All the elements of a 1960s Gothic in a 21st century binding. I enjoyed the post-WW1 mental hospital setting. The rest was fairly predictable. ( )

This could have been an excellent little ghost story. The buildup of tension and mystery was very well done and the characters were intriguing, but I was disappointed in the final third of the story. Perhaps I should have expected the romance, but it felt forced and implausible, and it was incredibly inappropriate for the two main characters to be playing striptease and grab-ass when patients that the “heroine” was responsible for were dying, unattended, of influenza in another part of the building, and another patient that she was responsible for was missing and known to be dangerous. Yes, I know she was not a real nurse, but she had assumed the role and the responsibility. I was dissatisfied with the trite happily-ever-after marriage ending, where the heroine is suddenly over all her childhood trauma because of the hero’s magic lovemaking. And the attitude of “BTW, four patients died, but that’s a pretty good death rate, so that’s cool” really chapped my sensibilities.

This book touched on the real tragedy of WW I soldiers who dealt with “shell shock”, the absolute lack of medical and psychological care available to them at the time, the stigma of cowardice, weakness, and unmanliness attached to its victims, and the awful state of psychiatric care at the time. But it used it too lightly for my taste, using it as a mere backdrop, and really dropped the ball in wrapping the story up with the characters who suffered from it. The “good” characters were able to miraculously just reintegrate to their homes and families (happily ever after!) and the “bad” and anonymous others were just shipped off to another psych hospital (out of sight, out of mind).

Audiobook version, borrowed from my public library. Mary Jane Wells provided an excellent performance. I will look for her again as an audio narrator.

I read this book for the 2016 Halloween Bingo, Ghost Stories and Haunted Houses square.
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I've just discovered that Simone St. James has a new book coming out in March 2024! While I wait for Murder Road, I'm catching up on her older titles that I've missed.

Silence for the Dead is a great period piece, set in 1919 in a remote hospital for shell-shocked soldiers. Our protagonist is Kitty Weekes who has applied to, and has been hired to work as a nurse at Portis House. The problem? She's not a nurse and she's running from her past. She has nowhere else to go.

But there's something off about Portis House those who run the hospital. And there are strange noises and sightings of a mysterious figure.

St. James excels in creating atmospheric settings. The possibilities of otherworldly events and characters is right alongside of that which can be confirmed. But not everyone is telling their truth.

I become more immersed in some books when I listen and that was definitely the case for Silence for the Dead. The reader was Billie Fulford-Brown and she did an excellent job. Her voice was perfect for the lead character and matched the mental image I had created for Kitty. She's a versatile narrator, creating and using many different voices and accents for other characters, male and female. She captures the nuances, emotions and actions of the plot. A great performance and an excellent tale. ( )

Simone St. James has quickly become a favorite author of mine. I loved this story that blended historical fiction, romance and paranormal in one quick read. The character development and storyline is compelling and well developed. I just ordered The other Side of Midnight and I look forward to reading that soon. I highly recommend all of St. James books. ( )

Kitty Weekes, posing as a nurse, obtains a position at Portis House, a former mansion being used to treat shell-shocked World War I soldiers. When strange forces seem to be haunting the men and causing nervous attacks, Kitty tries to uncover the truth.

This story had some interesting characters and a creepy setting that kept me interested. But the strange forces in the house didn’t seem believable to me or scary. Still, I enjoyed this author’s writing style and may try another of her books. ( )