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Silence and Shadows
In that mysterious place where the past slips its boundaries and intrudes on the present, in a small English village where history is as alive as the nearest plowed field, James Long brings us the unforgettable story of three people who meet on an adventure through time that will lead to the depths of the human heart....
Patrick Kane is a man haunted by his past.
He has returned from his annual pilgrimage to a graveyard in Wales. Now he hopes to take refuge from his memories by heading an archeological dig in the village of Wytchlow. It is a simple project -- checking for ancient relics before a land developer levels the earth -- until a woman with an all-too-familiar face stumbles into the path of his car.
Bobby Redhead bears a striking resemblance to a woman he loved and tragically lost years ago. Bobby cannot understand the emotions she evokes in Patrick, but she can sense his deep suffering. What has he done that he cannot forgive? And why is Bobby so drawn to him?
As Bobby reaches out, Patrick retreats into silence and shadows, focusing obsessively on the dig. They are hunting ancient Roman mosaics, but there is something more tantalizing in the soil of Wytchlow. It is only a myth, a local folktale, a song sung one night in a pub by an otherwise mute man. The story goes that a Saxon girl called the German Queen has been buried close by. The only evidence is the old song, but it is enough to capture Patrick's imagination as nothing has in years.
It has also captured the unwanted interest of a television producer fascinated with Patrick's past. Yet nothing will deter Patrick from the project -- not the television hype, nor the developer's greed, nor the bittersweet relationship of working so close to Bobby.
As centuries fall away, the Saxon warrior woman lost to time is suddenly as vividly alive to Patrick as the woman standing beside him.
As Patrick struggles with the unforgivable tragedy he cannot forget, he senses a connection between Bobby and the lost queen and discovers his destiny is powerfully entwined with them both. Beneath the shadows of a timeless moon, under layers of earth that have protected her secrets, can the fragile bones of a royal matriarch heal the hearts of those who would dare free her?
Patrick Kane is a man haunted by his past.
He has returned from his annual pilgrimage to a graveyard in Wales. Now he hopes to take refuge from his memories by heading an archeological dig in the village of Wytchlow. It is a simple project -- checking for ancient relics before a land developer levels the earth -- until a woman with an all-too-familiar face stumbles into the path of his car.
Bobby Redhead bears a striking resemblance to a woman he loved and tragically lost years ago. Bobby cannot understand the emotions she evokes in Patrick, but she can sense his deep suffering. What has he done that he cannot forgive? And why is Bobby so drawn to him?
As Bobby reaches out, Patrick retreats into silence and shadows, focusing obsessively on the dig. They are hunting ancient Roman mosaics, but there is something more tantalizing in the soil of Wytchlow. It is only a myth, a local folktale, a song sung one night in a pub by an otherwise mute man. The story goes that a Saxon girl called the German Queen has been buried close by. The only evidence is the old song, but it is enough to capture Patrick's imagination as nothing has in years.
It has also captured the unwanted interest of a television producer fascinated with Patrick's past. Yet nothing will deter Patrick from the project -- not the television hype, nor the developer's greed, nor the bittersweet relationship of working so close to Bobby.
As centuries fall away, the Saxon warrior woman lost to time is suddenly as vividly alive to Patrick as the woman standing beside him.
As Patrick struggles with the unforgivable tragedy he cannot forget, he senses a connection between Bobby and the lost queen and discovers his destiny is powerfully entwined with them both. Beneath the shadows of a timeless moon, under layers of earth that have protected her secrets, can the fragile bones of a royal matriarch heal the hearts of those who would dare free her?
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 15, 2001
11 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
About the author
James Long
51 books54 followersAka Will Davenport
James Long was a BBC TV news correspondent until the end of the 1980s. After two years starting and running an international TV station out of Zurich, he returned to England to concentrate on writing, which had always been his first love. He wrote four thrillers, then went back to a story he had begun many years earlier and which grew into Ferney. The book was originally born from his disappointment at being unable to buy a derelict cottage he had found near the village of Penselwood and that house became the centre of the story. Many more novels followed, including two written under the pseudonym 'Will Davenport.' He moved into historical non-fiction in 2007 with The Plot against Pepys, co-written with his oldest son, Ben. Since then, he has co-written a play with his middle son, Harry. He lives with his wife, Annie and daughter Matilda in Totnes, Devon. His interests range from archaeology to motor racing. He is actively involved in the creative writing charity, the Arvon Foundation and tutors from time to time on Arvon courses. He is also a patron and adviser to the Dartington Literary Festival, 'Ways with Words.'
