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.

I found this an engrossing read that kept me in suspense! Psychological thrillers are not the type of book I would normally go for but I think I have been converted! I found the whole tale intriguing throughout, as I tried to second guess as to where the plot line was leading. The eerie staging of the novel provided the perfect backdrop to an interesting narrative of a young woman musician battling her past demons. I would highly recommend

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

I have just spent the weekend wonderfully engrossed in Joss Stirling's compelling dark mystery thriller The Silence. To be honest once started it became difficult to put down as one tried to make sense of this increasingly chilling and creepy tale. The novel begins with a prologue in which Jonah makes a 999 phone call requesting both an ambulance and police and states " I think I've hurt someone". An address, Gallant House, Blackheath is given. From this dramatic opening the story will go back over various time periods to narrate how the current situation occurred. There are a number of rather troubled characters in the book and along with Jonah we learn that Jenny, a concert violinist has moved into Gallant House which is presided over by its eccentric owner Bridget who has created somewhat of a sanctuary for artists who fit her idiosyncratic criteria for tenants.

Jenny is unable to speak after a traumatic attack that took place when she was fourteen and after a broken relationship saw her move to Gallant House as a wonderful opportunity after her previous grimy flat sharing experience. Now she only has to pay a peppercorn rent but as they say if something is too good to be true then it usually is and slowly strange things happen in the house as Jenny's life begins to take a turn for the worst. Bridget is writing an account of the house (which dates from the 18th century) and we learn that it possesses a dark history and its influence may be far from benign. Can the past effect the present and will the present occupiers of the house now have to face their own personal demons with their very survival now at stake?

The writing is very descriptive with the house becoming another character. Knowing the area quite well I really felt a sense of place. There are many mysteries to be solved here and a number of twists and turns and dead ends to be encountered. If you like a thrilling and at the same time an intelligent read then I would certainly recommend this. It may also be worth checking out the author's previous psychological thriller DON’T TRUST ME.

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

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.