Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC. This was great! I love thrillers especially ones that can catch me off guard at some point. This had great writing, relatable characters, and some good twists! Will read more from this author in the future!

THE SILENCE by Joss Stirling is a great suspense novel. I am glad I was picked to read this one because it is amazing. It has bit of everything, suspense, heart and great characters.

Sadly I found this thriller lacking in actual thrills or suspense. The characters felt hollow and some of the dialogue was heavy-handed and insensitive.

The chapters about the history of the house were distracting and baggy. It affected the pacing of the story. They actually made this reading experience feel like wadding through treacle. Had I not been given a review copy from NetGalley, I would’ve have given up on this a few chapters in. This story and the writing style just weren’t gripping me but I can see from the other reviews that it will find an audience.

What a book. I was hooked just from the cover and description. Thankfully I was not disappointed. This is a fast paced read. Easy to read. Your on the edge of your seat wondering which way it’s heading. Fantastic read

Well, this was a little different to what I was expecting - in a good way, I hasten to add!
Jenny is mute, her vocal chords having been damaged during an incident from her past. She is a concert violinist who also works as a waitress to make ends meet. With scant wages coming in, her living arrangements leave a lot to be desired and she is beginning to really hate her shared house. Then, one day, an opportunity to move lands at her feet. There's an eccentric old lady, living in a big, old house who takes in "artists" as lodgers, charging a very small rent. So, Jenny moves in with Bridget and her current other lodger Jonah, an actor. But she soon realises that that grass isn't quite as greener as she thought and her personal demons have not only moved with her, they are getting more power over her. From the opening scenes, we know that something horrible has occurred as Jonah finds himself being interviewed by the police. But what exactly happened in the months leading up to the incident? And is Jenny's past about to become her present?
I raced through this book, at a rate of knots. I needed to know both what happened leading up to the opening scene and also what happened to Jenny to make her mute. And, oh my, I wasn't expecting what the author delivered! Shocks aplenty, I can tell you! Some a little more obvious than others, but some really great "aha" moments that gave me clarity!
Characterisation was great, as well as a great plot, we had some really interesting and intriguing characters who kept me on my toes throughout. I was especially fascinated by Jonah and his, shall we just say, chequered, past. Some of his scenes had me cringing and in stitches at the same time!
And then there's the house itself and the history that Bridget is writing about it. She definitely has her own style of storytelling, the way she weaves the history into her own narrative! With chapters of this, her book, interspersed throughout the main story, it's not obvious at the time of reading what the actual point of inclusion is, but, like a lot of things, it all comes together at the end, nicely.
Pacing was good and the twists and turns along the way were satisfying, and the story was delivered without the need for superfluous padding. Jenny's own downward spiral was well handled, as was Jonah's past. Bridget was a bit of an enigma throughout and her story was mostly contained within the pages of her own "book".
All in all, a good solid read that delivered exactly what I need from a book of this genre. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

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!

Another amazing read by the fabulous joss Stirling. Loved the characters and found this book very gripping. Can't wait to read more like it

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!

Joss Stirling has returned with another triumphant novel. The Silence is a book that will have you hooked from the very first sentence, to the last word. Be prepared to lose sleep, this excellent page turner will leave you dying to know more about Jenny and her dark past, as each chapter unfolds before your every eyes. What lays in store for our protagonist at Gallant House? Well, you'll just have to purchase a copy of The Silence to discover the twisting tale that lies within...

'The Silence' is a gripping psychological thriller with twists and turns to keep even the most avid 'detective' guessing!
The story is told from three different characters' perspectives during a highly significant time in their lives when they reside together in an ageing house with its own unique history. Alongside this, various chapters written from Gallant House's perspective are included, which greatly contributes to the book's inventiveness. I honestly could not put it down!

I thoroughly enjoyed the author's positive representation of disability and injury throughout 'The Silence'. The character of Jenny, who is rendered mute due to an accident, is shown as an independent, intelligent woman, which is incredibly refreshing, and also highly realistic. It was enjoyable to read a book that proves that having a disability or injury does not limit people to following their dreams, much like how Jenny continues to play the violin, regardless of the pain she is in.

However, I feel it should be noted that the book deals with extremely mature issues that may be triggering to some readers, which I personally did not feel was initially conveyed when researching into the book's synopsis. I also personally believe that the topics revolving around sexual abuse could have been portrayed in a slightly more sensitive way. The characters would clearly be affected by these issues in many ways, but I feel their psychological and physiological responses to this were slightly understated.

Overall, 'The Silence' was a thrilling read from start to finish and I look forward to Joss Stirling's future work!

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.

Whenever you read a thriller/mystery, you are always looking for the culprit from the start. I thought I knew who it was right up until the end. Which is an absolutely awesome thing, A lot of mysteries seem to fail at this aspect in the story. I really liked how I was able to relate to the main characters, feeling sorry for most of the characters for at least a portion of the book for each.

The cover reflects the story very well, and I liked the touch of history incorporated in. It helped to pull me in to the story a little more, although admittedly at first I did find it a little confusing!

Once again, Joss touched upon a subject of disability which people often don't think about. Portraying it excellently, and showing that someone with a disability, still has feelings and is still an adult. I have rarely found books to do this in the right way.

The stalking, and the portraying of this was very realistic, and inclusive. You could really feel like someone was watching over your shoulder, at times. There were some parts of the book I found difficult to read due to personal reasons. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed it, as the parts I struggled with were not described in detail, which is also important when writing about such subjects.

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.