slow going, but becomes a very spooky, suspenseful tale

Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was so sure I had a ton of time to read this one, but it languished half finished on the coffee table while I recovered from surgery. As soon as I started feeling better, I picked up the book and began to read, reaching the point where I couldn't put it down, and was reading late into the night wanting to know what happened next.

The first half of the book was slow going as stories for Kitty and the others at Portis House were taking form and being fleshed out. I wasn't a huge fan of the first half of this book, clearly. I almost abandoned it, but I'm happy I gave it another chance.

Don't worry, no spoilers here, you learn the following at the outset.

Kitty is fleeing her cruel, abusive father who turned his rage toward her after his wife left and her brother went off to war. We are transported back to the early 1900's and World War I. She can't take anymore abuse and takes off, running as far from home as she can get. She invents a story for herself, impersonating a nurse and goes off to Portis House to nurse shell-shocked soldiers, some driven mad by the things they have seen. Portis House, meanwhile is a decaying hulk with a completely locked off wing of the house that no-one is allowed to enter. I can't say more without giving away too much, but can say that there are ghosts and a love interest (as much is said in the blurb on the cover). If you can persevere through the first half of the book (you may enjoy it, I was distracted by a broken foot), the second half has all the fun stuff you want to read in this spooky, suspenseful tale.

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