When Jenny, a concert violinist, moves to an atmospheric old house in Blackheath, it seems like the answer to her prayers after grubby house shares and a broken relationship. The eccentric owner, Bridget, is keen to share her house with like-minded artists so also living there is Jonah – charismatic, volatile and pursuing a career in acting. But his past continues to dog him, both a curse and a blessing as his edgy persona gains traction in the acting world.

Jenny is herself battling demons; unable to speak after a catastrophic incident when she was a teenager, she is reliant on strong painkillers to dull the constant pain. Gradually, an insidious addiction takes hold and Jenny’s life spirals out of control. A malevolent energy has gripped the house and Jenny, Jonah and Bridget find themselves battling to save not only their sanity, but also their lives…

Started off kind of slow but when it took off, it really took off! There are some crazy twists that you won't see coming. It was a great read that was a bit creepy!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of The Silence by Joss Stirling
Pub Date: 29 Apr 2019

A bot of a slow burner, I found this quite hard to get into a first and is definitely a book of perseverance!

A dark and twisted, quite spooky at times physiological thriller that leaves you guessing throughout.

I do feel that the subject of sexual abuse could have been covered a little more sensitively but was dealt with well.

The story is told from three perspectives, Jenny, Jonah and the actual house. I've never come across this before and it worked well.

I love the way Joss Sterling has positively portrayed Jenny's disability and used it as a major part throughout. Jenny shines through as an independent and highly intelligent young lady who's life has not been put on hold by disability or injury.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC and the opportunity to read such a refreshing yet twisted book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I will most definitely be ordering it in to sell to customers at my work!

This was a very creepy and atmospheric read, not my usual type of book and I found it hard to get into at first, a little on the slow side. However, I am pleased that I persevered as this really did become a hell of a book

It begins with Jenny, who is a violinist, and she has moved to a (low rent) mansion called Gallant House, which is supposed to be a place for struggling artist types. Jenny soon forms a friendship with another tenant, Jonah, who is an upcoming actor. As the time goes on, strange things start to happen in the house and soon Jenny is in a living nightmare!

The book is told from different character perspectives - the landlord, Jenny, Jonah (and the house) and this really gets the brain ticking

Highly recommended this book!

The story swirls around Gallant House, owned by an eccentric artist writing its history, and the house and its occupants have dark eerie secrets coming to a head when another artist, unable to speak after a violent encounter moves in and the house erupts. Moody and twisty, told in reverse after one of the tenants reports he hurt someone in the house. My first read by this author and a thoroughly enjoyable psychological thriller.

If you are looking for your next psychological thriller then look no further! This is a beautifully written book, with enough intrigue and mystery to keep you guessing the whole way through.
I loved Jonah as a character, who was complicated and far more than what appeared on the surface.
The only thing I would say was it was a little difficult to get into the book and understand all the different POV but once I had got a handle on it, then I flew through the book!
Again another masterpiece by Joss Stirling, who shifts so easily between YA romance and this genre.
I am going to be re reading this book many many times I can tell.

Stick with this one! A slow burner that rewards the reader in the second half. A good read overall, thanks for the chance to review.

A solid 4 star read, which grabbed me from page one! I thought it was chilling, thrilling, and kept me yearning to find out exactly what happened and why! A must read for my fellow psychological thriller lovers!
Will be using in a challenge and recommend to those in Chapter Chatter Pub.

Genuinely haunting and poetically written, The Silence is a unique psychological thriller with an edge of mystery. I liked how the author built the tension by creating an atmosphere of distrust almost from the very start. A lot of that came from Jenny, because (as she is unable to speak) she has a natural tendency to be wary of people. That came through clearly. I liked the message of not judging people by first impressions. I thought that chapters from the perspective of the house were unique and it was an interesting twist. However, I felt that it didn’t follow through to the end; I wanted there to be a grander finish to the house. I also didn’t feel like Jenny’s “fall from grace” was entirely natural, although we did find out the reasons for it by the end of the book (and that was a nice twist). All said, I enjoyed the eerie atmosphere of this book and would recommend it. This review was written based on a pre-release digital ARC provided by Harper Impulse and Killer Reads via NetGalley.

The Silence is a fantastic Psychological Thriller by Joss Stirling.

I was pulled in from page one . The characters were well written and the setting at the Gallant House was fantastic . The first chapter really puts it right out there where one of the main characters calls the polic to say he thinks he killed someone. That's all I am going to say, except WOW!

Don't miss this one. So many twists and turns, a real page turner that will keep you up all night, in the best possible way.

Very good book. A little slow to start, but loved all the twists. From about the halfway mark couldn’t put it down.