James Long was a BBC TV news correspondent until the end of the 1980s. After two years starting and running an international TV station out of Zurich, he returned to England to concentrate on writing, which had always been his first love. He wrote four thrillers, then went back to a story he had begun many years earlier and which grew into Ferney. The book was originally born from his disappointment at being unable to buy a derelict cottage he had found near the village of Penselwood and that house became the centre of the story. Many more novels followed, including two written under the pseudonym 'Will Davenport.' He moved into historical non-fiction in 2007 with The Plot against Pepys, co-written with his oldest son, Ben. Since then, he has co-written a play with his middle son, Harry. He lives with his wife, Annie and daughter Matilda in Totnes, Devon. His interests range from archaeology to motor racing. He is actively involved in the creative writing charity, the Arvon Foundation and tutors from time to time on Arvon courses. He is also a patron and adviser to the Dartington Literary Festival, 'Ways with Words.'
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
November 14, 2017
one word for this review......HAUNTING
January 12, 2025
i adore James Long. His style of writing slowly draws me into the stories he writes until i am completly absorbed.
Now i admit that i didn't like this as much as 'Ferney' but i think that's just because 'Ferney' would be impossible to top.
'Silence and Shadows' tells the tale of Patrick Kane, an ex rock star turned archaeologist following a tragedy that is slowly revealed throughout the story.
What i loved the most about this book though wasn't the story of Patrick but the story of the skeleton that is being dug up at the archealogical dig that Patrick is in charge of - a German Saxon Queen with mysteries and tragedies of her own. It gave me a real feeling of the past and left me wanting to know more about the history revealed.
i also loved the relationships that built up around the dig between all the 'diggers' and how they all got to feel like they knew the skeleton Queen and wanted to see the right thing done with her remains. With the recent discovery of Richard iii in a car park in Leicester and having watched a program about the woman who made this pssible who was so pasionate about the cause, i got a real feel for the passion behind discovry of ancient lives through archaelogcial digs.
I will be searching out as many James Long books as i can!
Now i admit that i didn't like this as much as 'Ferney' but i think that's just because 'Ferney' would be impossible to top.
'Silence and Shadows' tells the tale of Patrick Kane, an ex rock star turned archaeologist following a tragedy that is slowly revealed throughout the story.
What i loved the most about this book though wasn't the story of Patrick but the story of the skeleton that is being dug up at the archealogical dig that Patrick is in charge of - a German Saxon Queen with mysteries and tragedies of her own. It gave me a real feeling of the past and left me wanting to know more about the history revealed.
i also loved the relationships that built up around the dig between all the 'diggers' and how they all got to feel like they knew the skeleton Queen and wanted to see the right thing done with her remains. With the recent discovery of Richard iii in a car park in Leicester and having watched a program about the woman who made this pssible who was so pasionate about the cause, i got a real feel for the passion behind discovry of ancient lives through archaelogcial digs.
I will be searching out as many James Long books as i can!
May 18, 2012
Found it difficult to like this book. Felt it had a sort of hollowness about it. Didn't find the relationship between the characters compelling or engaging. Liked the tenuous links between past and present, but didn't see them as really redemptive as they appeared to be. Quite liked one or two of the characters - CD, but found most of them a bit flat. Felt Long's media background came out well with the film production company, but thought there was a number of cartoon villains... The book seemed to be more about the plot than the characters, so characters were often in the service of the plot.
My position is probably unpopular, a lot of people highly recommend this book - I was lent it by a 90 year old retired doctor who thinks it's marvellous.
My position is probably unpopular, a lot of people highly recommend this book - I was lent it by a 90 year old retired doctor who thinks it's marvellous.
January 6, 2020
"Patrick Kane is a man haunted by his past. Bobby Redhead, a woman who stumbles into the path of his car, is a mysterious part of that past. They have come together at an archaeological dig in the village of Wytchlow. What has Patrick done that he cannot forgive? Why is Bobby so drawn to him? And how are both connected by the local folksong of a Saxon girl called the German Queen?
"To learn the answers, they must race to save the German Queen's long-buried secret before a developer can claim the land. Here, in a small English village where history is as alive as the nearest plowed field, three people -- one dead a thousand years but still very much alive -- meet on an unforgettably touching adventure through time that will lead to the very depths of the human heart ... Can the fragile bones of a royal matriarch heal the hearts of those who would dare free her?"
~~back cover
Another inappropriate back cover blurb. It's true as far as it goes, but it places a lot of emphasis on the emotional turmoil of the archaeological crew and completely ignores the intelligent presentation of the archaeology, which was the best I've ever read. Generally books that have an archaeologist turn into murder mysteries that the archaeologist must solve to save his or her own skin. This book went through the entire sequence of a dig, from removing the overburden to excavating the bones with a brush, dirt particle by dirt particle, and also gave a short but accurate of the cleaning and conservation of the artifacts found. It was wonderful, I could almost taste it all: the excitement when another find was made, the weariness but exhilaration at the end of the day, the camaraderie around the fire at night. And not a murder in sight!
