The Sin Eater

June 25, 2012
Rayne follows Property of a Lady with another strong take on classic ghost stories. Once again, antiques dealer Nell West and her paramour, Oxford don Michael Flint, are drawn into a haunted house investigation when Nell is hired by Benedict Doyle to catalogue the house he’s inherited. Benedict is visited by the ghost of his great-grandfather, Declan, who was cursed when he agreed to be the titular absolver of sins for a disgraced priest killed by his friend Colm. Also in the mix is a chess set said to be cursed by the devil. Rayne expertly juggles academic research, multiple flashbacks, a series of twisted murders, and even some humor (much of it surrounding the cat Wilberforce), combining them into a fast-moving tale that recalls the gothic movement without aping it. The twists are often as melancholy as they are sudden, and the seriousness of Colm and Declan’s long-past adventures partner nicely with Nell and Michael’s developing relationship.

December 1, 2012
More than a century after some notable evildoing, an old dark house continues to cast frightening shadows upon its new owner. Benedict Doyle dreads his upcoming visit to the North London house he's set to inherit on his 21st birthday, weeks away. Orphaned as a child when his parents died in a car crash, he was raised by his brisk Aunt Lyn and harbors memories of the house, called Holly Lodge, haunted by his great-grandfather. Fortunately, Benedict's stalwart cousin, Nina, is on hand to support and motivate him. Nina's friend Nell West, an experienced antiques dealer (Property of a Lady, 2011, etc.), has inventoried the contents of Holly Lodge and senses that they may include ghosts. Following a flashback to the 1890s that presents great-grandfather Declan Doyle and his sidekick, Colm Rourke, the tale thereafter jumps back and forth in time. Benedict knows Declan as the Mesmer Murderer, a tamer successor to Jack the Ripper, but the reader meets him as a vibrant young man seeking adventure. Together, Declan and Colm pursue the dark mystery of Nicholas Sheehan, a devout priest driven for some unknown reason to a hermetic exile. When Nell meets Benedict, she's unnerved to see his eyes abruptly change color. She decides to keep this observation from her close friend Michael, whose discovery of writings from the time, by a servant girl and an abbot respectively, add another dimension to the story. Rayne's 10th keeps suspense simmering with controlled, intelligent prose and a provocative weave of haunted yarns that sort themselves out in their own eerily attenuated time.

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July 1, 2012
When he reaches the age of 21, Benedict Doyle inherits his great-grandfather's house in London. You'd think this would make a young man happyat the least, it's a guaranteed source of incomebut Benedict isn't so thrilled to become the new owner of that tall, frowning old place. And, as it turns out, he has good reason to be apprehensive: his great-grandfather had a dark and terrible secret. Nell West and Michael Flint, the antiques dealer and Oxford professor who made their first appearance in Property of a Lady (2011), soon begin to investigate the old house, and they discover that the sins of the past won't stay buried. This is a well-constructed horror story that delivers the goods. In chapters set in the past, Rayne explores the life of Benedict's great-grandfather, revealing the truth about the legend of a chess set that's believed to be possessed by evil; meanwhile, in the present, she follows Benedict as he slowly uncovers the story of his family's dark past. Rayne has a loyal following, and her latest novel is sure to give them plenty of thrills and chills.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)