Suspenseful and interesting read. I love Bridget Collins for her sense of style and how she creates such atmosphere in her books. I think I will read everything she publishes!

A dual timeline gothic mystery with original plot and intense relationship building. We are immersed into the 1820s via the diary of Sophia, who details her husbands obsession with a mythical spider. The hunt takes them to a Greek island , where the mystical creature lives. it spins a web with magical qualities. Sophia spends her days with the mesmerising Hira, with whom she shares a deep connection. Decades later, the diary is discovered by Henry, a widower in deep grief, who is sent to do a hearing test on a deaf child of a wealthy factory owner, who is obsessed with taking the mystical silk into mass trade regardless of the human cost and consequences. The Silk and its owner spellinomd Henry. The Silence Factory is a captivating read. #thesilencefactory #brdgetcollins #netgalley

A really good historical, gothic read that has since wonderful twists and turns. I loved the dual pov’s and the characters themselves! It is a really original story, and quite eerie!

I don’t do historical fiction but love a Bridget Collins book?!
I loved this so different and unusual,
Totally recommend this book and 5 🌟 from me.

This was a great read! I loved The Binding so had high hopes for this. I loved the dark atmosphere of the book and the writing was easy to follow. Definitely recommend if you enjoy historical books.

This took a little while for me to get into - it’s an interesting read with an intriguing plot but I wouldn’t call it a page turner.

I unfortunately was not a big fan of this book. Took me a while to get into it and I couldnt finish it.

The title and cover really drew me in, the when I read the synopsis I couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

But it’s a very slow book, 25% through and I already want to skip through to find out if anything is going to happen. The description is good and the multiple points of view are interesting and add depth to the story but the overall story is very lacklustre and just meh.
I read The Binding by Bridget Collins and I have that 3*. But I wanted to give another one of her books a go but I just don’t think I like her writing style and slow plots and slow character/world building

Collins’ lush storytelling is both atmospheric and hypnotic, drawing readers into a world where the boundaries between reality and the supernatural blur. The dual timelines enrich the narrative, offering contrasting yet interconnected stories that enhance the novel’s depth. At so many moments, it could almost be a love story, but instead it is a story fraught with obsession and moral ambiguity, a delicate balance between ambition and ethics.

The Silence Factory is a testament to Collins’ ability to craft a narrative that is both enchanting and unsettling, inviting readers to explore the human cost that lies beneath the veneer of progress and discovery.

The Binding is one of my favourite books so I was excited to read this. Unfortunately, this one didn't work so well for me. I never really liked any of the characters enough, and just found myself reading to see how this was going to end. A little disappointing.

I love pretty much everything this author writes and this was no exception. It's really clever. Her world building is first class.

I really enjoyed The Silence Factory. The story was intriguing and I loved how unique it was. The premise of magic silk had me intrigued and the characters as well as the storyline had me hooked.
I really loved how The Silence Factory was written, it was done beautifully and it had a full description that painted the scenes with great creativity. As I was reading I could picture it all playing out and it had me gripped to the last page. The characters were all created uniquely and brought the story together. I especially loved the portrayal of Henry Latimer and how he was dedicated to the ins and outs of the silk and I loved what unravelled. The storyline with it's characters weaved a riveting story and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I wish I had loved this one, also wish I had DNFd at the start when I felt like doing it. I am usually a huge fan of Bridget Collins and this book sounded brilliant - but I just got bored as it was so slow.

The description of this book heavily intrigued me, the idea was so new and innovative that I was very excited to read.

It did not disappoint, the relationships shown in the book are beautiful and tragic. The book raises every emotion and captures your heart an unexpected moments.

At times it makes you feel on edge but it’s a real page turner and I would definitely recommend for a mysterious tense read!

The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins, was an utterly captivating experience that transported me into a world of mystery and intrigue. Collins masterfully weaves a narrative that is both haunting and enchanting, making it difficult to put the book down.

