CANR
WORK TITLE: The Murderer inside the Mirror
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.sarahrayne.co.uk/
CITY: London
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
LAST VOLUME: CANR 340
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born December 4, 1947; daughter of Francis Douglas and Joan Duggan; married Malcolm Wood (died, 1970).
EDUCATION:Educated at a convent school.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Estate agent, 1975-91; writer, 1992—.
AVOCATIONS:Theater, history, music, and old houses.
WRITINGS
Contributor of stories to anthologies, including Guilty Consciences: A Crime Writers’ Association Anthology, edited by Martin Edwards, Severn House (Sutton, England), 2011, and The Mammoth Book of Best British Mysteries.
SIDELIGHTS
Sarah Rayne is the pseudonym of a successful British author who has also written under her true name, Bridget Wood, and the pseudonym Frances Gordon. She is the daughter of an Irish comedy actor, and while attending convent school she wrote plays for younger students to perform. Under the name Wood, she produced the “Wolfking” series of fantasy novels as well as stand-alone novels. As Rayne, the author writes psychological thrillers such as Tower of Silence, a tale revolving around a writer who goes missing after visiting a mental hospital while doing research for a book. Central to the plot is a bed-and-breakfast owner who suffered a trauma during childhood. Denise Pickles, writing on the Mary Martin Bookshop website, affirmed: “The book is a tour de force.”
A Dark Dividing features journalist Harry Fitzglen, who, while doing a story on the artist Simone Anderson, discovers that her once conjoined twin sister has been missing for years. Rayne tells the stories of the Anderson twins as well as the related tale of the doomed London conjoined twins Viola and Sorrel Quinton, who were born in London eight decades earlier. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the author “has crafted a memorable novel with the right mix of suspense, horror and emotion.” Denise Pickles, once again writing on the Mary Martin Bookshop website, commented that the author “is remarkable in that she is able to detail horrors committed by society in beautiful prose which contrasts starkly with the dark deeds she portrays.”
Roots of Evil and Spider Light
In Roots of Evil, Rayne tells the story of Lucy and her grandmother, Lucretia von Wolff, a one-time silent movie star who committed suicide and whose twisted past is now leading to new murders. “The novel contains interesting questions of identity as well as implications for the nature vs. nurture debate,” wrote Mary Martin Bookshop website contributor Denise Pickles. “For those readers who enjoy their mysteries seasoned with insinuations of blood curdling horror, this is a must.”
Spider Light revolves around former psychiatrist Antonia Weston, who is sent to prison for manslaughter. Upon her release, she finds herself living in a cottage on the family grounds of Quire House, a public tourist attraction and once the home of Thomasina Forrester, who had ties to the notorious Latchkill Asylum. Antonia senses evil around her that is somehow connected to the story of Thomasina, her lover Maud, and the murder of a man that Thomasina hired to get Maud pregnant. A Kirkus Reviews contributor noted that the author “writes with impressive authority, moving seamlessly through multiple perspectives, her expertly balanced prose creating sustained suspense.” Karen Chisholm, writing on the EuroCrime website, called Spider Light “a psychological thriller with a clever intertwining of the past and the present.”
Property of a Lady
Property of a Lady centers on the mystery of Charect House, a Victorian home in a small Shropshire town that Liz and Jack Harper, a couple from New Jersey, are thrilled to inherit. When their friend, Oxford professor Michael Flint, scopes it out to see whether it might make a suitable vacation home for them, he sees a figure in the window. Flint sparks a love interest with a young widow and antiques dealer in the town, Nell West, who visits Charect House with her daughter Beth. The tension builds as a diary is discovered, both the Harpers’s daughter and Beth begin seeing a spirit in their dreams, and Beth one day disappears from school. Flint and Nell become determined to uncover the dark history of Charect House and stop whatever force is continuing to haunt it.
Reviewers praised Property of a Lady, the first of the author’s “Haunted House” series. “Rayne has established herself as one of the UK’s most reliable sources of chilling horror fiction,” wrote Carl Hays in a review for Booklist, noting that her latest offering is no exception. A Publishers Weekly critic felt that Rayne turns “the picked-over bones of the haunted house story into something fresh and frequently terrifying.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor felt similarly, writing that “with this eighth novel …, which boasts a refreshingly retro flavor, Rayne spins eerie yarns within yarns like a latter-day Isak Dinesen or Wilkie.” Library Journal critic Jackie Cassada concluded: “Fans of haunted-house fiction and psychological suspense should particularly enjoy the final twist.”
Ghost Song
In Ghost Song, the Tarleton is a popular music hall in London. In the 1910s, Toby Chance works as a songwriter there. Others who frequent the building include a disturbed person named Shona Seymour, and Caley Merrick, who is obsessed with the location. Toby mysteriously disappears in 1914, the same year the Tarleton closes. In the present day, Hilary and Robert enter the creepy theater and discover its secrets.
Amanda Gillies, contributor to the EuroCrime website, described Ghost Song as “fantastic.” A writer on the Curled Up with a Good Book website called it “a delightful read.”
The Sin Eater and The Silence
The Sin Eater is part of Rayne’s “Haunted House” mystery series. Protagonists Nell West, an antiques dealer, and Michael Flint, Oxford professor, investigate a haunted house owned by Benedict Doyle’s great-grandfather, Declan. Declan’s ghosts visits Benedict, and items in the house possess satanic curses. A Kirkus Reviews contributor commented: “Rayne’s tenth keeps suspense simmering with controlled, intelligent prose and a provocative weave of haunted yarns that sort themselves out in their own eerily attenuated time.” David Pitt remarked in Booklist, “Rayne has a loyal following, and her latest novel is sure to give them plenty of thrills and chills.”
