The Silence of Ghosts

A Novel

By: Jonathan Aycliffe

Narrated by: Roger Clark

Those who live in silence hear them best...

Dominic Lancaster hoped to prove himself to his family by excelling in the Navy during World War II. Instead he is wounded while serving as a gunner, and loses his leg. Still recovering from his wounds and the trauma of his amputation when the Blitz begins, Dominic finds himself shuffled off to the countryside by his family, along with his partially deaf sister, Octavia. The crumbling family estate on the shores of Ullswater is an old, much-neglected place that doesn’t seem to promise much in the way of happiness or recovery.

Something more than a friendship begins to flourish between Dominic and his nurse Rose in the late autumn of that English countryside, as he struggles to come to terms with his new life as an amputee. Another thing that seems to be flourishing is Octavia’s hearing.

As winter descends, sinister forces seem to be materializing around Octavia, who is hearing voices of children. After seeing things that no one else can see and hearing things that no one else can hear, Octavia is afflicted with a sickness that cannot be explained. With Octavia's help, Dominic sets out to find the truth behind the voices that have haunted his sister. In doing so, he uncovers an even older, darker evil that threatens not only Octavia, but Rose and himself.

Jonathan Aycliffe delivers a disturbingly tense ghost story set in the middle of World War II during England’s darkest hour, demonstrating that some fears are timeless....

©2013 Jonathan Aycliffe, First Night Shade Books edition 2015 (P)2014 Audible Inc.

A ghost story that will keep you guessing

I listened to the audio book. It's read by Roger Clark and he does such a great job! The story was good and interesting enough but I wish it had been a little shorter. I liked the characters, I enjoyed the time and setting. This is the first thing I've read by this author and based on this book, I would read or listen to more by him.

This book oh my wow

It's a good book but I just wished it was written better and edited a hell of a lot better. There are so many questions left unanswered and so many random things thrown in that it was just a hot mess for instance: is Octavia supposed to be over a hundred years old? Is one of the ghost a vampire? Why are the four children left to be there after all of this to continue in their enslaved positions? And how the hell does the two main ghost of the house still get to stay and not be exorcised out? They were evil and gave Octavia the leprosy as well as enslaved thousands of people? I don't know, I'm sure I spoiled things for people but then again the book does a good job of that in the first chapter alone so you're not gonna really be disappointed by that except for the hot mess that awaits you.

Definitely not what I expected

If you're thinking this is your run of the mill haunted house story, think again. While it leads you that way, the conclusion has a very different twist I didn't see coming, which was great!
The narrator is fantastic. He speaks clearly and it's very easy to distinguish which character is speaking without him having to address who the character is.

Not my normal type of read.

I am not a fan of this type of book, so am not sure why I even bought it. That being said, I was so involved in this and the narrator in my opinion made the book. If you are a fan of horror don't pass it by.

Spooky story. All it lacks is the campfire.

Where does The Silence of Ghosts rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Very entertaining, mostly due to the narrator, Roger Clark. He can scare the heck out of you just by whispering. I don't read many ghost stories but this one is compelling and has the added benefit of historical perspective.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Octavia. Never a friendlier nor more appealing ghost.

What does Roger Clark bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I can't say enough about this narrator. He has the ability to be all characters, including women and children, without being obvious or patronizing. His narration never detracts from the story but carries the listener through it as if he/she were there. He's a natural story-teller.

If you could rename The Silence of Ghosts, what would you call it?

Well, they aren't really silent.