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A Stain on the Silence
What if a childless man in his forties discovers that he has a daughter, the result of an affair twenty-five years earlier? What if the daughter is pregnant? And what if she's on the run for murder?
James wasn't much more than a child when he had an affair with Lily. Now, 24 years later, Lily confesses to James that their affair led to a daughter, Kate. And Kate desperately needs her father's help, because she is wanted for murder. Yet there is no room for murder in James's life--he has a wife, a good job, and a nice house in the country. Kate comes crashing into his world, and lights the fuse under his ordered life. Because James has also been keeping a secret--a very dark and deadly one.
A Stain on the Silence is Andrew Taylor at his suspenseful, page-turning best.
James wasn't much more than a child when he had an affair with Lily. Now, 24 years later, Lily confesses to James that their affair led to a daughter, Kate. And Kate desperately needs her father's help, because she is wanted for murder. Yet there is no room for murder in James's life--he has a wife, a good job, and a nice house in the country. Kate comes crashing into his world, and lights the fuse under his ordered life. Because James has also been keeping a secret--a very dark and deadly one.
A Stain on the Silence is Andrew Taylor at his suspenseful, page-turning best.
384 pages, Paperback
First published May 30, 2006
About the author
Andrew Taylor
58 books755 followersAndrew Taylor (b. 1951) is a British author of mysteries. Born in East Anglia, he attended university at Cambridge before getting an MA in library sciences from University College London. His first novel, Caroline Miniscule (1982), a modern-day treasure hunt starring history student William Dougal, began an eight-book series and won Taylor wide critical acclaim. He has written several other thriller series, most notably the eight Lydmouthbooks, which begin with An Air That Kills (1994).
His other novels include The Office of the Dead (2000) and The American Boy (2003), both of which won the Crime Writers’ Association of Britain’s Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award, making Taylor the only author to receive the prize twice. His Roth trilogy, which has been published in omnibus form as Requiem for an Angel (2002), was adapted by the UK’s ITV for its television show Fallen Angel. Taylor’s most recent novel is the historical thriller The Scent of Death (2013).
His other novels include The Office of the Dead (2000) and The American Boy (2003), both of which won the Crime Writers’ Association of Britain’s Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award, making Taylor the only author to receive the prize twice. His Roth trilogy, which has been published in omnibus form as Requiem for an Angel (2002), was adapted by the UK’s ITV for its television show Fallen Angel. Taylor’s most recent novel is the historical thriller The Scent of Death (2013).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
February 26, 2018
3,5 stars
It wasn’t bad at all, I enjoyed myself and read it in a day.
BUT: it was very murder mystery painting by numbers. I knew the big plot twist early on as well as most plot points that happened.
I also don‘t like it when drama is created artificially by making people not say very obvious things. I hate that!!!
It wasn’t bad at all, I enjoyed myself and read it in a day.
BUT: it was very murder mystery painting by numbers. I knew the big plot twist early on as well as most plot points that happened.
I also don‘t like it when drama is created artificially by making people not say very obvious things. I hate that!!!
March 16, 2017
Readable, but I liked it less and less as I went along. It grabbed me at first, but as it goes along all the characters are revealed as less and less likeable and the story gets darker and darker. Incidentally all the motives for the whodunit get more muddled and less sensible. And then there's a kicker at the end that just cancels everything out, which left me not feeling like the mystery fooled me, but that it cheated me. Then it doesn't end, it just stops right in the middle of a big mess.
December 26, 2017
For me the line between thrillers that keep me intrigued, wondering what the explanations of the several strands of mysteries are and one that sets out to deliberately disturb, is a slender one. This managed it well. Where it did fall down was the occasional naivety of Jamie and, ultimately that the ending appeared to me at least, to be foggy. Well structured.
May 10, 2016
Andrew Taylor’s A Stain on the Silence is closer to a psychological thriller than a fast action story, but I nonetheless found myself dragged rapidly through its pages.
James – the story’s narrator - is a normal bloke with a rocky marriage. As the story unfolds, a series of flashbacks to his childhood reveal how James’ relationship with Lily, his best-friend’s stepmother, developed with disastrous consequences. The death of a girl – we don’t learn who she is until later – hangs over the story like a growing storm cloud from the very opening page.
