In general, no. The English language is very inconsistent. H There is one rule that is pretty consistent. When there's a single vowel+consonant+e, the final e is silent and the original vowel is pronounced by what the letter is called in the alphabet (as opposed to the sound it usually makes). For example, you'd think 'bike' would be 'bee-keh' by the spelling, but by the above rule the e is silent, and the 'i' is pronounced like the letter is said in the alphabet (ie. 'bai-k'). All rules in English aren't very reliable, but this one is most of the time. Rule, bike, like, kite, mute etc. If a word isn't spelled like this, assume it makes it's normal sound.

I agree with Jmat. The basic rule is that a silent 'e' means the vowel before the 'e' becomes long. bit (short) - bite (long) tap (short) - tape (long) pet (short) - Pete (long) ...and so on...