I can't recommend this book enough, and am sad only because it doesn't seem to be one of a series.
"To learn the answers, they must race to save the German Queen's long-buried secret before a developer can claim the land. Here, in a small English village where history is as alive as the nearest plowed field, three people -- one dead a thousand years but still very much alive -- meet on an unforgettably touching adventure through time that will lead to the very depths of the human heart ... Can the fragile bones of a royal matriarch heal the hearts of those who would dare free her?"
~~back cover
Another inappropriate back cover blurb. It's true as far as it goes, but it places a lot of emphasis on the emotional turmoil of the archaeological crew and completely ignores the intelligent presentation of the archaeology, which was the best I've ever read. Generally books that have an archaeologist turn into murder mysteries that the archaeologist must solve to save his or her own skin. This book went through the entire sequence of a dig, from removing the overburden to excavating the bones with a brush, dirt particle by dirt particle, and also gave a short but accurate of the cleaning and conservation of the artifacts found. It was wonderful, I could almost taste it all: the excitement when another find was made, the weariness but exhilaration at the end of the day, the camaraderie around the fire at night. And not a murder in sight!
I can't recommend this book enough, and am sad only because it doesn't seem to be one of a series.
March 13, 2020
If you've read a book by James Long before then you know three things about him:
- He's fascinated by history
- He loves a rollicking good yarn
- He's an incurable romantic
Silence and Shadows ticks all those boxes and more. Our unlikely hero, Patrick, was a successful rock star but following a personal tragedy he turned his back on the wild life and returned to his first love, archaeology. He's the director of a dig in a field earmarked for a housing development and it's his first time back out in the real world. As his team dig and start to peel away the past, so too do Patrick's layers of self-protection gradually unfurl as he opens himself up to his new companions.
Interspersed with Patrick's story is that of the Saxon Queen, the subject of a haunting local folk song which a villager sings in the pub one night. As the archaeologists piece together her history from the finds, the reader has the advantage of knowing the true events.
It's an evocative, haunting and ultimately heart-warming read with characters you can't fail to love.
- He's fascinated by history
- He loves a rollicking good yarn
- He's an incurable romantic
Silence and Shadows ticks all those boxes and more. Our unlikely hero, Patrick, was a successful rock star but following a personal tragedy he turned his back on the wild life and returned to his first love, archaeology. He's the director of a dig in a field earmarked for a housing development and it's his first time back out in the real world. As his team dig and start to peel away the past, so too do Patrick's layers of self-protection gradually unfurl as he opens himself up to his new companions.
Interspersed with Patrick's story is that of the Saxon Queen, the subject of a haunting local folk song which a villager sings in the pub one night. As the archaeologists piece together her history from the finds, the reader has the advantage of knowing the true events.
It's an evocative, haunting and ultimately heart-warming read with characters you can't fail to love.
May 25, 2009
The opening segment of this book was SO densely phrased - snippets like "The earth was soaked in light, puddled silver by the storm, an eldritch light meant for the eyes of foxes, as hard as a welding spark" and "...he stood motionless in the top field, which wrapped itself over the brow of the hill like a grass handkerchief on a bald man's head" - my initial reaction was "there's no way the entire book can go on like this - it's too affected." But once the story got going, the writing became much more "normal" - and that initial, almost poetic introduction gave the main characters a mythic quality, like they were all fated to be brought together in this situation. In any case, I ended up really liking the characters - it's difficult to write a character who is hugely flawed and still manage to make them appealing, and all too often I also see characters that are so good they're hardly human. Long does a pretty good job (with a few understandable exceptions) of finding a realistic balance.
February 23, 2015
It took me awhile to get into this story, Long is rather pedantic in laying down the beginnings for his storyline, but the story was worth the effort. Also informative of both the process of an archeological dig & of the age of the things they found. Set in England's countryside--I liked it there-- & (eventually) came to care for Patrick, Bobby, Joe, CD, & Dozer & each of their roles in bringing the puzzle of a long-buried "German Queen" to light.
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January 5, 2015A great read. I originally discovered this book many years after reading Ferney and didn't immediately make the connection. It thoroughly absorbed me. I have read it twice more since, and I am still enthralled by the story.
The characters are flawed, in some cases damaged, by their pasts but they all come together seamlessly on a mission to preserve the German Queen. Loved it!
The characters are flawed, in some cases damaged, by their pasts but they all come together seamlessly on a mission to preserve the German Queen. Loved it!
July 24, 2014
This is another beautifully written book from James Long. The characters are well drawn and the plot intriguing. I found it a compelling read and could hardly put the book down. I have read a couple of books by James Long and loved them, and with Silence and Shaddows I was not disappointed.
A thoroughly recommended read.
A thoroughly recommended read.