The present-day storyline with which the flashbacks are interspersed starts when Lily phones James from her hospice deathbed, the first time they’ve spoken since his childhood. When he subsequently visits, she reveals she has a daughter, conceived from their illicit love affair when he was sixteen. The girl is in difficulty, and Lily persuades James to help.
Trouble comes in the form of Lily’s stepson, the violent and somewhat deranged Carlo, who had been James’ best friend. Carlo wants possession of a large plot of land originally owned by his father, but Lily’s daughter stands in his way. As James fulfils his promise to help her, he is forced to confront, not only a vicious Carlo, but also the buried horrors of his own past.
Andrew Taylor is clearly a master story teller, with a great ability to draw the reader into the pages of his book and to hold us there to the final full stop. A highly enjoyable psychological thriller that is a great read, even if you normally prefer adrenalin-pumped suspense stories.
James – the story’s narrator - is a normal bloke with a rocky marriage. As the story unfolds, a series of flashbacks to his childhood reveal how James’ relationship with Lily, his best-friend’s stepmother, developed with disastrous consequences. The death of a girl – we don’t learn who she is until later – hangs over the story like a growing storm cloud from the very opening page.
The present-day storyline with which the flashbacks are interspersed starts when Lily phones James from her hospice deathbed, the first time they’ve spoken since his childhood. When he subsequently visits, she reveals she has a daughter, conceived from their illicit love affair when he was sixteen. The girl is in difficulty, and Lily persuades James to help.
Trouble comes in the form of Lily’s stepson, the violent and somewhat deranged Carlo, who had been James’ best friend. Carlo wants possession of a large plot of land originally owned by his father, but Lily’s daughter stands in his way. As James fulfils his promise to help her, he is forced to confront, not only a vicious Carlo, but also the buried horrors of his own past.
Andrew Taylor is clearly a master story teller, with a great ability to draw the reader into the pages of his book and to hold us there to the final full stop. A highly enjoyable psychological thriller that is a great read, even if you normally prefer adrenalin-pumped suspense stories.
December 11, 2009
I am a huge Andrew Taylor fan. I think he is one of the best writers around, his prose as clear, limpid and sharp as an icy stream. His people are always well delineated, consistent yet quirky, surprising yet predictable in the way that human nature can be predictable. I never find myself thinking: I don't believe this character would think or do that! I don't think he stuck in some action because he needed to for the plot! Everything flows from an honest well spring of psychological reality.
That said, A Stain on the Silence was not one of my favorites. Taylor's style is to unsparingly confront the most selfish strains in human nature; and sometimes this makes for a cold, and not necessarily bracing, experience. What saves most of his books is that he generally gives his flawed characters attributes that make them intermittently sympathetic, or relatable, despite their flaws, or balances these characters with other characters who display traits of warmth and humor. But in this novel I have the sense that he became so involved in the "what ifs" of the plot (which is extremely labyrinthian) that he didn't spend the time and effort on his characters as he usually.
As always, he kept me reading without respite, and even second rate Andrew Taylor is better than most first rate efforts by other authors; there are simply other books of his I much prefer, like the Roth Trilogy and An American Boy, to name only a few.
That said, A Stain on the Silence was not one of my favorites. Taylor's style is to unsparingly confront the most selfish strains in human nature; and sometimes this makes for a cold, and not necessarily bracing, experience. What saves most of his books is that he generally gives his flawed characters attributes that make them intermittently sympathetic, or relatable, despite their flaws, or balances these characters with other characters who display traits of warmth and humor. But in this novel I have the sense that he became so involved in the "what ifs" of the plot (which is extremely labyrinthian) that he didn't spend the time and effort on his characters as he usually.
As always, he kept me reading without respite, and even second rate Andrew Taylor is better than most first rate efforts by other authors; there are simply other books of his I much prefer, like the Roth Trilogy and An American Boy, to name only a few.
December 18, 2019
Finished reading the book and I was left with the thought of "that's it??!" I found that as the reader, we were left with more questions than answers.
