The Silence Before Thunder

By Kathy Shuker

It’s midsummer and the annual writing workshops are about to begin at the sprawling Devon home of novelist Eleanor Lambe. A group of old friends arrive to act as tutors, bringing past rivalries and resentments with them. They include Eleanor’s former lover, the charismatic poet Frank Marwell, and his new fiancée.

The same night, Eleanor falls from her clifftop garden and lies in hospital, damaged, silent. Gossip says she jumped; the police rule out foul play. Her niece, Jo, sits at her bedside, waiting. Messy, complicated relationships mean tensions run high, made worse when Jo starts asking awkward questions.

But what really happened that night? And will Eleanor ever remember?


A sensitively told and compelling mystery, infused with vivid characters, heartache, loss and a dash of humour.