In The Silence, Nell observes strange goings on in her late husband’s family home, Stilter House. She and Michael discover that the home was built by a deranged man, and a man killed his wife in the home that formerly occupied the property. “Rayne’s third Nell West ghost story perfects the craft of deftly chosen details, simmering suspense and chilling surprises, all woven into a quiet, elegant narrative,” asserted a writer in Kirkus Reviews. A Publishers Weekly contributor suggested: “Rayne continues to mix eerie hauntings and witty protagonists in her enjoyable third neogothic mystery.” Booklist critic Pitt stated: “Fans of this veteran author … will be well pleased.”
The Whispering and Deadlight Hall
The Whispering finds Michael and Nell evaluating Fosse House. The history of the house is connected to the tragic story of choir singers and the dealings of Russian thieves. Pitt, writing in Booklist, called the book “highly enjoyable mainstream horror fare from a genre veteran.” “Fans of ghost stories will continue to appreciate these supernatural investigations,” commented a contributor to Publishers Weekly.
In Deadlight Hall, Professor Leo Rosendale asks Michael, his colleague, to investigate Wolvercote mansion. Rosendale also approaches Nell, asking her to sell a golem figurine for him. Nell discovers that the valuable figurine has significance in Jewish lore. Michael finds that the house is haunted by young Jewish twins hiding during World War II. A writer on the Confessions of a Reviewer website described the book as “a ghost story of the highest order. It will creep you out and make the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention. A lot. The way the story is written, particularly with the flashbacks to the times during the war, is absolutely divine.” “It’s an old-fashioned ghost story that takes place in the same world the reader inhabits,” commented Pitt in Booklist. A Kirkus Reviews critic remarked: “Michael and Nell’s fifth thriller is skillfully structured and packed with suspense.”
The Bell Tower
The author returns to the “Haunted House” mystery series with The Bell Tower, which takes Professor Michael Flint and antiques dealer Nell West to the village of Rede Abbas, the site of a festival called St. Benedict’s Revels. The village is also the site of an old Benedictine monastery, which features a crumbling bell tower in danger of being washed into the sea. The pair make contact with Gerald Orchard, a local historian, who shares with them legends of the Glaum family, who donated the monastery’s bell. The novel’s central mystery involve a lost piece of music call “Thaisa’s Song,” which, according to villager Maeve Eynon, is the source of hidden power and whose history can be found in an old journal written by a monk in the nineteenth century and hidden in the ruins.
A Publishers Weekly reviewer was lukewarm about the novel, calling it “middling” and concluding that “neither the mystery nor the ghost story generates much tension.” More enthusiastic was Booklist writer David Pitt, who called the horror story a “real corker” and remarked that with regard to the haunted-house theme, “Rayne has given it new life in this series.”
Death Notes
With Death Notes, Rayne kicked off a new series, the “Phineas Fox” mystery series. The protagonist, Phineas Fox, is a London musicologist who earns his living by conducting research for filmmakers and authors. He is given a new assignment, which is learn all that he can about Roman Volf, who was put to death for his presumed role in the assassination of Russian czar Alexander II. Fox, however, is astounded when he discovers an old photograph that would seem to prove that Volf was in Odessa and not in St. Petersburg on the date of the czar’s assassination, and thus could not have been complicit in the assassination. The assignment now takes on a new dimension: proving Volf’s innocence. The story is complicated by two subplots. One involves Volf’s son, a twentieth-century musician who was born in secret; the other involves a modern-day woman who is eagerly trying to find the only person to have witnessed the deaths of her husband and daughter—a man who goes by the name of Maxim Volf.
Reviewers found Death Notes to be an auspicious start to the series. Booklist writer David Pitt called the novel “gripping and intricately plotted.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor concluded: “The complicated plot may be challenging for readers, but [Rayne’s] atmospheric prose and sure-footed instinct for suspense add up to another page-turner.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer called the novel “enjoyable” and “by turns jaunty and thrilling.” Sharon Wheeler, writing for the Crime Review, found the novel to be a “clever tale spanning two continents.”
Chord of Evil
The mystery behind Chord of Evil is set in motion when Phineas Fox’s friend and neighbor Toby Tallis asks him to try to locate his cousin, Arabella Tallis, after she fails to arrive at a party she had been eagerly looking forward to attending. As the two men investigate, they go to Arabella’s apartment, where Toby comes across a portrait that belonged to his and Arabella’s godfather Stefan Cain, a World War II refugee from England. Phineas is intrigued by the portrait, for it depicts Stefan’s sister, Christa Klein; now long dead, Christa is holding sheet music that poses a puzzle for Phineas. Meanwhile, a subplot involves Marcus Mander and his sister, Margot. The two are trying to find a lost inheritance—and they are connected to Christa. The novel relies on flashbacks to Nazi Germany that illuminate the history of Stefan and Christa. The novel reaches its climax at an eerie castle in the German countryside.
David Pitt, in a review of Chord of Evil for Booklist, concluded that “readers who enjoy sniffing out clues and trying to solve the mystery before the solution is revealed will have a fine time.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer found the novel “engrossing” and remarked that “how the various narrative threads converge … will keep the reader guessing.”
