This was thoroughly enjoyable that kept me reading into the small hours. It was full of mystery and intrigue and the story just pulls you in, This is not normally my genre but I thought I would take a chance and I am so glad I did. I will certainly be looking to read more by this wonder author

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

DNF 60%
Im having a hard time trying to put into words my feelings about this book. The story itself its interesting to me, different than what i have been reading which is good. I love the atmosphere. The characters and the writing are good. But theres something missing to make me immersed in the story. I cannot connect, and it cannot grip me.
Im putting it down because it could be that im in a reading slump and it could be just a timing thing, i will keep it open to return to it someday.

A very interesting and unique gothic, historical fiction read.
The setting and dark atmosphere really made this book for me.

I love this author’s writing so was looking forward to this book. And in terms of quality of writing, atmosphere and suspense I was not disappointed. I was grabbed by the story and enjoyed its unfolding, however somehow the ending didn’t quite work for me. The very end was good but just before that was somewhat disappointing. I think there was a lot of unanswered questions/unresolved issues for many characters.

I enjoyed the story and the mystery of the silk spiders. A good read but not this author’s best in my opinion.

3.5 rounded up

This one wasn't really for me. I just didn't find it overly interesting, this story about the rare spiders spinning slightly supernatural silk.

A gothic mystery with a delightful prose that I've come to recognise as Bridget Collins's signature. I loved the eerie qualities of this novel and the spine tingling story that Collins' weaved.
I was drawn in by the story telling that kept my attention throughout. A definite choice for those who love historical fiction and gothic mysteries.
I also really enjoyed the dual timelines and how the story unfolded across the two.

Henry Latimer works in a shop providing hearing apparatus for deaf customers when he meets Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy, whose daughter Philomel is profoundly deaf so he travels to their home to carry out an assessment on the young girl. Whilst there he discovers that Sir Edward has developed a special silk that mutes all noise and Henry is entranced, the possibilities for improving people's lives are endless - blocking out the constant noise from the street, keeping babies cocooned in a quiet environment, muffling noise in any situation. It's only after Henry stays longer at the family home and then visits the silk factory that he realises the new material may also be used for sinister purposes and he's complicit in promoting it to wealthy investors.

I absolutely loved this story, it's so dark and atmospheric, so cleverly written and it completely transported me to the various locations. I'd recommend this to anyone wanting a great autumn read 🖤 4.5 stars from me 🖤

3.5 stars
I enjoyed this unique historical fiction story. I knew about silk worms but didn’t know about silk spiders! I found the topic very interesting. That said, I didn’t always like the back and forth POVs. The silk tied the stories but it took a while for everything to come together for me.

I fancied this book as a good prospect, seeing as I have hyperaccusis and empathised with Henry.
But, as I delved deeper into the book I found the compulsion Henry had toward Sir Edward interfered with how the book held my attention. So although the book had a reasonable storyline, albeit not a brilliant ending, it was not for me.
Therefore I would give this book 2 stars.

Sadly, although the premise was interesting, I just couldn't connect with the book due to, imo, weak characterisations....especially Henry, who couldn't have been more naive and blind! It just didn't ring true.

enjoyed this book in parts but felt it was missing a little something overall as you entered a different world and the plot had the potential to be to be good.

I admit that I expected something more from this title.

I love books with gothic, dark atmospheres and on this point I was absolutely not disappointed. Indeed, the setting and atmosphere captured me but unfortunately I didn't feel involved in the story and especially the characters.

Thanks again to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-ARC

The plot of this book is a captivating blend of fun and fantastical elements that could easily have veered into fantasy or science fiction. Instead, the author skillfully incorporates aspects of various genres while maintaining the integrity of the core genre, ensuring a seamless and engaging read.

The narrative is rich with nuance, addressing themes such as grief, LGBTQ+ relationships, colonization, and social class commentary. These elements are woven into the story with a deft touch, avoiding preachiness and instead presenting them in a genuine and beautiful manner. This thoughtful approach adds depth to the book, making it a compelling and immersive experience that I found utterly absorbing.

4.5/5.

The Silence Factory is an imaginative, immersive and spellbinding story. I was thoroughly captivated by it from start to finish!