It starts off with James going to visit Lily, someone from his teenage past, who is basically on her deathbed. She suddenly reveals that they have a daughter (which she kept secret for like 20 years) and that said daughter was in trouble. So the daughter, Kate, is apparently in a pickle, as it turns out she is accused of killing her boyfriend. And that is where the story starts rambling on and gets darker and darker.
I honestly did not connect with any of the characters, nor do I like them. They were very bland and nothing was making sense for the longest time. There is something definitely very wrong with Katie and Carlo. Overall, I would give this book a hard pass.
It starts off with James going to visit Lily, someone from his teenage past, who is basically on her deathbed. She suddenly reveals that they have a daughter (which she kept secret for like 20 years) and that said daughter was in trouble. So the daughter, Kate, is apparently in a pickle, as it turns out she is accused of killing her boyfriend. And that is where the story starts rambling on and gets darker and darker.
I honestly did not connect with any of the characters, nor do I like them. They were very bland and nothing was making sense for the longest time. There is something definitely very wrong with Katie and Carlo. Overall, I would give this book a hard pass.
January 15, 2011
I really enjoyed this book. It was fast-paced and kept my interest throughout, despite the sometimes farfetched plot. It was a fun read, the only thing that disappointed was how it ended. Talk about an open ending.
May 12, 2019
I seldom put a book down once I have started, but I actually threw this one down in frustration not even a quarter of the way through.
Sorry Andrew Taylor, definitely not your best effort, and hopefully your worst.
Sorry Andrew Taylor, definitely not your best effort, and hopefully your worst.
June 1, 2020
Totally unbelievable tripe, I read it all but lost interest in anything or anyone of the characters. The writer is insulting our intelligence, with a questionable plot and stupid innuendo situations.
Couldn’t wait to bin it, where it has duly been dispatched. Poor, poor and thrice poor.
Couldn’t wait to bin it, where it has duly been dispatched. Poor, poor and thrice poor.
September 4, 2020
Taylor has a way with words, and his writing style deserves a higher rating. Unfortunately, the subject matter - an affair between a teen and the mother of his friend, with the horrible accidental death of another child as a side effect - was rather outside of my comfort zone. I hoped, as the novel progressed, to discover that Felicity had somehow survived, but when that did not happen, it was difficult for me to understand how two people could be complicit in another's untimely demise and go on as usual for twenty-five years. Neither did I understand the main character's devotion to his murderous faux daughter, at the probable cost of his marriage. Yet based on the writing style and characterizations, I intend to read another book by this author in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2021
Andrew Taylor is an excellent writer and much of this thriller has the style and panache I expect from his books. However, while all the ingredients, twists and timing are beautifully combined the end result felt a bit meh!! Maybe its because this seems too familiar and overdone. The characters are the type that inhabit most psychological thrillers and that means flawed and a bit exasperating. If I had been able to connect and empathise with the characters this might have been a very powerful read but overall it was entertaining \(and at times gripping) but in the end I didn't care much about what happened in the final 50 pages or so.
March 17, 2022
Meh, I am not sure how you even begin to pen such a tale. This is a messed up group of people who have been keeping secrets forever, yet some of their secrets are lies and others and to be believed. All in all you really never know which, but it is written in a way not to keep you guessing or even put answers at your fingertips but to keep you annoyed and making you reread pieces to see if you missed something, because obviously something is missing and not explained. But alas, you did not miss something, it is just a mess, just like the characters. No need to read this one, it is a jumble and not a very intriguing one.
Read
October 19, 2024Jamie moet van zijn terminale jeugdavontuur Lily zijn zogezegde dochter Kate helpen nadat haar halfbroer Carlo haar lover Sean mischien doodgeslagen heeft. Zijn vrouw Nicky verlaat hem na stokerij van Miranda de vriendin van Felicity, zus van Carlo, die Jamie doodgereden heeft. Carlo will Jamie wurgen maar wordt door Kate doodgestoken. Allemaal "accidents"
October 23, 2022
This was not a good book. A mystery with so many loose ends and the story is all over the place. I don’t even know how to begin to write about this book. The character development simply doesn’t exist. Even the ending will leave you feeling completely disappointed. It was just not good.
October 14, 2018
Not as good as it set out to be, an unlikeable hero, and an improbable cast of characters.