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Song of the Damned and Music Macabre
Song of the Damned finds Phineas involved in the bicentennial celebration of Cresacre School, formerly a convent, organized by alumna (and love interest of Phin’s) Arabella. Olivia Tulliver, a classmate of Arabella’s and generous donor, is insisting on the performance of an opera written by her father, Gustav, former head teacher, about the mysterious eighteenth-century disappearance of a cadre of nuns. As the celebration unfolds, the narrative reveals snippets of a disappeared nun’s diary and the story of piano prodigy Gina Chandos being targeted by a musical predator in 1794. Olivia, meanwhile, has an untold story of her own. A Kirkus Reviews writer reckoned Song of the Damned “less atmospheric but more volatile and unpredictable than [Rayne’s] other work, with colorful characters and an inexorable threat of violence under the surface.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer noted that “each narrative thread raises questions about the nuns’ fate that keep the reader guessing” and deemed the novel a “treat” for connoisseurs of “erudite” musical mysteries.
Research for a biography of composer Franz Liszt leads Phineas toward the infamous Jack the Ripper in Music Macabre. Liszt was linked to the scandalous, table-dancing Scaramel, of nineteenth-century music-hall renown, whose maid, Daisy, happened to bear witness to a chilling murder. As confrontation looms, present-day entrepreneurs Loretta and Roland, who have revived the Soho club Linklighters, are in for an earful upon hearing about the founder’s connections to the criminal world from Phineas. A Publishers Weekly reviewer hailed this novel’s “vivid descriptions” of Victorian London, “fascinating details” of Liszt’s life, and “insights into the cultural significance of music hall songs.” A Kirkus Reviews decalred of Music Macabre, “Colorful characters and a mastery of slow-burning suspense make this case an engaging page-turner.”
The Devil’s Harmony and The Murder Dance
The fifth “Phineas Fox” book is The Devil’s Harmony. Recovered from a site in Warsaw is the unlikely documentation of a “Dark Cadence,” legendary music played only for the execution of a traitor. Phineas and Arabella find that the program points toward the truth behind events in 1940s Poland, when the Nazis destroyed the Chopin Library, as well as 1918 Russia, when the lives of two young women connected to Czar Nicholas are in danger. A Publishers Weekly reviewer observed that Rayne “smoothly intertwines the present-day action with flashbacks,” making for an “intricate tale of music, love, betrayal, and self-sacrifice” with a “satisfactory” conclusion. Commending the “Phineas Fox” series as “beautifully written, with a strong protagonist and very cleverly constructed stories,” David Pitt proclaimed in Booklist that The Devil’s Harmony “hits a new high for neck-wrenching pivots.” A Kirkus Reviews writer declared that Rayne “writes with panache and imagination,” that Phin and Arabella have “luscious chemistry, and … bicker with courtly drollery,” and that this novel proves a “chocolate box of classical music, banter, historic tidbits, and spooky stories.”
Arabella is hired to help Quentin Rivers turn a legendary Norfolk family mansion, the Tabor, into a tourist attraction in The Murder Dance. Investigating the house’s history, Phineas learns of a “Murder Dance” that may have been performed at the house with literal connotations. Accompanying Quentin to the house is his cousin and fellow orphan Zillah, who visited the house as a child, dreamed of inheriting it to escape Quentin’s influence, and knows an awful lot about its history. Juxtaposed with the present narrative are the journals of comely Rosalyn Rivers and a charismatic rake. In Booklist, Pitt appreciated how Rayne “keeps revealing additional facets of Phineas’ personality” and adding “new and wonderfully exciting characters” to the mix—like Zillah, a “real wild card.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer remarked that The Murder Dance “builds to a creepily satisfying conclusion” and that “readers will hope this series has a long run.”
Chalice of Darkness
Reviving the interest in stage drama that she pursued through many years of amateur theater, Rayne kicked off her “Theater of Thieves” mystery series with Chalice of Darkness. In 1908, actor Jack Fitzglen supplements the modest proceeds from his family’s theater with a robbery hobby that flourishes through his knack for impersonation. With help from reluctant sidekick Augustus, Jack sets his sights on the Talisman Chalice, rumored to be royal property secreted away on the estate inherited by one Maude Vallow—who goes missing. The Chalice is said to curse any who try to steal it. When Jack learns more, he determines to return it to the rightful owner
Emily Melton commented in Booklist, “In this taut, Gothic-style mystery, Rayne offers a gripping plot with plenty of suspense and period ambience.” A Kirkus Reviews writer enjoyed how Rayne “loads the last half of her bubbly, spooky yarn with lively set pieces like a suspicious fire” and found Chalice of Darkness to offer “frightful fun with haunted history and a blustery thespian.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, June 15, 1992, Pat Monaghan, review of Wolfking, p. 1811; August 1, 2011, Carl Hays, review of Property of a Lady, p. 37; July 1, 2012, David Pitt, review of The Sin Eater, p. 37; April 15, 2013, David Pitt, review of The Silence, p. 27; May 15, 2014, David Pitt, review of The Whispering, p. 32; March 1, 2015, David Pitt, review of Deadlight Hall, p. 30; February 1, 2016, David Pitt, review of The Bell Tower, p. 31; January 1, 2017, David Pitt, review of Death Notes, p. 43; November 1, 2017, David Pitt, review of Chord of Evil, p. 19; February 15, 2021, David Pitt, review of The Devil’s Harmony, p. 28; January 1, 2022, David Pitt, review of The Murder Dance, p. 42; February 1, 2023, Emily Melton, review of Chalice of Darkness, p. 20.
Books, November, 1991, review of Wolfking, p. 19.
Bookseller, February 4, 2005, review of Roots of Evil, p. 32.
British Book News, April, 1987, review of Satanic Lute, p. 228.
Kirkus Reviews, November 1, 2006, review of Spider Light, p. 1105; June 15, 2011, review of Property of a Lady; December 1, 2012, review of The Sin Eater; June 15, 2013, review of The Silence; February 1, 2015, review of Deadlight Hall; November 1, 2016, review of Death Notes; September 1, 2018, review of Song of the Damned; October 1, 2019, review of Music Macabre; November 1, 2020, review of The Devil’s Harmony; November 1, 2021, review of The Murder Dance; December 15, 2022, review of Chalice of Darkness; May 15, 2024, review of The Murderer in the Mirror.
Library Journal, May 15, 1992, Jackie Cassada, review of Wolfking, p. 123; June 15, 2011, Jackie Cassada, review of Property of a Lady, p. 83.
Locus, June, 1992, review of Wolfking, p. 31; August, 1992, review of Wolfking, p. 55; August, 1993, review of The Lost Prince, p. 48; August, 1994, review of Wolfking, p. 57.
Publishers Weekly, March 27, 2006, review of A Dark Dividing, p. 64; January 10, 2011, review of House of the Lost, p. 32; June 25, 2012, review of The Sin Eater, p. 155; April 29, 2013, review of The Silence, p. 116; March 31, 2014, review of The Whispering, p. 46; October 24, 2016, review of Death Notes, p. 58; October 9, 2017, review of Chord of Evil, p. 47; September 3, 2018, review of Song of the Damned, p. 75; October 7, 2019, review of Music Macabre, p. 128; December 21, 2020, review of The Devil’s Harmony, p. 66; November 22, 2021, review of The Murder Dance, p. 82.
Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 1993, review of Wolfking, p. 361; February, 1994, review of The Lost Prince, p. 387.
Xpress Reviews, July 22, 2011, Colleen S. Harris, review of A Dark Dividing.
ONLINE
BBC website, http://www.bbc.co.uk/ (September 6, 2005), Sarah Rayne, “The Name’s Sarah Rayne.”
Confessions of a Reviewer, http://confessionsofareviewer.blogspot.co.id/ (March 6, 2015), review of Deadlight Hall.
Crime Review, http://crimereview.co.uk/ (January 7, 2017), Sharon Wheeler, review of Death Notes.
Curled Up with a Good Book, http://www.curledup.com/ (November 16, 2015), review of Ghost Song.
EuroCrime, http://www.eurocrime.co.uk/ (May 23, 2007), Karen Chisholm, review of Spider Light; (November 16, 2015), Amanda Gillies, review of Ghost Song.
GKSihat, http://www.gksihat.com/ (July 20, 2016), “Interviewing a Writer: Sarah Rayne.”
Historical Novel Society website, http://historicalnovelsociety.org/ (November 16, 2015), review of Deadlight Hall.
Mary Martin Bookshop, http://www.marymartin.com.au/ (May 23, 2007), Denise Pickles, reviews of Roots of Evil, Tower of Silence, A Dark Dividing, and Spider Light.
Publishers Weekly, https://www.publishersweekly.com/ (March 7, 2016), review of The Bell Tower.
Sarah Rayne website, https://www.sarahrayne.co.uk (June 11, 2024).
Simon & Schuster website, http://authors.simonandschuster.co.uk/ (June 13, 2012), author interview.
Sarah Rayne
UK flag (b.1947)
aka Frances Gordon, Bridget Wood
After a convent education, which included writing plays for the Lower Third to perform, Sarah Rayne embarked on a variety of jobs, but - probably inevitably - returned again and again to writing. Her first novel appeared in 1982, and since then her books have also been published in America, Holland and Germany.
The daughter of an Irish comedy actor, she was for many years active in amateur theatre, and lists among her hobbies, theatre, history, music, and old houses - much of her inspiration comes from old buildings and their histories and atmospheres. To these interests, she adds ghosts and ghost stories, and - having grown up in the Sixties - good conversation around a well-stocked dinner table.
Genres: Mystery, Horror, Historical Mystery
New and upcoming books
June 2024
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The Murderer Inside the Mirror
(Theater of Thieves Mystery, book 2)
Series
Wolfking
1. Wolfking (1991) (as by Bridget Wood)
2. The Lost Prince (1992) (as by Bridget Wood)
3. Rebel Angel (1993) (as by Bridget Wood)
4. Sorceress (1994) (as by Bridget Wood)
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Nell West and Michael Flint
1. Property of a Lady (2011)
2. The Sin Eater (2012)
3. The Silence (2013)
4. The Whispering (2014)
5. Deadlight Hall (2014)
6. The Bell Tower (2016)
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Phineas Fox Mystery
1. Death Notes (2016)
2. Chord of Evil (2017)
3. Song of the Damned (2018)
4. Music Macabre (2019)
5. The Devil's Harmony (2020)
6. The Murder Dance (2021)
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Theater of Thieves Mystery
1. Chalice of Darkness (2023)
2. The Murderer Inside the Mirror (2024)
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Novels
Mask of the Fox (1982) (as by Bridget Wood)
The Chessmen (1983) (as by Bridget Wood)
Devil in Amber (1984) (as by Bridget Wood)
Rose Window (1985) (as by Bridget Wood)
Minstrel's Lute (1987) (as by Bridget Wood)
Satanic Lute (1987) (as by Bridget Wood)
Blood Ritual (1994) (as by Frances Gordon)
The Devil's Piper (1995) (as by Frances Gordon)
The Burning Altar (1996) (as by Frances Gordon)
Thorn (1997) (as by Frances Gordon)
Changeling (1998) (as by Frances Gordon)
Wolf (1999) (as by Frances Gordon)
Wildwood (1999) (as by Frances Gordon)
Tower of Silence (2003)
Roots of Evil (2005)
A Dark Dividing (2005)
Spider Light (2006)
The Death Chamber (2008)
Ghost Song (2009)
House of the Lost (2010)
What Lies Beneath (2011)
Collections
Crimes & Punishment (2020)
Sarah Rayne, the daughter of an Irish comedy actor, began writing in her teens, including plays for the Lower Third to perform in her convent school.
Her first novel was published in 1982, and since then she has written more than 30 books. As well as being published in America and Australia, Sarah’s novels have been translated into German, Dutch, Russian, and Turkish.
For many years Sarah was active in amateur theatre, and lists among her hobbies theatre, history, music, and old houses. This fascination with old buildings is strongly apparent in many of her settings – Infanger Cottage in Song of the Damned, the eerie old watermill, Twygrist, in Spider Light, and the haunted Charect House in Property of a Lady.
Music has certainly influenced a number of her plots: the eerie death lament ‘Thaisa’s Song’ in The Bell Tower, the sinister ‘Dark Cadence’ in The Devil’s Harmony, and the story of the scandalous 19th-century violinist, Roman Volf, in Death Notes.
But it is the theatre world of the late19th/early 20th century that has inspired her more recent work, with the backdrop of the Victorian music hall, ‘Linklighters’, in Music Macabre, and the creation of the Amaranth Theatre for the irrepressible Fitzglen family, who make their first appearance in Book One of the ‘Theatre of Thieves’ series – Chalice of Darkness.
Rayne, Sarah THE MURDERER INSIDE THE MIRROR Severn House (Fiction None) $29.99 6, 4 ISBN: 9781448310951
The missing piece of a masterful stage play spawns an abundance of mayhem, both mortal and supernatural.
Rayne's intricate triple-decker thriller begins in 1908 with the sprawling Fitzglen clan, whose members are equally adept at theatrical production and sublime thievery. Colorful old Great Uncle Montague has recently died, and a family meeting focuses on both funeral arrangements and future felonious plans. Together, these drive a search of Montague's stately but run-down home in Notting Hill, where his heirs find the manuscript of an unproduced play written by renowned Irish dramatist Phelan Rafferty. Could Montague's apparent relationship with the late playwright be leveraged for a major financial score? A snag in the plan comes in the person of Rafferty's daughter, Ethne, who likes to avoid the limelight. The plot literally thickens with the discovery that the play has a missing or "hidden scene." When news of the play gets out, Ethne is besieged with offers to produce. Complementing and fueling this jaunty plot are two others with roots in different centuries. Back in the 1700s, Seamus Rafferty, Phelan's ancestor and something of a literary detective, discovers letters from yet two centuries earlier that are the source of the play in question: a darker tale of forbidden love, murder, and a desperate coverup. Rayne's large, engaging cast of charismatic charlatans seems poised to reach beyond this second installment in the Theatre of Thieves series for still more suspenseful adventures.
A playful puzzle with an elegant veneer and abundant twists.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Rayne, Sarah: THE MURDERER INSIDE THE MIRROR." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A793537227/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d82761c8. Accessed 26 May 2024.
Chalice of Darkness. By Sarah Rayne. Feb. 2023. 288p. Severn, $29.99 (9781448306404); e-book (9781448306435).
In 1908, Jack Fitzglen, who runs a London theater and has a lucrative sideline in stolen goods, proposes a new production about the Talisman Chalice, which once belonged to Richard II. Rumor has it that the chalice is held by Maude Vallow, a mysterious Northumberland woman who has disappeared. Jack decides to combine both of his professional interests by traveling to Maude's home to find (and steal) the chalice, certain that if he can get his hands on the treasure, he will not only be able to launch a profitable production, but also might attract the attention of the Royal Family purported to be the chalice's rightful owners. He soon discovers, however, that the prophecy surrounding the chalice--if it's taken by someone with no right to it, that person will face mortal peril--may be more than legend. As Jack delves further into the chilling backstory, he realizes that only by putting the chalice into the hands of its rightful owner will he be able to break the deadly curse. In this taut, Gothic-style mystery, Rayne offers a gripping plot with plenty of suspense and period ambience. --Emily Melton
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
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MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Melton, Emily. "Chalice of Darkness." Booklist, vol. 119, no. 11, 1 Feb. 2023, p. 20. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A737695875/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=427f2d2e. Accessed 26 May 2024.
Rayne, Sarah CHALICE OF DARKNESS Severn House (Fiction None) $29.99 2, 7 ISBN: 9781448306404
Has an overconfident thief met his match in a haunted mansion?
In the early years of the 20th century, grandiloquent actor Jack Fitzglen heads a mediocre theatrical family, abetted by his adoring dresser, Augustus Pocket. When theatrical engagements are meager, Mr. Jack likes to augment the family's income with some artful thievery, a sideline that fills Gus with trepidation, though not enough to make him refuse to assist his idol. Impersonations are such a key component of Mr. Jack's heists that they're almost better described as performances. His latest felonious obsession is a priceless relic called the Talisman Chalice, which carries a curse and is reportedly hidden somewhere in a Northumberland estate called Vallow Hall or in the ominous neighboring Bastle House. Rayne puts this plummy plot on a back burner to take the reader north and lay out complicated inheritance questions swirling around sincere, timorous Maude Vallow, who becomes the hapless heiress to these properties. The discovery of the corpse of a servant thought to have decamped only increases Maude's anxiety It is in this forbidding atmosphere that the flamboyant Mr. Jack attempts to execute his plan. Rayne's tale, a half-step away from the simmering suspense of her upscale Phineas Fox series and West/Flint ghost stories, feels delightfully unleashed from their milieu. She depicts hammy antihero Jack with relish, loads the last half of her bubbly, spooky yarn with lively set pieces like a suspicious fire, and ties her chalice to the dark fates of Richard II and Anne Boleyn.
Frightful fun with haunted history and a blustery thespian.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Rayne, Sarah: CHALICE OF DARKNESS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A729727485/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=0c67960a. Accessed 26 May 2024.
The Murder Dance. By Sarah Rayne. Jan. 2022. 256p. Severn, $28.99 (9780727850126); e-book (9781448306367).
In the new Phineas Fox mystery, the freelance researcher and music historian is asked by Quentin Rivers to dig into the history of his Elizabethan home. Researching old records concerning the house, Phineas is surprised to find references to the Cwellan Daunsen, a centuries-old dance whose name translates to "the dancing murderer." This leads Phineas to peel back the layers of secrets protecting the Rivers family, whose history is, it turns out, a lot seedier than Quentin might have expected. The Fox novels (this is the sixth) smoothly blend musically themed historical mystery and contemporary dirty deeds. Rayne, who also writes the Nell West and Michael Flint mysteries, keeps revealing additional facets of Phineas' personality, and with each book, she finds new and wonderfully exciting characters for him to interact with. One in particular, Quentin's cousin Zillah, who had assumed for years that she would inherit the house that was inexplicably left to Quentin, is a real wild card. A fine entry in a consistently strong series. --David Pitt
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 American Library Association
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Pitt, David. "The Murder Dance." Booklist, vol. 118, no. 9-10, 1 Jan. 2022, p. 42. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A692710685/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=377d6450. Accessed 26 May 2024.
The Murder Dance
Sarah Rayne. Severn, $28.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-7278-5012-6
Rayne's lively sixth Phineas Fox mystery
(after 2021 's The Devil's Harmony) takes London musicologist Phineas to a Norfolk village, where his sweetheart, Atabella Tallis, has agreed to take on the role of publicist for a proposed swish restaurant in a rundown Elizabethan mansion called the Tabor, which has just been inherited by Quentin Rivers, who had no idea the house was anything more than a family legend. Quentin brings his adored cousin, Zillah, with him to view the property, unaware that Zillah visited the Tabor as a child and has always assumed that she would inherit it. Meanwhile, Arabella learns that Will Kemp, reportedly the inspiration for Shakespeare's Falstaff, visited the area and may have wirnessed a performance at the Tabor of "The Reivers Dance" (aka "The Murder Dance"). She asks Phineas to research the story, thinking it would be useful in promotional material. His investigation reveals dark and dangerous family secrets. Vivid flashbacks to the troubled history of the Rivers clan complement the present-day action, which builds to a creepily satisfying conclusion. Readers will hope this series has a long run. Agent: Jane Conway-Gordon, Jane Conway-Gordon Ltd. (U.K.). (Jan.)
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"The Murder Dance." Publishers Weekly, vol. 268, no. 47, 22 Nov. 2021, p. 82. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A684623974/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=20de3799. Accessed 26 May 2024.
Rayne, Sarah THE MURDER DANCE Severn House (Fiction None) $28.99 1, 4 ISBN: 978-0-7278-5012-6
A neglected Elizabethan manor house harbors a horrific history of bacchanalian excess--and ritualistic homicide.
Once he gets over being gobsmacked by the news that he's inherited The Tabor, a "house that no one in [his] family seemed ever to have seen, and that most of them said was only a legend," Quentin Rivers' second thought is how to break this news to his delicate cousin, Zillah, whom he's conscientiously protected since both were orphaned decades ago. Zillah has secretly chafed under Quentin's strict protection and jealousy and has banked her future on the promise of inheriting The Tabor in order to escape him. She also knows the dark history of the house, which she desperately hopes Quentin never learns. Enter music researcher Phineas Fox, whose girlfriend, publicist Arabella Tallis, Quentin has asked to advise him on his plan to turn The Tabor into a restaurant and tourist attraction. In short order, Phin has discovered ominous legends surrounding The Tabor involving something called the Murder Dance. As in her previous Phineas Fox novels, Rayne interweaves narratives from the past with the contemporary plot. The diary of the charismatic seducer Greenberry and the journal of voluptuous Rosalind Rivers, whose portrait still adorns The Tabor--both written around 1600--nicely counterpoint the affectionate banter and genuine chemistry of Phin and Arabella. References to Chaucer, Dickens, Shakespeare, etc. enliven the narrative. The unpredictability of the eerie, waiflike Zillah adds an additional layer of suspense.
A fascinating history is folded into a spectral mystery.
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"Rayne, Sarah: THE MURDER DANCE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Nov. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A680615918/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1620a013. Accessed 26 May 2024.
The Devil's Harmony. By Sarah Rayne. Feb. 2021.256p. Severn, $28.99 (9780727889881); e-book (9781448304752).
Music researcher and amateur sleuth Phineas Fox returns for a fifth adventure (following Music Macabre, 2019). An old scrapbook has been found in the former Chopin Library in Warsaw. Among its contents are clues to the existence of a piece of music that's generally considered to be the stuff of legend: the "Dark Cadence," which was (allegedly) played only at the executions of traitors. As he tries to find out more, Fox uncovers dark secrets about the destruction of the library during the WWII Nazi occupation, as well as as unsetding links to the execution of a Russian czar. The Fox novels are a joy to read. They're beautifully written, with a strong protagonist and very cleverly constructed stories. Rayne, who also writes the Nell West and Michael Flint haunted-house mysteries, really seems to enjoy telling a twisty story, and this time the plot hits a new high for neck-wrenching pivots. Each of the Fox novels has been better than the last--with more-complex stories that ratchet up the suspense to a new level, a trend that continues here. Fans of Phineas Fox will be lining up for this one.--David Pitt
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Pitt, David. "The Devil's Harmony." Booklist, vol. 117, no. 12, 15 Feb. 2021, p. 28. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A654649927/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=dce995c8. Accessed 26 May 2024.
The Devil's Harmony
Sarah Rayne. Severn, $28.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-7278-8988-1
At the start of Rayne's haunting fifth Phineas Fox mystery (after 2()19's Music Macabre), two scholars ask London musicologist Phineas Fox and his lover, Arabella Tallis, to authenticate a scrapbook recovered from a building site in Warsaw, Poland, where the Chopin Library once stood decades ago before the Germans desrroyed it during WWII. The scrapbook contains a draft of what looks like a concert program cover with the name of a quartet, a date, and a piece of music the scholars agree would never have been performed at a concert, let alone written down. Phineas and Arabella set out to identify the mysterious and ominous piece of music, which is only performed at a traitor's execution and has a connection to what happened in 1944 Poland, as well as events in 1918 Russia. Rayne smoothly intertwines the present-day action with flashbacks as this intricate tale of music, love, betrayal, and self-sacrifice builds to a satisfactory if somewhat unsurprising conclusion. The snarky banter of the academics provides a nice comic touch. Fans of intelligent historical mysteries will be rewarded. Agent:Jane Conway-Gordon. Jane Conway-Gordon Ltd. (U.K.). (Feb.)
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"The Devil's Harmony." Publishers Weekly, vol. 267, no. 52, 21 Dec. 2020, p. 66. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A650072607/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=83320689. Accessed 26 May 2024.
Rayne, Sarah THE DEVIL'S HARMONY Severn House (Fiction None) $28.92 2, 2 ISBN: 978-0-7278-8988-1
The Nick and Nora of music research probe the mystery of the vanished Chopin Library and its deadly legacy.
Elderly professor Ernest Liripine and Dr. Theo Purslove are excited to receive an old scrapbook sent by Dr. Liripine’s former student Nina Randall, who’s currently working in Warsaw. The book provides links to the storied Chopin Library, which was presumably destroyed by the Nazis, and to a subgenre of music euphemistically called “Dark Cadence”—that is, execution music. Is this just one of the eerie myths surrounding the Library? They decide to consult music researcher Phineas Fox and Arabella Tallis, his ladylove and sidekick. Flashbacks take the story intermittently back to 1918 as two young women named Katya and Zena hide in a large, elaborate home. Rayne attenuates the suspense with a slow reveal of their location and their plight. They’re in imperial Russia, connected to Czar Nicholas and his family. As Phin and Arabella decipher more documents, Lucek Socha, who heads the archive office in Warsaw, contemplates a romance with Nina and recalls his unsettling upbringing by his artistic aunt Helena. These eerie reminiscences are developed along with the other narrative threads to produce a mosaic of the rise and fall of the Library during World War II. Despite the strenuous attempts to bring all the parts together, the novel reads more like an anthology. Still, Rayne writes with panache and imagination, especially about relationships. Phin and Arabella have luscious chemistry, and the elderly academics bicker with courtly drollery.
A chocolate box of classical music, banter, historic tidbits, and spooky stories.
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"Rayne, Sarah: THE DEVIL'S HARMONY." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Nov. 2020. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A639818898/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=160f5103. Accessed 26 May 2024.
Music Macabre
Sarah Rayne. Severn, $29.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-7278-8896-9
In Rayne's enjoyable fourth Phineas Fox mystery (after 2018's Song of the Damned), London music researcher Phineas has a new commission--writing a "light-hearted biography about the life and loves of virtuoso composer-pianist, Franz Liszt." His research turns up evidence linking the aging Liszt with a notorious young English music hall dancer, Scaramel, who reputedly was connected to a murder. Phineas and his neighbor Toby Tallis visit a newly reopened restaurant, Linklighters, where Scaramel performed in the late 19th century. Flashbacks told from the point of view of Daisy, Scaramel's maid, include edifying glimpses of the inside of a madhouse, feisty bickering between rival performers, and a terrifying confrontation with the most fearsome of all serial killers. Meanwhile, Phineas's probing into this eventful past puts his life in danger. Rayne provides vivid descriptions of Victorian London along with fascinating details of the life of Franz Liszt and insights into the cultural significance of music hall songs. Those who like their mysteries erudite will be well satisfied. Agent: Jane Conway-Gordon. Jane Conway-Gordon Ltd. (U.K.). (Dec.)
