Quietus

A Novel of Suspense

by Vivian Schilling

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Pub Date Feb 27 2018 | Archive Date Apr 23 2018

Description

From award-winning author Vivian Schilling comes a psychological thriller that raises provocative questions about fate, mortality and what lies beyond. Of epic scope, Quietus is the haunting story of a young woman brought back from the brink of death to find the world around her irrevocably altered.

On a stormy winter night a small plane bound for Boston goes down in the treacherous White Mountains of New Hampshire. Noted interior designer Kylie O'Rourke and her husband Jack are among the survivors. But it is just the beginning of the nightmare for Kylie. Through a haze of morphine she awakens in the hospital to confused and harrowing memories of the crash—memories not to be trusted. Though trapped within the wreckage, she recalls wandering the icy mountainside and speaking with one of the other passengers, only to find that he had died on impact. As the bizarre aftermath becomes sharper in her mind, it appears more ominous, along with the unshakable feeling that her survival somehow defied fate.

Reassured by her doctor that the disturbing memories had been caused by her sedation, Kylie returns to her life in Boston, but the aftermath of the tragedy proves unbearable. Frightening visions begin to haunt her, while her husband slips away from her into his own world of survivor guilt and deceit. Increasingly paranoid, Kylie soon believes that she is being followed through the streets of Boston. In her nightmares, the predator is a specter crossing over from the mountaintop to reclaim her. An old man eyes her in the subway, while a dark figure stalks her through Beacon Hill. Then a sudden and freakish tragedy sends Kylie's world toppling. While those around her fear she is losing her mind, Kylie finds herself caught up in a chain of events she cannot escape.

In this riveting novel, Schilling delivers a psychological thriller that leads the reader on a collision course where every breath, every step can carry the gravest of consequences. She paints bold and unforgettable characters, while resurrecting disturbing and powerful apocrypha that had been all but buried under contemporary religious doctrine. With spellbinding intrigue, Quietus takes the reader to the brink of reason, to the edge where spiritual and physical meet, building with frenetic momentum to its shocking and haunting climax.

VIVIAN SCHILLING is the award-winning author of the novels QUIETUS and SACRED PREY, as well as a screenwriter, producer and director of independent films. She recently completed work as co-writer and producer of the documentary "Bonobos: Back to the Wild" and is currently at work on her third novel.

Advance Praise

"Vivian Schilling's Quietus is a great gothic raven perched somewhere between Anne Rice and Iris Murdoch. It's a spooky, sweeping book of death, dreams and psychosexual intrigue. Schilling herself—in her deft melding of mythic animus and modern anxiety—seems like the bastard daughter of Carl Jung and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. I loved it." —James Ireland Baker, Time Out New York

"A profoundly insightful and engaging thriller." —The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"A bold and terrifying tale of suspense as survivors of a deadly crash awaken in a hospital with untrustworthy memories and uncertain futures . . . A tense, involving, complex, deftly written and highly recommended saga about unraveling the defenses of the human mind one by one. Quietus is aptly titled after the moment of release of life, and haunting to the very end." —Midwest Book Review

"An intelligent and gothic masterpiece . . . Using extensive research obtained from ancient religious apocrypha, Schilling has crafted stunning and plausible insights that question what we have come to know as ‘death.' The result is an epic and chilling new thriller that will please readers on both a visceral and intellectual level." —West Coast Literary Review

"A beautiful, haunting work that stays with the reader long after the last page has been turned—the mark of a true storyteller. Never have I been so enthralled by a suspense novel." —Jamieson Wolf, Green Man Review

"A compelling novel . . . amazing passages . . . very creepy." —Ellen Datlow, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror

"Beautifully written, this is a tale of suspense and introspection." —Amy Rosenfeld, Joseph Beth Booksellers

"Quietus is a masterwork of psychological tension that neatly taps into the fear of death and the unknown that resonates in Western man's unconscious. Arcane scriptures and medieval artistry add a gothic element to what is already a tautly compelling and spellbinding tale. ... The book explores many intriguing themes related to death, and poses interesting questions about who or what inhabits the afterlife. ...An engrossing page turner." — Lake County Record-Bee (CA)

"A psychological thriller by a novelist and screenwriter who has made quite a splash . . . A spooky page-turner." — Arkansas Times

"A remarkable thriller." —Inside Borders Magazine (An Original Voices Selection)

"Gripping ... an intriguing novel that explores the very nature and meaning of death. Schilling spent decades researching near-death experiences. She uses this research to create fascinating mythology about death, of which she makes excellent use in the novel . . . The initial reading of Quietus can be disturbing, but the characters, particularly Kylie, will return to haunt readers at unusual times. This is the type of book that demands a second reading ... always a good sign." —Alicia Graybill, Foreword Reviews

"Rich and intelligent . . . well written." —The Women's Connection

"Haunting and passionate . . . A chilling and foreboding tale about fate, death and the afterlife. Gripping and thought-provoking . . . Highly recommended." —Christine Filipak, Dark Realms Magazine

"A breakout and chilling new thriller." —The Daily Oklahoman

"Quietus is an engaging tale of love, death and survival. . . . Schilling does an admirable job of creating living, breathing characters . . . (and) brings the reader to many levels of understanding as she, through Kylie, explores the historical, religious and cultural beliefs on death . . . intense and suspenseful . . . Quietus is a quality, fast paced supernatural thriller that will keep readers enthralled. —Rob H. Bedford, SFFWORLD

"Kylie O'Rourke is one of those memorable literary characters who remain lodged in one's psyche long after the book is returned to the shelf. . . Have no doubt that this is a novel of suspense . . . The intensity of the novel makes it an engrossing read from page one. Like a locomotive, it is difficult to stop until the track ends." —NW Arkansas Monthly