July 6, 2020
suspenseful novel but sometimes found his transition back and forth between present and past a little cumbersome.
January 27, 2022
The always frustrating, sometimes boring book speeds up towards an ending that is much like the affairs contained within: unfinished & underwhelming. Miranda sucks. That is all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2023
could not get into this book.
August 7, 2025
Very confusing book
Didi not like it
Didi not like it
July 19, 2026
Couldn’t get into this, no appealing character in any way to help carry it through. Disappointing, as Mr Taylor’s later works are much better.
July 2, 2008
James and Nicky are a happily married couple, no kids, new big fancy house, everything seemingly idyllic between them. Until the day that James receives a call on his mobile: “Jamie .... It's me!”. The only woman who has ever called him Jamie was Lily Murthington. When James was a young boy his father was killed in a car accident and his mother worked overseas, eventually remarrying. James was bundled off to boarding school where he met Carlo Murthington. Carlo had a younger sister, Felicity and a stepmother – Lily. James spent a lot of school holidays with the Murthington family, but he hasn't heard from any of them, including Carlo, for over 20 years. Lily is dying and she needs to see him urgently. Along with the shock of visiting the dying Lily, she tells Jamie that the affair they had when he was sixteen, had produced a daughter that she never told him about and that daughter – Kate – needs his help. Kate is pregnant and she thinks she might be suspected of murdering Sean, the baby's father.
The return of a dying Lily to his life and Kate's emergency befuddles James and he can't process this sudden upheaval and does not want to get involved. Kate follows him home however, confronting him. She needs his help to hide, she says she didn't kill Sean, but Carlo did and Carlo is now after her. James finds himself woven into more and more craziness as Nicky hears that he has been seen with a young attractive women and leaps to the conclusion that James is having an affair. Kate disappears, Nicky disappears, Lily gets more gravely ill, Carlo re-appears, Sean's body can't be found, Sean's wife appears with two small children and the past re-emerges. Whilst his current life just seems to lurch from one bizarre situation to another, James remembers that past and what got him to this point – his lonely childhood; the friendship of the Murthington's; his attraction to Lily as he grows from a small boy to a teenager; the tensions in the Murthingon family, Carlo and his sister.
A STAIN ON THE SILENCE moves rapidly, through an increasingly bewildering series of events. It seems that there are connections between everything and everybody, past and present. It's also apparent that more than one person isn't telling the truth. Really there is nobody much in the entire book that you could like much and you certainly don't feel that you can trust anybody. James is increasingly dragged back into the Murthington's lives where there is a boiling and bubbling resentment and hatred amongst them all. There's an overwhelming feeling of manipulation and sheer nastiness in a lot of these characters, in fact it's one of those books where you struggle to find anybody that you could say you like much. Interesting people sure, but not exactly likeable.
The prose and style of the book is very engaging. It's a real mark of a good author who can present you with a story that's full of the bleakness of human cruelty, nastiness and treachery and keep you reading.
The return of a dying Lily to his life and Kate's emergency befuddles James and he can't process this sudden upheaval and does not want to get involved. Kate follows him home however, confronting him. She needs his help to hide, she says she didn't kill Sean, but Carlo did and Carlo is now after her. James finds himself woven into more and more craziness as Nicky hears that he has been seen with a young attractive women and leaps to the conclusion that James is having an affair. Kate disappears, Nicky disappears, Lily gets more gravely ill, Carlo re-appears, Sean's body can't be found, Sean's wife appears with two small children and the past re-emerges. Whilst his current life just seems to lurch from one bizarre situation to another, James remembers that past and what got him to this point – his lonely childhood; the friendship of the Murthington's; his attraction to Lily as he grows from a small boy to a teenager; the tensions in the Murthingon family, Carlo and his sister.
A STAIN ON THE SILENCE moves rapidly, through an increasingly bewildering series of events. It seems that there are connections between everything and everybody, past and present. It's also apparent that more than one person isn't telling the truth. Really there is nobody much in the entire book that you could like much and you certainly don't feel that you can trust anybody. James is increasingly dragged back into the Murthington's lives where there is a boiling and bubbling resentment and hatred amongst them all. There's an overwhelming feeling of manipulation and sheer nastiness in a lot of these characters, in fact it's one of those books where you struggle to find anybody that you could say you like much. Interesting people sure, but not exactly likeable.