November 10, 2008
I finished it. As I read it I did not feel that it was as good as his first book, "Ferney," which was an exceptional time travel story. It wasn't a BAD book, just not the same success as "Ferney."
November 11, 2011
I can't help myself - I love his books
July 1, 2016
Great book! Recognized a few characters from The Lives She Left Behind.
October 11, 2021
Read it years ago and liked it. On a re read not so good. Found the changing between different times difficult, I wanted to follow the story of the dig.
July 23, 2017
I loved most of this book, but - a common fault in James Long's books, I am coming to realise - the ending was a bit weak. If I'd rated this when I only had 50 pages left I might have given it five stars, but I felt slightly let down by the ending. I wondered if he'd been interrupted when he was writing it, and had had to go back to it quite a bit later, as it just seemed to lose the flow. Still very, very good though.
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January 30, 2022Our past can haunt us in many ways, but the distant past touches our soul. The ancients, the ancestors we cannot reconcile until we dig them up and it is proven we are connected. But yet, happenstance introduces us to “Old Souls” with whom we instantly connect. In life aren’t we all archeologists digging for our ultimate connection? Lyrical and haunting, past and present collide to become the future of our own making.
December 29, 2018
It wasn't bad exactly, just... flat, timid, safe.
Mostly, I picked this up because I mostly liked 'Ferney'.
It reminded me of those 'made for TV' romance movies. I've forgotten the name of them.
Easy, predictable.. truthfully, boring.
Mostly, I picked this up because I mostly liked 'Ferney'.
It reminded me of those 'made for TV' romance movies. I've forgotten the name of them.
Easy, predictable.. truthfully, boring.
August 23, 2025
I wasn't expecting much from this book but I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the archaeological aspects. It was a bit hard to get into at first and some of the characters were forgettable, but the story was lovely.
November 8, 2025
I was put off by the first confusing chapter, but don't let that deter you from continuing. It gets much better. That said, while I'm very interested in archaeology, and this book was well written, for some reason I didn't love it.
September 30, 2019
Abandoned. Just couldn't get into this book. Very slow going!
October 18, 2019
Well written with great character development and involving my favorite subjects: English countryside, archaeology, mysteries, and very flawed humans with many secrets.
November 21, 2025
I found it a little slow going at first. His way of writing takes a little getting used to, but once in the throws of it, really enjoyed to story. Very interesting info re archeology.
May 1, 2016
An ex wild rock star finds himself being put in charge of an archaeological dig. He tries to move on from his past but unfortunately it keeps coming back and biting him on the foot. I loved this book especially as archaeology fascinates me. Very interesting novel about the uncovering of an anglo saxon burial revealing it's hidden secrets. The story takes you back in history to before the burial and the struggles they had in their time, as well as the struggles of the main character in present day trying to move on from his own personal past. It really made me feel as though I was part of the dig myself and I sit in wonderment at every item revealed that has been hidden away beneath the soil for centuries and then trying to piece together who the person was how they came to be buried here amongst their personal treasures. This is the third of James Long's books I've read and I've loved everyone of them.
March 14, 2009
Back cover skewed my expectations of this one a bit, although I suppose only a fantasy reader like me would interpret literally the bit about the long-dead woman being still "very much alive". Not that I regret reading it; it was emotional and compelling.
I was particularly caught by the underlying sense that the world really is full of genuinely nice people... CD, Dozer, Bobby, the German girl, the cameraman and the limo driver. Everyone was so ready to help Patrick, as soon as his shell cracked open enough to let them. Even Little and the Evil Music Company didn't take away from that.
I was particularly caught by the underlying sense that the world really is full of genuinely nice people... CD, Dozer, Bobby, the German girl, the cameraman and the limo driver. Everyone was so ready to help Patrick, as soon as his shell cracked open enough to let them. Even Little and the Evil Music Company didn't take away from that.
August 12, 2011
I struggled during the 1st chapter to get into the book, but then it became really interesting with lots of information about archaelogical digs, etc. It made me want to explore some of his other works.
August 1, 2014
This was the first book by James Long that I read, because I was attracted to the archaeology theme. Add time travel to that . . . well, it's a winner. Loved it; love everything he writes. Thank you, Mr. Long!
March 14, 2014
This was a pleasant find for a vacation read.
The story and characters were interesting and believable, the dialog was well written.
The story and characters were interesting and believable, the dialog was well written.
July 11, 2014
Not as good as other books I have read by this author, but stii an enjoyable read,
April 1, 2015
I wanted to like this but I didn't really engage with it & found myself skimming through it. The only book I've really loved (& hopefully it's sequel) is Fearney.
December 13, 2021
An adventure through time, visionary fiction that may just make you a believer in reincarnation or, at the very least, a believer in our connection to the people who walked this earth before us.
November 3, 2014
Thought it was slow and out of date for my generation (40s)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews