The Silent House


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.5 stars; 137 reviews)

A mystery about a "locked door" murder committed in a house that has a reputation for being haunted. In the first half of the book, the murderer appears to be easy to figure out. The second half of the book, however, is filled with plot twists and mistaken identities and thus complicates the mystery much more. (Summary by cherly) (8 hr 7 min)

Chapters

01 - The Tenant of the Silent House 12:55 Read by Elena
02 - Shadows on the Blind 14:12 Read by Monica Knuppe
03 - An Unsatisfactory Explanation 12:26 Read by Delmar H Dolbier
04 - Mrs. Kebbys Discovery 12:37 Read by Elena
05 - The Talk of the Town 11:36 Read by Elena
06 - Mrs. Vrains Story 12:02 Read by Elena
07 - The Assurance Money 12:54 Read by Mary Herndon Bell
08 - Diana Vrain 14:57 Read by Jules Hawryluk
09 - A Marriage That Was a Failure 15:06 Read by Jules Hawryluk
10 - The Parti-Coloured Ribbon 16:26 Read by Jules Hawryluk
11 - Further Discoveries 14:27 Read by Jules Hawryluk
12 - The Veil and Its Owner 12:35 Read by A. J. Carroll
13 - Gossip 12:23 Read by A. J. Carroll
14 - The House in Jersey Street 13:12 Read by gsolgaard
15 - Rhoda and the Cloak 15:30 Read by Jules Hawryluk
16 - Mrs. Vrain at Bay 16:13 Read by Jules Hawryluk
17 - A Denial 14:32 Read by Jules Hawryluk
18 - Who Bought the Cloak? 16:01 Read by Jules Hawryluk
19 - The Defence of Count Ferruci 16:31 Read by Jules Hawryluk
20 - A New Development 13:31 Read by Mary Herndon Bell
21 - Two Months Pass 14:54 Read by Mary Herndon Bell
22 - At Berwin Manor 16:11 Read by Mary Herndon Bell
23 - A Startling Theory 14:11 Read by Mary Herndon Bell
24 - Lucian Is Surprised 18:18 Read by Ted Nugent
25 - A Dark Plot 13:06 Read by jemtman
26 - The Other Man\'s Wife 14:11 Read by Jules Hawryluk
27 - A Confession 19:13 Read by Jules Hawryluk
28 - The Name of the Assassin 16:41 Read by Jules Hawryluk
29 - Link Sets a Trap 13:15 Read by Amanda Friday
30 - Who Fell into the Trap 12:17 Read by Amanda Friday
31 - A Strange Confession 15:43 Read by Mary Herndon Bell
32 - The Confession (continued) 15:38 Read by Mary Herndon Bell
33 - What Rhoda Had to Say 10:33 Read by Amanda Friday
34 - The End of It All 13:25 Read by Ashley LeBlanc

Reviews

Audio quality


(0 stars)

I do assure you that we spend a lot of time helping readers obtain the best audio quality from the equipment they have available. Unfortunately it is just a fact that some mics and computers yield much better audio quality than others. In addition, software solutions for noise removal have improved a lot in the last few years, and so you may well find that some earlier recordings are of lower audio quality than more recent recordings. Ruth

It was too drawn out, but still a good book


(3.5 stars)

It was too drawn out, but still a good book.

love this mystery


(5 stars)

great story. 5 stars

Good story.


(4 stars)

The ending didn't sit well with me, seemed like a hasty wrapping up in my opinion. Nonetheless, the story is sound and very entertaining. As always, multiple readers must be taken on their own merits, not everyone reads alike. But hey, focus on the positives of each one and it won't be so rough adapting to the different styles mid-story.

good mystery,


(4 stars)

Always thankful Ruth, for your replies of important information and gentle admonishments. 2.23.14 Very good choice. The majority of the readers performed admirably. Librivox reader Elena stands out for me. Her young(assumption) voice is advanced in speaking, correct enunciation, clear, subtle vocal modulations to convey emotion, and an attractive voice to listen to. I am pleased to find more good north american voices as of late. Now I feel less pressed to find British readers, and can concentrate more on the types of audio I need or desire to listen too. But my gratitude to all readers, whatever accents,english as a second language, etc to give to us for whatever reason have to or want to be read to, and for free. In this artificially wrecked economy which favors the powerful few, many of us can't afford audio books, or due to disability or lack of transport, can't go to the public libraries(being a recluse and not been to the public library in a decade, I have heard second hand that much multimedia has been drastically cut back or "culled" for the yearly library "book sale"). Thank you so much librivox and internet archive. by the way: I have heard several excellent readers but the audio quality was so poor I could not concentrate. I hope there is more helpfulness than competition at librivox. Why don't other readers or staff, try to help others who have poor audio equipment or perhaps its just contacting one another with information how to improve the recording quality on a simple computer by adjusting open or hidden audio settings. I wish I could help but I sound so "dead pan" a reader, partially deaf, and a computer dummy. dahszil male usa

Good murder mystery


(4 stars)

The mysterious Mr. Vrain is found murdered in #13, known as the Silent House. The house appears to be locked from the inside when the body is found. The police give the case up as unsolvable, however, the daughter of Mr. Vrain does not accept this. She enlists the help of a local barrister and neighbor to her father to track down the murderer. Complications are aplenty, as Mr Vrain had been married to a much younger woman who apparently had a lover. Is Mr. Vrain a casualty of the hauntings at the Silent House? Or is someone close to him behind the murder? The readers are mostly good, with a few rough chapters. Echo sounds are painful on the ears when replayed, and a few of the chapters have that, but overall it's pretty good. Enjoy!


(2 stars)

I'm sorry but the plot line is so random and weird. There's fraud involved in the plot and also mistaken identity or maybe rather false identity. I know false identity is to confuse the determined sleuth but in this book the false identity made it way too confusing and not very interesting. I'm still not sure what the whole point of the book was.

twist ending


(5 stars)

This book is typical of it's era. Several clever twists towards the end. The readers did a fine job. At chapter 24, you may want to speed up a little as the reader is pretty slow, but that's the only time it happens.