The Solace of Silence is an 85,000-word crime novel. Former Sydney senior police officer James Duffield has found a sanctuary in a remote island in the Highlands of Scotland. Here he lives a quiet life and can shut out the noise and complexity of city life. His island is surrounded by a protective sea, and towered over by a black, moody mountain. He has eventually found a form of contentment and mostly keeps bad memories at bay. He writes, sometimes enjoys the company of his glamorous English girlfriend, has a beloved dog, and a wise fishing and mountain climbing friend. But it is all about to explode and blow apart his carefully-constructed defences, and force him to stare at the Australian past once again: the drunkenness, the murders, the failures, the crimes, the courtroom threats. The love he cannot forget. And an abandonment that broke his heart. Three people are about to invade his island. One has in mind a revenge killing. Another has the capacity to brutally expose his secrets. The third he loves, and must protect despite the hatred and animosity. Duffield is forced from his den, and now must fight back with every skill he once possessed as the toughest, most ruthless guy on the force. He has to fight with his head, but think with his heart.