

Linda's fourth novel, HOUSE OF SILENCE was published in 2011 as a Kindle e-book and quickly became a bestseller. It has sold over 30,000 downloads and was selected by Amazon as an Editor's Pick "Best of 2011" in the Indie Author category. HOUSE OF SILENCE is now available in paperback.

Two new novels are now available on Kindle: UNTYING THE KNOT (awarded a 2012 B.R.A.G Medallion by the Book Readers' Appreciation Group) and THE GLASS GUARDIAN, a supernatural love story, also available in paperback.