Silence and Shadows

Patrick Kane is a man haunted by his past.

Now he hopes to take refuge from his memories, heading an archaeological dig in a Cotswold village, uncovering Roman mosaics. But there is something more tantalising in the soil of Wytchlow. It is only a myth, a local folk tale, sung one night by an otherwise mute man, the song of a Saxon queen buried close by. Yet it captures Patrick’s imagination as nothing has for years.

As the dig continues and the covering of the centuries is peeled back, Patrick finds himself falling in love with a beautiful local woman. He senses a connection between her and the lost queen – and soon discovers that his destiny is powerfully entwined with both of them.

Praise for FERNEY

‘A story of love and self-discovery that resonates across the ages’ - Nicholas Evans, author of The Horse Whisperer

‘The book grips . . . It belongs to the unputdownable, so goodbye sleep. I love it . . . the whole story sang’ - Mary Wesley

‘The book is a lovely puzzle, exploring landscape and the lives that shape it, and a profound comment on the way each generation adapts to change. An ambitious, enthralling novel with distinct echoes of Hardy’ - Mail on Sunday

and KNOWING MAX

‘James Long tackles the big stuff . . . but he keeps it all readable by skilfully timing his disclosures’ - Time Out

James Long is a brilliant storyteller with a fascination for the links between the past and the present, links seen in both human behaviour and the natural landscape. Silence and Shadows is his finest and most moving novel yet.