White Silence (Elizabeth Cage #1)

This book is the first in new series from Jodi Taylor. I am a devoted fan of the Chronicles of St. Marys time travel series, the Frogmorton Farm series, and A Bachelor Establishment written under her pseudonym. This book is not like those books. White Silence is creepy, frightening, and at times confusing. She writes trust no one and she means it. Were not even sure that we can trust our heroine. One of the things that I love about the other Jodi Taylor books is her humor. She can and will make you cry, but she will also make you laugh. There is barely a trace of humor in this book. I do not read horror or go to horror movies because I find it disturbing. There are significant elements of this book that leave the world of psychological thriller and pass fully into the realm of horror. Not surprisingly, Jodi Taylor writes horror with great talent so it is disturbing. Our main character is Elizabeth Cage who has an unusual talent for reading people and seeing things. She is interesting and someone that you can care about. But we are still left in confusion as to what happens in this book and where the series is headed. Much remains unexplained. All things are possible including dreams (terribly bad dreams), alternate time lines, or perhaps just a second chance. One curious factor is that Elizabeth finds her home in Rushford which is the same village that served as home and refuge at times in the Chronicles of St. Marys series. Perhaps at some point Dr. Sorenson and St. Marys will intersect. I could not put this book down, and I was grateful to be reading it straight through on a long travel day with flight delays that allowed me to finish it in daylight. The pacing is excellent and the writing fluid so the pages turn very quickly as the reader races to try to find out what is going on. Between ghosts, time ripples, escapes, conspiracy, kidnapping, auras, a creepy hospital, and threatening doctors (to just a list a few plot elements), there is a lot going on. Unfortunately, the ending did not provide much illumination. This book was challenging to me, and if it had been my first Jodi Taylor book it might have been my last. There is room in this universe for interesting and compelling stories without so much horror and I am sincerely hoping that the series shifts the balance more that direction. Meanwhile, I remain convinced of Jodi Taylors talent as a writer and I apologize to her for describing the Chronicles of St. Marys as a time travel series.

Three stars was a compromise. This is a good consistent four or five star writer, and the first book or a new series. If it were a one-shot novel by an author I hadn’t read, I’d have two-starred it. As it stands, I’ll buy one sequel and see.
What we have is a character of psychic abilities–range undetermined–entering into an almost LeCarre world of shady ethics and uncertain loyalties. Unfortunately, about a quarter of the book–interesting plot developments, revelations, new abilities and all–was invalidated later within the volume–not even reversed by time travel or parallel dimensions: it just never “really” happened. I like the narrative of Taylor’s–inevitably youngish female–narrators. I enjoy her personality development and plots. But no one does this to me.
If you haven’t, go back and read ALL her “Chronicles of St Mary’s” stories first. They’re a much better return on your investment. And maybe by then she’ll have written a sequel to this and redeemed herself.

I have loved her previous time-travel series, even when she needlessly killed off a favorite character, because those books are funny, with great character development and engaging plots. I looked forward to her new series. However, in this book, even the humor is muted. The logic of the actions is opaque– and in the end most (all?) events ‘did not really happen.” That is not playing fair with the reader.

I read everything she writes, and she never really disappoints. That being said . . . this reads as though it were written to be a serial, as opposed to being one stand-alone story. There are, in fact, several stand-alones in the book (two separate ghost stories, time travel, and a toasty scene of seduction through great food and Christmas) and no real climax. There IS what appears to be a climax, but it peters out in a highly unsatisfactory manner.

On the plus side: Taylor creates terrific characters in her leads, there is a lot of good dialogue and when the subplots are cooking along, they are all highly entertaining.

The minus? I have no clear idea about her main character. If the series continues, and I hope it does, it would be interesting to see her development.
Also, I will play dirty pool. Taylor has to be a fan of THE PRISONER.

Wow. Is there more coming?? I sincerely hope so!
I really wish I could say something profoundly intelligent, but I am a bit too stunned.
As with all of Jodi Taylor’s books, the writing is intriguing, humorous and completely engaging. The characters are fascinating, and world-building is deeply complex. In short, it’s Brilliant (with a capital B,) and her imagination is astonishing.
I was worried that I wouldn’t like it as much as the beloved St. Mary’s series since the subject matter seemed darker and more serious. Not to worry, though — like a truly talented actor who can successfully do drama or comedy — Jodi Taylor delights with another masterpiece!

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