The prose and style of the book is very engaging. It's a real mark of a good author who can present you with a story that's full of the bleakness of human cruelty, nastiness and treachery and keep you reading.
February 24, 2010
I say really!? lol.
I found this book pretty random. And not quite in a good way. Would you after 20 some odd years accept that you have a daughter? And help her out when she's related in a murder?! Then of course the wife finds out about this young bimbo and of course he's having an affair. And what's the best way to convince your wife that you aren't having an affair?! OH YES! By saying you can't tell her but she has to trust you! Of course! How could I have been so dumb.
However, the ending had kind of a cool twist that I didn't see coming. I'm assuming others could have though. So - I did enjoy the ending. And it wasn't a bad read. I liked reading more about his past life then his current life. Again, until the end of the book.
And what was up with them randomly taking in some woman and her children!? So weird. lol
I found this book pretty random. And not quite in a good way. Would you after 20 some odd years accept that you have a daughter? And help her out when she's related in a murder?! Then of course the wife finds out about this young bimbo and of course he's having an affair. And what's the best way to convince your wife that you aren't having an affair?! OH YES! By saying you can't tell her but she has to trust you! Of course! How could I have been so dumb.
However, the ending had kind of a cool twist that I didn't see coming. I'm assuming others could have though. So - I did enjoy the ending. And it wasn't a bad read. I liked reading more about his past life then his current life. Again, until the end of the book.
And what was up with them randomly taking in some woman and her children!? So weird. lol
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 16, 2012
Sorry to say, this was a big disappointment to me. I continued to read, just from frustration. I was confident it would round into something I could appreciate ... a great ending, a surprise. Something. I didn't like the characters, found the writing style to be annoying ... a continued narrator-conceit that he knew everything and would reveal very slowly to the reader, yet spoke of all the key points as if the reader knew them. So yes, I continued to read because I knew Taylor would reveal 'what the fox' was 'what the chain' meant 'what Felicity's story' was ... eventually. It's a ploy that might please readers, but it didn't please me. And yet, I kept reading, so it didn't put-me-off so much that I closed the book early.
I understand readers do enjoy other Andrew Taylor titles and I look forward to trying another - in fact, I've purchased two more. Fingers crossed.
I understand readers do enjoy other Andrew Taylor titles and I look forward to trying another - in fact, I've purchased two more. Fingers crossed.
November 4, 2013
I like it, but there wasn't that much thrill considering it is supposed to be a thriller.
I hated the ending. It was far too abrupt with too many things left unexplained like what really happened to Felicity. Also the brutal sudden murder of Carlos seemed to be just tossed in there.
All in all I like it. I liked the author's style of writing. I looked up some of his other books and will try another since many other fans of his work state that this was not one of his best books.
I hated the ending. It was far too abrupt with too many things left unexplained like what really happened to Felicity. Also the brutal sudden murder of Carlos seemed to be just tossed in there.
All in all I like it. I liked the author's style of writing. I looked up some of his other books and will try another since many other fans of his work state that this was not one of his best books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2014
I really enjoyed this book. It was well-written, full of action and twists and turns in every chapter. All the makings of a good, suspenseful crime thriller. But when it came to the end, when the story's supposed to come together, it just didn't. It has an abrupt and confusing ending that left me wanting A LOT more. I'm finding this a lot recently with crime thrillers. I love trying to figure out the story as I read it, but the endings just let me down.
December 31, 2019
Poorly written - didn't finish
September 3, 2011
Easy to read "who-dunnit" ... actually, more of a "who's-telling-the-truth?". Not up there with some of Andrew Taylor's other books, but sometimes I just want a simple 'holiday' read, and this one fits the bill.
March 19, 2010
I thought the book was very slow going, but for some reason still couldn't stop reading it. It was an odd cast of charaters, but I would have a hard time recommending this to others.
June 14, 2010
Finally finished this book. It took me longer than it should have, but that may not be the fault of the story. In any case, some interesting twists at the end, which made me keep going!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews