Silence for the Dead
“Portis House emerged from the fog as we approached, showing itself slowly as a long, low shadow....”
In 1919, Kitty Weekes, pretty, resourceful, and on the run, falsifies her background to obtain a nursing position at Portis House, a remote hospital for soldiers left shell-shocked by the horrors of the Great War. Hiding the shame of their mental instability in what was once a magnificent private estate, the patients suffer from nervous attacks and tormenting dreams. But something more is going on at Portis House—its plaster is crumbling, its plumbing makes eerie noises, and strange breaths of cold waft through the empty rooms. It’s known that the former occupants left abruptly, but where did they go? And why do the patients all seem to share the same nightmare, one so horrific that they dare not speak of it?
Kitty finds a dangerous ally in Jack Yates, an inmate who may be a war hero, a madman… or maybe both. But even as Kitty and Jack create a secret, intimate alliance to uncover the truth, disturbing revelations suggest the presence of powerful spectral forces. And when a medical catastrophe leaves them even more isolated, they must battle the menace on their own, caught in the heart of a mystery that could destroy them both.
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Community Reviews
This is one of the August group reads for the Mystery Crime Thriller group. It’s not the one I voted for, but it sounded interesting. It’s another historical fiction story, like the last one, Murder on Black Swan Lake, but this one takes place about 100yrs later after WWI. However, unlike the other group read selection that was a historical fiction crime thriller and murder mystery, this one was labeled as a historical fiction mystery thriller that crossed over into the horror/paranormal/gothic genres. While I’m not crazy about horror stories, I do enjoy gothic mysteries and paranormal stories. So, what the heck, I decided to read it anyway and I’m glad I did.
The book summary introduces the primary storyline, so I’m not going to repeat it here. However, while it is revealed from the beginning that Kitty is running from something, it isn’t revealed what and why until later in the story although St James does drop hints throughout the first two parts of the story. However, St James does reveal pretty early that Kitty still has flashbacks and nightmares from growing up with an alcoholic father. I like Kitty; she’s a bit of a smart@$$ and a bit impulsive and has a tendency to buck the rules set down by “The Matron” who reminds me of a Nurse Ratched.
One of the rules that Kitty disregarded was that she was not to enter into the room for Patient 16, but she did and discovered a legendary war hero, Jack Yates, who was admitted because he was suicidal. Well into the first half, after Kitty’s first night shift, she realizes that something really strange is going on at Portis House. Of course, a huge, creepy, and isolated, house turned psychiatric institute is going to seem even creepier at night. Anyway, Kitty, along with the patients, are seeing ghosts. Kitty is determined to find out, with the help of Jack and a former nurse, Maisie, what the doctors and the Matron are hiding.
It's well into the second half (part 3) and after an influenza breakout, that Kitty, Jack, and Maisie discover what happened at Portis House, before and after the war. The end of Portis House comes fast after that in a creepy conclusion, however, with still one perplexing question hanging. The final chapters were like a long epilogue but were satisfying.
This story was kind of a surprise to me; I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. I found myself looking for time to pick it up whenever I could. While I definitely wouldn’t consider the horror label to be accurate, it does have that gothic ghost story aspect to it. At one point, Kitty even referred to the house as a “vampire” feeding off the fear of the patients (pretty accurate description), which I guess would include it in the “paranormal” genre. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Mary Jane Wells, with her lovely British accent, and Wells executed Kitty’s snarky voice and persona really well. I also loved herNurse Ratched Matron voice too!
The book summary introduces the primary storyline, so I’m not going to repeat it here. However, while it is revealed from the beginning that Kitty is running from something, it isn’t revealed what and why until later in the story although St James does drop hints throughout the first two parts of the story. However, St James does reveal pretty early that Kitty still has flashbacks and nightmares from growing up with an alcoholic father. I like Kitty; she’s a bit of a smart@$$ and a bit impulsive and has a tendency to buck the rules set down by “The Matron” who reminds me of a Nurse Ratched.
One of the rules that Kitty disregarded was that she was not to enter into the room for Patient 16, but she did and discovered a legendary war hero, Jack Yates, who was admitted because he was suicidal. Well into the first half, after Kitty’s first night shift, she realizes that something really strange is going on at Portis House. Of course, a huge, creepy, and isolated, house turned psychiatric institute is going to seem even creepier at night. Anyway, Kitty, along with the patients, are seeing ghosts. Kitty is determined to find out, with the help of Jack and a former nurse, Maisie, what the doctors and the Matron are hiding.
It's well into the second half (part 3) and after an influenza breakout, that Kitty, Jack, and Maisie discover what happened at Portis House, before and after the war. The end of Portis House comes fast after that in a creepy conclusion, however, with still one perplexing question hanging. The final chapters were like a long epilogue but were satisfying.
This story was kind of a surprise to me; I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. I found myself looking for time to pick it up whenever I could. While I definitely wouldn’t consider the horror label to be accurate, it does have that gothic ghost story aspect to it. At one point, Kitty even referred to the house as a “vampire” feeding off the fear of the patients (pretty accurate description), which I guess would include it in the “paranormal” genre. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Mary Jane Wells, with her lovely British accent, and Wells executed Kitty’s snarky voice and persona really well. I also loved her
An excellent read that had me engrossed right from the beginning. I liked the fun quirky characters and use of humor and sarcasm. And the setting (a WWI soldier's institution) was something new for me. It was the Downton Abbey era. Only this wasn't the aristocratic abbey. This was an insane asylum for soldiers who came back from the war without all of their mental faculties. And there was something else in the shadows living with them...
I liked this story and will be checking out more books by Simone St. James.
I liked this story and will be checking out more books by Simone St. James.
I liked where things were going in the first and second part of the book but things went downhill for me in the third. I knew there was going to be a romance angle but I rolled my eyes a few too many times and felt myself skimming. Things got a little too Breakfast Club for me and at one point I thought they were gonna break out into the dance montage. This was my first St. James book and I hope it isn’t a trend since I already have 3 waiting on a bookshelf. Crossing my fingers for the next one.