Something new, but still very much Jodi Taylor!

Any additional comments?

I don't know how she keeps doing it! Every time I get to read (er, listen to) Ms. Taylor's latest scribblings, I'm being welcomed home by characters and humor and phrasing that feel like cozy, old friends. Yet. somehow, my socks are nevertheless knocked off by twists and turns. Since the Chronicles of St. Mary's series is so genre blending, and with Frogmorton and Bachelor Establishment being such smart mysteries, I knew she could more than handle this foray into supernatural thriller, but I was blown away at how she can still shock me with the direction her story goes. I didn't realize until the very last 10 min of the book that my shoulders had been steadily rising throughout the story, inching closer to my ears as I tried to contain my suspense. I honestly wanted to throw something across the room when it ended - plenty was resolved, but SO MUCH was left to explore and figure out with Elizabeth Cage - so now begins the torturous wait for the next installment!

I will forever purchase everything ever written by Ms. Taylor; my trust in her storytelling is absolute.

The narrator, Kate Scarfe, did a pretty spectacular job of injecting plenty of suspense, strength, and humanity into the story. A note about the sound engineering, however: I found that this particular audiobook was much more quiet than others - Ms. Scarfe was obviously keeping her narration volume appropriate for the story, but even at the loudest volume settings (phone, PC, car speakers, ear buds, etc.) it was still very quiet, and easily overpowered by any ambient noise around me. Didn't ruin the experience, just wanted to make a note.

66 people found this helpful

Probably closer to 3 1/2 stars on story

I enjoyed this book - of course, I've enjoyed every book by Jodi Taylor. It has a lot of the supernatural in it. The dialog is amazing. The characters are fantastic. But the plot is kind of unconnected. It's a series of wildly intriguing events, but it doesn't feel like it's working towards any real, concrete, unified solution at the end of the book. Nothing really ties it all together. The ending of the book was, to me, a little disappointing and a little frustrating. The last two chapters in particular were not my favorite. Still, the characters were amazing, and the writing was excellent - there were moments when I couldn't put it down and moments when I got so excited or worried for the characters that I had to stop and take a few calming breaths.

For me, this book was worth it - though I personally value well written characters above a well written plot. And the plot isn't terrible, it's just kind of strange and it doesn't tie everything up with a neat bow like I expected. The ending doesn't feel final, but I still think the book was worth the read.

Kate Scarfe did an absolutely brilliant job - she put a lot of emotion into the characters, and they all had distinct voices. When the plot called upon her to do accents, she did amazingly. I'll definitely be checking out other books narrated by her.

18 people found this helpful

Not for everybody

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

Kate Scarfe is a fantastic narrator! There was never any doubt as to which character was speaking and her flair for drama is spot on for this book.

Any additional comments?

I am a HUGE Jodi Taylor fan and have read her other books & short stories multiple times. This book, however, is a step too far for me. I don't know if it's my age (70+) or my nature but I don't like being frightened. I expected to be jerked around emotionally because that's the way the St. Mary's Chronicles rolls, but I don't like to be frightened. And this was scary enough that I turned it off the first night. Because I wanted to give it every chance I listened later in bits and spurts. Her main character is most appealing but whatever the Cosmos has in store for Elizabeth won't be on my radar.

65 people found this helpful

A new series from the creator of St. Mary's

The apparent start of a new series (The "Book 1" in the title was a clue there).
Elizabeth Cage is a woman with a secret talent and no end of people who want to use her for it. The writing here is crisp and clever. The plot is engrossing. The story itself however, seems to be a little bit of everything from a love story, to a ghost story, to a spy novel, to a horror story, to female empowerment.

Really.

And I still recommend it because the ride is worth it.
I also get the distinct impression that the entire novel is setting up a bigger story for Elizabeth.

I plan on being there to see it...you should too.

14 people found this helpful

Jodi Taylor on a downer

Up to now I have loved everything that Jodi Taylor has written - in addition to selecting amazing narrators, her characters are wonderfully complex and mostly people I would like to have as friends. The other thing I like is the way she combines crazy situations with a kind of logic that works despite the circumstances. At the onset, White Silence follows the structure - great narrator, interesting characters, and complex storyline. However, the overall tone is quite different - much darker than her St. Mary's series. This novel comes across as a dump of negative moods and characters, paranoia, and self-loathing. Even that, while not as much to my liking, is carried so well by her characters that I enjoyed most of the book. I can't explain what went wrong in detail without spoiling the story. Suffice to say that the characters and the plot fell apart at the end in way that I could not accept. As a minor issue, the audio recording was very soft - I had to turn the volume up all the way - the only audiobook I have ever had to do that for. While I look forward to all of her other series, I won't be following up with White Silence.

30 people found this helpful

Was loving this until the end. Terrible conclusion.

I'm not going to write a spoiler here but the dark and soul-less end of this book really ruined it for me. Really the last part of the book is crushing so why read it? No redemption offered. I'm a fan of the St. Mary's series which is light and even a bit silly but this is just....sad.

19 people found this helpful

Disjointed, aimless and disappointing

I love this author but this book appears to have been written by several people using derivative storylines that don’t make any sense and, even if they did, I’m not sure I would care. There is an unlikeable main character and highly improbable secondary characters randomly appearing in (queue the spooky music) supposedly terrifying situations. The premise had great promise but the entire story feels like an author trying out a new style and failing miserably.

8 people found this helpful

Awful

I don't even know how this book had such high ratings. I'm asking for a credit refund. It sounded amazing. It was the antithesis of amazing. Just don't.

14 people found this helpful

Wow!

I feel like I've been on an emotional rollercoaster, and now that it's over I'm going to get back in line to ride it again. Typical Jodi Taylor in terms of developing characters that have depth to them-- both eccentric and fragile, people trying to live their lives despite obstacles. But that's where this becomes anything but "typical." The twists and turns had me guessing (incorrectly) what might happen next.
I admit that I was already a fan of Jodi Taylor, but this book takes her to a new level. I highly recommend it

9 people found this helpful

Great start terrible ending

It feels like the author just gave up on the story about 3/4 in. It took a turn for the weird, and ruined the entire book for me.

2 people found this helpful