August 2023 Group Read: Silence for the Dead, by Simone St. James

[Nancy, Co-Moderator]

Discussion zone for Silence for the Dead, by Simone St. James. Have fun!

[Pam]

I borrowed an MP3 from OverDrive a few days ago; I started listening to it last night and could not put it down until I finished it ... 5*s!

[Jan C]

I received it in paperback yesterday. Haven't started yet.

[Franky]

I plan on picking up a copy at the library soon. I haven't read this author yet, but the synopsis of the novel and reviews make it sound intriguing. Hopefully I will get it either tomorrow or Monday and start reading.

[Cherie]

I have read Sundown Motel and also The Broken Girls by Simone St. James. I also finished this book. Enjoyed it!

[Janice (JG)]

I read The Sundown Motel and enjoyed it with its hauntings. I also enjoyed this book, tho' I was more interested this time in the historical references and the topic of psychotherapy than in the ghosts. She's an excellent writer, and I almost wish she would take on material that's a little heftier and outside the genre of ghosts... or, explore the history and idea of visions and appearances a little more in order to supply some validation.

[Franky]

I'm started a few days ago and am up to chapter 10. I am interested in figuring out why the narrator (Kitty) is so determined to stay here
at Portis House as a nurse, and find out what role Jack Yates will play in the mystery. It's pretty interesting so far.

[Donne]

I had never read anything by St James before but I really enjoyed this book (a 4star read) and I may check out some of her other work now. GR has labeled it a gothic/horror/paranormal/mystery, however, I would disregard the horror label. It's definitely not a horror story but certainly a gothic ghost story. The romance between two of the characters is pretty tame and PG rated.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Franky]

I'm about 3/4ths done and am intrigued to see what happens. I like how the books crosses a few genres in a way and I think the author successfully sets up the backdrop of this time period historically. To Donne's post, I really like the gothic vibes here.

[Ina]

I finished it yesterday. I liked it until the middle of the book and then I just didn't like the direction for some of the characters. It wasn't that realistic but up until that point, the book was very atmospheric, well written and had a lot of tension. I gave it three stars.

[Franky]

I just finished it as well. Overall I liked it mostly. It's a clean atmospheric, Gothic styled paranormal tale, which I am sort of a sucker for. It did seem like the "ending"/resolution happened pretty early and there was sort of detour in how I thought the direction would go, and then it was a tad anticlimactic resolution the final 50 pages or so. But, I liked the author's writing style and how she presents everything so effectively. Fun read and will look into more books from this author. It would be a good read for October and Halloween as well. 4 stars.