The second thriller from this wonderful author - with incredibly realistic, diverse and three dimensional characters as well as the very intriguing plot - it had me absolutely hooked!

There are multiple narrators (one is the POV of the house as told by the owner) and multiple crimes making it a very thrilling read. It might be a dark tale, but it's such a great study of people that it needs to be and there are some wonderful character POVs that ad light to it plus the banter between these characters.
Thanks to the useless men who still behave like spoilt boys, women with reclusive tendencies, a diamond in the rough, enough hints to make you suspect everyone at least once (some even get a second or third turn on the receiving end of my suspicions) plus a dotty seventy-year-old man with a buttock problem you will definitely feel how real this story could be. And that makes it just the perfect amount of scary, gripping and more-ish.

And for any literary foodies, there's a particularly lovely description using ice cream that I live for!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2811087905?book_show_action=false

Wow, this book had so many twists and turns! The house is a character that comes to life through the stories that Bridget tells in her book.
Johna and Jenny are so different yet life has thrown them both into cruel situations when they were younger. They bond in the Gallant House.

Absolutely loved this fascinating thriller! Make sure you don't read it in the dark. Will definitely make you heart rate peak!

Just an ok for this one.

I think my main issue was I just didn't like the main character.
But I didn't dislike her enough for it to be an interesting part of the story.
What I enjoyed best about this,was the history of the house told from the houses point of view.
Always good to have a new slant on things.

Thank you NetGalley and Killer Reads for the eARC.
Wow, this was a great read! Wonderfully atmospheric and creepy, I read it in one sitting.
Jenny, a violinist, has moved to a mansion, Gallant House, supposed to be a haven for struggling artists. The owner, Bridget, charges a very low rent to her tenants, a dream come true for Jenny. She forms a friendship with another tenant, Jonah, an upcoming actor; but as time goes on, strange happenings occur and soon life becomes a nightmare for Jenny. She can't speak after an attack on her as a teen and the mental and physical pain as a result make life hell for her.
The book leads up to the finale by telling the stories of Jenny, Jonah and Bridget in different time periods...it also features the history of Gallant House as told by the house itself, which sounds confusing, but isn't. It's a non-stop read that you can't put down. Highly recommended!

This is my first read for the this author and would definitely look forward to read more.

This is a creepy and unsettling psychological thriller that is very different from most of the current novels in the same genre.

Muted by a past trauma a young musician takes refuge in music to overcome her demons.
She moves to a residence for aspiring artists run by an enigmatic character.
There is always a sense of dread lurking in the background, and soon certain events invite the dark past to the surface and its downhill from there.

I enjoyed this book and it held my attention despite its unsettling atmosphere and would recommend to anyone who is looking for something challenging and unusual.

Thanks Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the generous "Read Now" option, I voluntarily reviewed this book.

** I generously received this book as an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review **

As soon as I read the description of this novel, I was intrigued. I’m currently on a romance binge, but frankly I needed a bit of a break, and I’m a huge fan of mysteries and thrillers.

I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who reads the novel. However, I will say that I was quickly sucked in to both the characters and the goings-on at Gallant House. I had so many questions from the first chapter’s dramatic opening, where Jonah, one of the main characters, makes a chilling call to the police to report that he thinks he’s killed someone. Who is the “she” he refers to? What has he done? Is the woman dead? How did things get to this point?

From there, we’re taken back in time to a year prior, into the life of an intriguing woman named Jenny. She’s a violinist, and is still haunted by memories of an attack which left her unable to speak due to the damage caused to her larynx. Jenny is currently living in a very crowded and messy place, which she’s sharing with 5 guys who act like a bunch of teenagers living in a frat house. She’s sick of the environment and decides she needs to get out of there. A co-worker at the cafe where she works directs her to a house in Blackheath, Gallant House, and it’s from there that the story truly unfolds.

The time shifts back and forth from the beginning of the house’s history, to the present, to Jenny’s story. I find plots structured like this can become tedious, but the author made it work, and reading the book was like slowly peeling back the layers of an onion.

I very much enjoyed this book, and I’m interested to see what else this author comes out with. I’ll be keeping an eye on upcoming releases.

After a trauma so severe that she stopped speaking as a young teen, Jenny has taken refuge in music. A concert violinist, she moves into a decrepit old home owned by the enigmatic Bridget, who has opened her home to young, aspiring artists and musicians. With Jenny’s past still very much a part of her present, the demons of another young artists named Jonah, and the history of the old home coming to light thanks to Bridget’s research, something dark begins to surface in the house and its residents. A creepy tale of psychological torment and addiction

A creepy gripping thriller. A good read. Quite different from the many others with a similar theme. Recommend x