Sarah RayneReviews

Sarah Rayne's The Murderer Inside the Mirror straddles the mystery and romance genres. I love mysteries, especially ones with historical elements, which The Murderer Inside the Mirror definitely has. I generally steer clear of romance. But I'm quite glad that I requested and received a review copy of this title.

The Murderer Inside the Mirror operates along three timelines: one during the reign of Henry VIII, the other two in the present and the near past. This is a series novel, which I hadn't realized when I requested it. It's volume two in the "Theater of Thieves" and features a family who are both respected thespians and very successful thieves. As happens in fiction (I'm not so sure about real life as I'm not aware that I know any families of very successful thieves), they have standards. They don't steal from anyone who can't afford the loss and they focus on underappreciated treasures owned by the wealthy.

I really don't want to say much about the plots. They're a wonderfully complex mix and deserve to be met as they arise. Rayne weaves a complex tapestry, but it's the kind of complex tapestry that results in elegance, not confusion.

If you like mysteries, especially mysteries with period elements, you'll find this book a pleasure, even if, like me, you eschew romance. If you like romance, especially romance with period elements, you'll find this book as pleasure, even if, for some inexplicable reason, you eschew mysteries.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

A stand out war time suspense, a unique protagonist in Phineas Fox and an author to keep an eye out for! A really good, enjoyable read :-)

A reviewer on Goodreads wondered if there is a cozy horror genre because that's what he/she thought that this book was. And, the funny thing is that was my actual thought about it too before I saw the review. And, no I don't think there is a cozy horror genre, however, cozy paranormal feel more appropriate. This is not horror, if you are frighted about this book, then well, you should not read real horror books. It's an interesting paranormal book that turns into a romantic paranormal novel, which didn't surprise me a bit when that happened. Luckily, the main characters, Michael Flint and Nell West did not spend too much time lusting after each other, and their "courtship" was not annoying.

However, the story feels a bit lackluster. It's alright to read, but it never gets terribly exciting or engrossing. Part of me is sometimes amazed how "suddenly" diaries and secret papers just happen to be found by the right people so fast when no one else has discovered them. Yes, I'm a born cynical. Sometimes it's believable, and sometimes, not so. In Property of a Lady, well I can take it because the place has been uninhabited so long, and the clock, well it's been away from the house as well for a long time. So that at least did not annoy me. Thankfully.

The story about the "ghost" is actually quite tragic, more tragical than horrifying. I was a bit surprised by the turn towards the end of the book, it was a nice twist. It's an OK book, not especially memorable, but if you like a cozy paranormal book is it not so bad.

Would I read more books in the series? Yes I would, it was not a bad book, I was not bored. However, I hope the stories get better, and perhaps even a bit more horrifying?

Did I take for granted that this would be a paranormal mystery because it's a book by Sarah Rayne? Yes, I did! However, it turned out to be quite a good book, despite the absence of paranormal activity.

Death Notes is the first book in a new series that stars Phineas Fox a professional researcher who in this book is researching the 19th-century violinist Roman Volf who was hanged for participating in the murder of Tsar Alexander II in 1881. However, it seems that he may have been innocent and Phin's investigations take him to Galway where a reclusive Maxim Volf lives Could this Maxim Volf have any connection to Roman Volf? And what really happened two years ago when a car crashed and killed Beatrice Drury's husband and daughter?

I did spend a lot of time reading this book waiting for something paranormal to happen, some ghostly appearance. But, I was mistaken in believing that. Despite that did I come to like the book very much thanks to the interesting and tragic story. There were some predictable moments in the book, but they never really bothered me since I was enjoying the story.

There are several POV's in this book. This series may be about Phineas Fox, but other characters, young Jessica Cullen, Beatrice Drury who lost her family, the mysterious Maxim Volf and of course Mortimer Quince who is the reason for Phin to travel to Galway. They all share the limelight in this book. At first was it a bit puzzling to figure out what all the different storylines had in common, but as the story progressed did it all start to make sense, and there come a point when the different POV's started to blend together. It's quite a sad story, several of the characters in the book has been through hell, but I found myself loving the ending. It was such a hopeful ending, a perfect ending!

I look forward to reading the next book in the Phineas Fox series when it's released!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

I read this book a couple of years ago and I had hoped for a nice ghost story, but although the book was ok so was it not as haunting and creepy to read as I'd hope it would be.

I read this book a couple of years ago and I had hoped for a nice ghost story, but although the book was ok so was it not as haunting and creepy to read as I'd hope it would be.

Phineas Fox is employed to verify a document that was find at the site of the destroyed Chopin Library in Warsaw. But is there a link between the Library and the music discovered in the document, known as the Dark Cadence. But what are the connections to the past, and how will it reflect on the present.
An interesting well-written story starting in 1918 and concluding in the present day with the revelations of buried secrets.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have grown to think that there are supernatural novels that work for casual readers of the genre and those that work for those readers that concentrate on horror and dark fiction. This novel was for the former. Is there such a thing as a horror “cozy” like there are for mysteries? If so, this is a horror cozy. If it was a movie it would be rated PG. Rayne is a good writer and I didn’t dislike the book. I don’t really have a complaint other than this story was too bland for my tastes.

Changing my original 3 star overall to a 2 star. I really enjoyed the first third or so, found it creepy, with an interesting storyline that pulled me in. Middle third started became pretty contrived, to many coincidences and stubmling upon information at just the right moment. The final third just made me angry. The two main characters are reading an obsessed man's journal about how & why he creates a hand of glory so that he can rape a married woman (to have her just once) in her sleep - in the midst of reading this man's descent into obsession and madness, they have a passionate sex scene & fall into instalove - what the hell?!? Personally, there's absolutely nothing sexy about reading a plan to rape a woman. Later, it turns out that the woman he's been obsessed with for years is an adulterer and gets murded by her husband (after our mad man has decided he can't actually act out his rape fantasty). Discovering that she has slept around knocks her off the mad man's pedestal & suddenly he's cured of his passion...and maybe okay with her getting killed as long as he can escape detection. Ugh. Just ugh. By the end of the book, the would be rapist is supposedly a sympathetic character because he "tried" to protect a child. Nope. Don't think so.

Ugh. Just ugh. The more I've thought about this book, the more it rankles, hence the changed star rating. Throw in the inconsistencies and the enjoyment of the first third can't make up for the rest of it.

I have a particular weakness for historical mysteries with interesting twists (famous authors, composers, historical events, etc., at their center) and while the quality of writing in these is mixed, I generally find them entertaining.

I picked up Music Macabre because it promised to suite my tastes, but I didn't know where it would fall on my acceptable-to-brilliant scale for these sorts of mysteries. It fell somewhere on the top third of that scale: not-great-literature-but-a-very-good-read-indeed. The novelty of the historical setting (in this case the era of Jack the Ripper, shortly after the death of Liszt, paired with a present-day semi-scholarly British cast) was fun, but the book appealed beyond that. The characters were engaging—people I'd be glad to spend more time with if the author offers me the opportunity. As I read, I found the title harder and harder to put down, particularly because of the multiple mysteries at its heart which left me with all sorts of questions and speculation.

If you like historical mysteries, particularly those with a solid blend of fun and fright, you'll want to read this title.

Hoewel het begin van het boek mij niet veel deed, was het einde een stuk beter.

Zeker de vele malen beschreven seks maakte diverse maakten dat ik dit boek als pulp wou wegleggen, maar ben toch wel blij dat ik doorgezet heb.

Joanna leeft in het puriteinse Ierland van na de Apocalypse. Zij wordt door haar vader uitgehuwelijkt aan de varkenshoeder Muldooney. Zij ontvlucht het huis van Muldooney en komt terecht in de verboden Gloeilanden. Achtervolgt door haar vader en de varkenshouder komt zij via een scheur in het Tijdgordijn terecht in het mythologische Ierland van weleer. Flynn, haar minnaar gaat haar achterna, geholpen door de mutant Portan en zijn vriend Amairgen.

In het oude Ierland heeft de adel nog warm dierenbloed in de aderen en is Cormac, heer der wolven, de rechtmatige koning van de Wolflijn, in een dodelijke strijd verwikkeld met koningin Mab de Bedwelmende, die ooit zijn geliefde was.
Haar sullige zoon Eochaid, met leeuwenbloed, zit ten onrechte op de troon van Tara en bovendien wordt Mab bijgestaan door akelig sterke krachten uit het donkere Ierland, zoals de Erlkoning en zijn lugubere helpsters: Morrigan, Macha en Blaaskraai.

Maar ook Cormac, die door Joanna wordt bevrijd uit de burcht der Schaduwen, staat niet alleen. De meeste bloedlijnen - zoals de strijdrossen, de adelaars en de panters - zijn hem trouw. Zo ook de Cruithin en de duistere sidh. Maar zijn krachtigste bondgenoot is Joanna, al kan ze het zelf maar nauwelijks geloven. Zij krijgt van Cormac de magische Nachtmantel, die is geweven van de nachtmerries van de legendarische koningin Dierdriu. Het is de toverkracht van deze mantel waarvan veel, zo niet alles, afhangt...

Aardig boek. Niet meer of minder

I stumbled on this author by chance and had to read one of her books. The Silence is the third to feature Nell West and Michael Flint. I do prefer to read in order but my local library didn't have the first one, so I jumped straight in with the third. My way of thinking is that if I don't enjoy this one I probably won't like the rest of the series.

Enjoy it I did. This book for me was a really enjoyable read. Nell West is invited by an aunt to catalogue valuables in Stilter House in Derbyshire. The house however has plenty of residents ghosts, and a few legends to go with it. Nell and Michael together uncover the history of the house and try to lay the ghosts to rest, although Nell is sceptical about all of that.

A lot of the story about the house and past residents is uncovered in diary, letter, journal form with varoius characters giving their accounts. I really enjoyed this and theses were my favourite part of the book.

The story is a ghostly tale, classic haunted house. The story however was dark and fearsome but did have some creepy moments.

I liked Nell and Michael and will get around to getting more books in the series. If I don't read them in order I really don't think it will make much difference.

This book was spooky and fun to read. A light easy read with plenty of creepy moments. Glad I have discovered this author.

Slow burner of a story and the supernatural angle works but doesn't. Can't put my finger on quite what I liked and didn't about this story.

Didn't really gel with this book! Long winded for what it was. The events leading up the haunting were intriguing as usual with Rayne but the modern day events didn't quite match up to the level of 'spookyness' that she was aiming to create.

There are very few books that give me real, wake-up-in-a-cold-sweat nightmares. This is one of them.

I've stopped giving a synopsis of books in these "reviews" because *everyone* does that; instead, I am just going to say that the first scene with the blind guy locked in the execution chamber totally did me in. I dreamed about his experience two nights in row. Then I got to the *second* time the blind guy (and our heroine) are locked in the same place, then pursued by a very creepy guy. Cue third sleepless night.

Rayne does a masterful job of telling three stories concurrently - in 1917, 1938-1960, and present day. It's a rare author who can pull this off, but she does it really well, and brought all three stories together in one satisfying conclusion.

Death Chamber joins Peter Straub's Ghost Story as scariest books ever.

Another creepy story from Rayne, although this one had a less satisfying ending than her others.

This book won me over, then lost me then won me over again. I found the story a little hard going at times, quite brutal in places and I almost gave up on it but a tiny spark of interest remained and I am glad I persevered. It all came together in a pleasing way and most of my questions were answered. Not one of my favourites but certainly intriguing enough that I might just read it again one day.

This book is very gruesome. However it is very well written.

The Whispering] by Sarah Rayne
4.5 Stars
Nell West & Michael Flint series Book #4

From The Book:
Michael Flint, a music and literature professor at Oxford, is working on a book about musical influences on the poets of WWI. Flint travels to the remote fens, in eastern England, to visit Fosse House and examine the records concerning the Palestrina Choir, circa 1900–14. His host, the personable but secretive septuagenarian Luisa Gilmore, welcomes Michael, even gives him a place to sleep when inclement weather makes traveling to the nearby town impossible, but soon Michael discovers that the history of Luisa’s family, not to mention the history of the choir, is filled with secrets.

My Views:
Sarah Rayne has an amazing talent for blending the past and the present into one neat package. Her specialty is the supernatural/paranormal genre which she weaves with history. These 100 year old events take shape through the letters and journals of men long dead but certainly not gone by any means. A goose-bump raising, creepy tale that keeps you wanting more and more.½

I'd hoped for an updated version of the Mary Stewart style books, but this just didn't grab me. Sorry. I think I didn't realize it was part of a series, which was my fault, not the author's. Too much back history to learn.½

I enjoyed this more than the second book in this series but less then the first. I loved the setting, the mystery, the interactions between the characters - all of that was really well done. What irritated me in this installment was Nell and her chronic case of Scullyism (as in agent Scully X Files). One would think that after her experiences in the last two books, even if she was the most stubborn of sceptics, Nell would at least possess an open mind regarding ghosts. However, over and over again throughout this book she insists she doesn't believe in ghosts. In previous books Nell has spoken to them, seen them, had her daughter kidnapped by one and been attacked herself but she doesn't believe in ghosts? Even in this book, in one sentence she says "I don't believe in ghosts" and in the next (literally the next sentence) Nell states she believes she was just attacked by a woman who died a century ago - cue head scratching. These aren't plot holes, these are plot chasms. So, as much as I enjoyed the book, this issue really irritated me

library copy

Library copy

[Ghost Song] by Sarah Rayne
4.5★'s

From The Book:
The old Tarleton music hall is the subject of a mysterious building restriction that has kept it closed for more than 90 years. When Robert Fallon is asked to survey the structure, he finds clues indicating that its long twilight sleep may contain a sinister secret. Joining forces with researcher Hilary Bryant, Robert discovers the legend of the Tarleton's ghost, a mysterious figure that was first glimpsed during the era of Toby Chance, a charismatic performer who vanished suddenly and inexplicably in the early 1900s. After almost a century the Tarleton's dark silence is about to end, but there are those who find its reopening a threatening prospect. As Robert and Hilary delve into the macabre history, they both become menaced by the secrets of the past.

My Thoughts:
Loved the whole idea behind this book. The ghost was always there but you were never really allowed to see it...it just lurked in the shadows and waited. The old theater and the people that populated it in it's heyday in 1914 to the people that were curious about the legends and the stories that surrounded it in the present were more than intriguing. The story has several twists and turns as it takes the reader through the decades but it never allows the reader to guess the ending. Highly recommend this to all historical buffs...paranormal enthusiasts and anyone that just wants to brave a dark and stormy night with a shivery tale.½