The story unfolds through two intertwined timelines. In the early 19th century, we follow Sophia Ashmore-Percy, who accompanies her husband to a remote Greek island in search of rare biological specimens. Sophia’s journey of self-discovery and the secrets she uncovers are both compelling and thought-provoking. Decades later, in Victorian England, audiologist Henry Latimer is summoned to the estate of Sir Edward Ashmore-Percy to treat his daughter, Philomel, who is deaf. Henry becomes increasingly fascinated by Sir Edward’s production of a unique silk spun from a rare breed of spiders—silk that has the uncanny ability to muffle sound completely. As Henry delves deeper into the origins of this silk, he uncovers dark family secrets and faces moral dilemmas that challenge his very being.

Collins’s prose is lyrical and evocative, painting vivid images of the eerie factory and the enigmatic silk. The gothic atmosphere is palpable, immersing the reader in a world where silence holds power and secrets are woven into the very fabric of society. The characters are richly developed, each grappling with their own desires and fears, making their journeys deeply resonant.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book rather disturbing, a creepy but highly addictive novel that’s you’ll be thinking about long after it’s over. Not my usual thing but I have to say it was fantastic and I’m going to look for more by the author!

The entire story was so immersive, both the present and the past. It's a scary reality to imagine yourself in but I love the way all the characters interacted with the world building. Henry is an extremely unreliable narrator and most of his decisions and actions were moronic and yet he makes you feel like he's a sad, kicked puppy. The pure dismissal of women and misogynistic tendencies grated on my nerves at times but other than that an amazing experience overall.

Firstly, I fell in love with the cover – what a gorgeous cover! Secondly, I fell in love with Bridget Collins’s language and the way she weaves words together – she is a great storyteller. There was no “thirdly”. Sadly, what started for me as a five-stars book quickly deteriorated to three weak stars (and then I remembered that I, actually, hated “The Betrayals”).

The story is told from the point of view of two different characters (interesting how both ended up “questioning” their sexual attractions, these “twists”, I thought, were introduced just to tick the zeitgeist boxes). I note some of my fellow reviewers complain that the story of Sophia Ashmore-Percy (told through her diary) was inconclusive and ended abruptly. For me, it all was self-explanatory and was tied well together at the end. Similarly, the story of the second protagonist, Henry, was told to its optimistic conclusion. Sadly, in my opinion, both characters were quite lacklustre, a pair of wet blankets if you will, and I did not care for their destiny. I also did not care for the silk factories. What was supposed to make me scared (it is a gothic novel!) – did not scare me at all. I think it would be a different story for an agoraphobe.

Sadly, although the premise was somewhat interesting and I did enjoy the language and pace, I just couldn't connect with the book due to feeble portrayals of characters, weak storyline and chaotic last 25% of the book (the factory scenes). “The Silence Factory” promised me so much and delivered little.

I am grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of the book to review.

Another day, another excellent audiobook: ‘The Silence Factory’ by Bridget Collins.

Premise: rare Greek spiders weave extraordinary silk: the right side of cloth made from it offers a sanctuary from the clamour of C19th life; the wrong side resonates with sounds that will send you mad.

It follows Henry Latimer, a lost soul who finds new purpose when Sir Edward, owner of the world’s only silent silk factory, walks into his hearing aid shop and asks him to see if anything can be done to cure his daughter’s deafness. Woven into Henry’s narrative are the diaries of Sophia, who discovered the spiders a generation previously on a Greek island.

The historical detail is spot on and never too much - every nugget supports the story. There was also, for me, just enough ‘science’ to make the premise convincing, and it served as a perfect platform from which to explore how sound and silence affect our minds, bodies, and livelihoods - and who controls them.

Set between a factory town in Devon and on the Greek island where the spiders have lived peacefully for centuries, it has compelling characters who felt of their time but still relatable, dialogue that zips along even when dealing with heavier ‘scientific’ details, and page-turning pacing. If you like action-packed endings and love twists but don’t want to see them coming, this is a good one.

I particularly loved the ‘industrial Gothic’ feel to the plot: all the chilling aspects of Victorian factories combined with sublime forces of nature that are barely - if at all - under human control. The spiders are not the scary part; the people are.

The Silence Factory is such a wonderful book, It is packed with rich beautiful writing that draws you in and envelops you in its historic world. I was engrossed from the outset.