Supernatural suspense...

All houses wherein men have lived and died

Are haunted houses...

--Longfellow

A Nell West and Michael Flint Mystery

Antiques dealer Nell West is rational and level-headed; she does not believe in the supernatural. So, even if she'd heard the rumors about Stilter House being haunted, she still would have gone there to appraise its contents. And since it's a school holiday, she takes along her nine-year-old daughter, Beth. They have fun exploring the old house and camping out by candlelight; and every thing seems fine until Nell begins hearing haunting music in the hall. Then Beth claims to have met a young boy named Esmond, a boy who doesn't speak but who plays the piano. Everything would still have been fine, except Esmond isn't the only ghost haunting this house.

Near the door something was moving. It was as if something was picking up the shadows and twisting them into an outline--as if long fleshless fingers were reaching down and gathering up the strings of darkness and decay to weave a human carapace...And then, like a bad connection finally sparking, the woman was there. The ravage-faced creature of rain  and darkness and ancient cobwebs.

Who is she and why is she haunting Stilter House? And what happened to Esmond so long ago? Nell and her friend, Michael Flint, are determined to find the answers.

I love a good ghost story, especially one that involves a haunted house. And Stilter House is full of secrets--secrets Nell and Michael unearth through old letters, diaries and court records. I liked the way they pieced together the facts of this mystery and discovered the truth. Very Wilkie Collins-esque. And I thought their ghostly encounters were suspenseful and chilling...just as a good ghost story should be. This is the third novel Sarah Rayne has written with these characters, but The Silence stands on its own, so you don't need to read them in order to enjoy this one.

Happy Reading!