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"Music Macabre." Publishers Weekly, vol. 266, no. 40, 7 Oct. 2019, p. 128. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A602487947/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=bca7d528. Accessed 26 May 2024.
Rayne, Sarah MUSIC MACABRE Severn House (Adult Fiction) $28.99 12, 3 ISBN: 978-0-7278-8896-9
A renowned London ghostbuster probes a link between Jack the Ripper and composer Franz Liszt.
While gathering background information for a biography, music researcher Phineas Fox discovers that the aging Liszt was a passionate admirer of the scandalous music hall dancer known as Scaramel. Her notoriety came both from dancing naked on tables and from her involvement in an unspecified murder. As usual (Song of the Damned, 2018, etc.), the narrative alternates between Phinn in the present and the focus of his study in the past. As the 1880s wear on, Daisy, a wide-eyed young pauper who's very protective of her younger brother, Joe, is seduced by the lush life her new employer, "Madame," offers her. After she and Joe witness a murder, she frets because she can identify the killer and fears seeing him again. Phinn's investigations in the present, meanwhile, lead him to Linklighters, a new Soho club built on the site of Scaramel's infamous dances by Loretta and Roland, a young couple who struggle in the first months of their dream venture. Daisy feels herself being increasingly watched by the killer, who the reader has likely already deduced is Jack the Ripper. With the help of girlfriend Arabella and puckish pal Toby Tallis, Phinn learns more about the past of Linklighters' original founder and namesake, Links, who may have been a criminal. When Phinn shares some of his unusual discoveries about Linklighters with Loretta and Roland, they are less than pleased.
Colorful characters and a mastery of slow-burning suspense make this case an engaging page-turner.
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"Rayne, Sarah: MUSIC MACABRE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A601050541/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=71ac2811. Accessed 26 May 2024.
Song of the Damned
Sarah Rayne. Severn, $28.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-7278-8814-3
Rayne's entertaining third outing for London-based musicologist Phineas Fox (after 2017's Chord of Evil) takes Phin and his friend Arabella Tallis to Cresacre School, formerly Cresacre Convent. Arabella is helping to plan a celebration of the school's bicentenary. There's only one snag: wealthy Olivia Tulliver is insisting that an opera--based loosely on the mysterious disappearance of some of the convent's nuns at the end of the 18th century--by her late uncle Gustav, who was once the school's head teacher, be performed during the festivities. If not, Olivia threatens to reduce funding for the Tulliver Scholarship. Adding breadth to the intrigue are excerpts from the vivid diary of Sister Cecilia, who was one of the nuns who vanished, and episodes in the eventful life of young Gina Chandos, who's targeted by a seducer in 1794. Each narrative thread raises questions about the nuns' fate that keep the reader guessing. Fans of erudite mysteries with a musical slant are in for a treat. Agent: Jane Conway-Gordon, Jane Conway-Gordon Ltd. (U.K.). (Nov.)
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"Song of the Damned." Publishers Weekly, vol. 265, no. 36, 3 Sept. 2018, p. 75. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A554250987/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=000f9bf5. Accessed 26 May 2024.
Rayne, Sarah SONG OF THE DAMNED Severn House (Adult Fiction) $28.99 11, 1 ISBN: 978-0-7278-8814-3
A school celebration is shadowed by a 200-year-old mystery. Can a noted ghostbuster unravel it?
Cresacre School may be tempting fate by building its bicentenary around an unsolved mystery: the disappearance of a group of nuns from the school, then called Cresacre Convent, centuries ago. Not coincidentally, the event is organized by alumna Arabella Tallis, who's also the ladylove of music historian and sometime psychic investigator Phineas Fox (Chord of Evil, 2017, etc.). Diary entries from the 1790s interspersed with the present-day narrative show the piano prodigy Gina Chandos becoming the amorous target of predatory music master Cesare Chimaera. The school is now haunted by Ginevra, a ghost who's the subject of much mystery and even more speculation. Ginevra's also the subject of an opera written by Gustav Tulliver, whose niece Olivia was a classmate of Arabella's and who's now pressing the school to make the opera's performance a centerpiece of the celebration. The school's leaders aren't wild about the idea even though the decidedly dotty Olivia has been a generous donor. They'd be even less enthusiastic if they knew about Olivia's dark secret. Back when she was a student, Olivia brought her frenemy Imogen, a potential opera performer on whom Gustav had romantic designs, to rehearse with him in his basement studio and help him finish the opera. In the middle of a sudden argument, Olivia killed Imogen. As Gina's relationship with Chimaera advances, Phin takes the measure of the strong-willed Olivia and proceeds accordingly.
Rayne's third psychic mystery is less atmospheric but more volatile and unpredictable than her other work, with colorful characters and an inexorable threat of violence under the surface.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Rayne, Sarah: SONG OF THE DAMNED." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Sept. 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A552175345/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f38d5c69. Accessed 26 May 2024.