The narrative follows two time lines. First, we have a woman travelling to a remote Greek island in the early 19th century with her husband, Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy, who is seeking some remarkable find he has heard about. The scientist he hopes to meet is dead when they arrive, and they settle in as her husband continues his search. It's a strained marriage and Sophia is unhappy as tempers fray...

Some years later, Henry Latimer is working in his father-in-law's shop, as an audiologist, selling ear trumpets, when Sir Edward comes into the shop on behalf of his deaf daughter. He leaves Henry a small piece of cloth that Henry soon realises has remarkable properties. Shortly afterwards, Henry leaves London to stay with Sir Edward and his daughter. Sir Edward invites Henry to work for him to promote the cloth being made at his factory.

While the subject of the novel is a 'magical' cloth, the story is vivid and realistic and the suspension of disbelief is total. I viscerally felt the shiver of the menacing, Gothic atmosphere in the factory town, the deafening noise of the factory, the sticky cling of cobwebs, the deadly suck of rushing floodwater. And the seductive, calming quiet of the cloth.

It's a splendid novel and a really great read. Highly recommended. The only aspect that pulls it down from a 5* to a 4* rating is the Greek-island sections, which I felt could have been shortened. The thread of the relationship between Sophia and Hira, for example, felt a bit tangential and slow. I was impatient to return to the primary narrative.

Thank you to @NetGalley_UK, @HarperFiction and @Br1dgetCollins for the ARC. All my reviews are 100% honest and unbiased, regardless of how I acquire the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Bridget Collins is a master of gothic suspence fiction, and this book is no different. I liked the two different strands to the story, though I would have liked a bit more connection between them at times. There are interesting strands of colonialism, misogyny and class privilege throughout, and I did appreciate the blinkered vision of Henry until things were so obvious he couldn't ignore them - it felt very realistic.

This was thoroughly enjoyable that kept me reading into the small hours. It was full of mystery and intrigue and the story just pulls you in, This is not normally my genre but I thought I would take a chance and I am so glad I did. I will certainly be looking to read more by this wonder author

Spiders.
I have enjoyed Bridget 's other works, but this on stretched my imagination too far.
The story of an unhappy woman Sophia taken to the island of Kratos in the 1890's he hunts for spiders while she befriends an English speaking woman Hira. When Sophia finds the spider that James is hunting for he is initially pleased but gets more obsessed with it, bringing out a side of his character that Sophia did not know.
In London years later Henry works for his father in law, making hearing aids and conducting examinations. James visit a the shop seeking help for his deaf daughter, Henry is sent to meet her, he finds James runs a large silk factory, the product cuts out noise and has made some of the workers deaf.
I did find this book quite long for the content, although the Victorian factory model was interesting, the characters were sometimes hard to believe.
Thank you Bridget, NetGalley and Harper Collins for this ARC

The Silence Factory is a troubling read, slowly drawing us in. There’s a lyrical quality to the writing which made reading feel a little slow on occasion, but as the story progresses it becomes quite mesmerising.
The main part of the story focuses on audiologist Henry Latimer who is tasked with visiting the home of Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy in order to try and help his daughter to hear. Sir Edward is heir to a fortune, but his business is focused very much on his family history.
Alongside Henry’s increasingly disturbed experience in Telverton we also, through a diary found in the property, learn more about how the Ashmore-Percy fortune was made. We see the obsessive hunt for this fabled spider, whose silk has properties that are much in demand (though it comes with great risk).
The story behind the silk was intriguing, but I also found myself caught up in the intricacies of the story in the present. The silk factory, with its rather grotesque experiments, owed much to the Gothic genre and it was fascinating to see how the focus on madness linked to notions of submissiveness. None of the characters were particularly likeable, but it was hard not to feel sympathy for those caught in the spell of the very thing they were trying to control.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this in advance of publication.

This was my first book by Bridget Collins, and the idea was very original and well-told. The issues faced by both disabled folk and women were engaging (if a little hard to read at times), and the writing atmospheric.

Unfortunately though, it's a DNF for me due to sadly discovering the author's unpleasant activity on social media. Really sorry to see this, but I can't in good conscience continue. Apologies.

The Silence Factory was brilliantly written, haunting and definitely not for arachnophobes! I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.