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Sinner
An attack at St. Anthony's cathedral leaves behind a symbol of the mythological Sinner a vigilante legend since the days of the Civil War and sparks the curiosity of investigative writer, CK Ivors.
Assembling a crack team of detectives and information hounds, CK begins a relentless pursuit of the legend, only to discover that myth is often based on truth and is sometimes more dangerous than it ought to be. As she edges closer to peril, she also discovers an intriguing diary that may shed more light on the mystery surrounding the Sinner. Entries in the journal of Beverly Scott Thomas are fragmented and dreamlike but also indicate there's more to the situation than meets the eye. Throw in a homicidal millionaire, a mystery cottage, and a few comic-book collectibles, and you've got the blood-pounding adventure that is Sinner.
Features and Benefits Affirms God's power to redeem even the worst of sinners. Readers of suspense novels will love this fast-paced, well-plotted novel that allows them to solve the mystery of the book alongside investigator CK Ivors.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 20, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 28, 2024
I'm trying to come up with ways to describe this book, maybe Ted Dekker meets Stan Lee? It's so different from what I usually read, but I couldn't put it down. It's a thriller (psychological, suspenseful, I don't even know) with some horrific elements, but also a redemptive thread. I think it has some deep theological implications that would be great to discuss with a book club. Sin, guilt, shame.
There is quite the cast of characters and I became friends with them all. Especially, the quirky ones.
The ending was very satisfying and I will be reading the next book in the series.
By the way, I loved Mike Nappa's explanation of how he wrote this book under the pen name of Sharon Carter Rogers.
There is quite the cast of characters and I became friends with them all. Especially, the quirky ones.
The ending was very satisfying and I will be reading the next book in the series.
By the way, I loved Mike Nappa's explanation of how he wrote this book under the pen name of Sharon Carter Rogers.
April 2, 2013
This book was a serious page turner! I have never read any of Sharon Carter Rogers other works, but after reading this novel I will definitely look for other books by her. Not to mention I have never read anything with this kind of plot before, A psychological thriller with religion and american history mixed in.....very good, I can only hope that her other books are of the same accord. Highly recommend to all!
October 10, 2010
This book started out a little slow and dry for me, because I didn't have a clue where it was going.
After the first few chapters I caught myself getting excited about the progression of the story and by then of the book, I loved it.
Great story.
Good Christian fiction.
Look forward to picking up another Rogers novel!
After the first few chapters I caught myself getting excited about the progression of the story and by then of the book, I loved it.
Great story.
Good Christian fiction.
Look forward to picking up another Rogers novel!
August 19, 2008
I just finished reading SINNER and I have mixed feelings about it. First I'd like to mention that the opening scene is one of the best I've read in recent times. Awesome! And while I found the plotline and mystery at the core of the book to be very enthralling, I also experienced a strange detachment throughout the ride.
I'm used to reading multi-viewpoint novels, but this one I found a bit jarring. It quickly skips from one view to another, and I knew while reading that all these threads would eventually tie together--so it didn't bother me, but with most of the POV characters having strange names and very little physical description given, it is difficult to remember who's who. I had to keep flipping back, which is very annoying. If you set the book down, forget it. You have to remember who's who, who's where and what predicament they're in. Regarding the strange names, Lincoln, CK, Junebug, Keena, Cyril, Maria Eliza Garces, Rebel, Chance or maybe it's Chase--who knows without the book in front of me, Galway, James Dandy are just some of them, it seems as though the author thought using her list of favorite baby names in her novel would be cool, along with her favorite letters: k, j, c, l, r and S, which causes a lot of confusion. I cringed every time a new character came on the scene with their clunky, funky name. Strange names aren't necessarily bad, like with the Matrix, but the names there were distinct enough. The overuse of last names also, seems like a tiny detail, a preference thing really, but it ushers formality throughout the book. CK Ivors, CK Ivors, CK Ivors. I couldn't stand that. And with so many POV's, the protagonist in the story, CK I'm guessing, is not showcased enough. I don't feel like I know her well.
The author did a FABULOUS job at revealing little idiosyncrasies of the main characters, which were cute and fascinating, but there wasn't much beyond that. The dialogue, which could have been used to reveal more character depth was pretty blah and generic, with the exception of a few key scenes. I hoped to feel CK's passions, hurt, anger, frustration or something somewhere along the line, and I never got that satisfaction. I don't mean the author's characters weren't interesting or that they came across flat. It's just that I didn't experience the book, feel like I lived in that world, which I expect to happen when I read a book. While the intriguing story-question in this novel kept me riveted, there was so much about it that held me at arms-length and jerked me out of the story. By the end, I felt I knew very little about most of the characters, save The Sinner. Maybe that's the author's point. If so, then she was successful.
Also, I'm not one who needs a lot of character description to enjoy a story, but the author withholds facts about certain characters until the end. Totally unfair to the reader. Galway, for instance, is said to be old. So I adopted a certain mental image of him, thinking that's where the description ends. But no. Three-quarters of the way through readers learn he's a chubby, Irish-looking guy with reddish wisps of hair around his balding head. And the MC's description isn't given until almost the very end. Most characters I didn't picture. They were just shadows because I wasn't given much to composite a mental image. Also, journal entries from a Beverly Scott Thomas, who I assumed was a woman, nope, wrong again, were indeed written by a guy. Beverly? Really? Another weird name! Maybe it's a nineteenth century thing.
While the story served to answer the questions, mostly, SINNER didn't really have a converging climax like you'd expect from a book in the thriller genre. All the forces didn't come together, although the threads did, it just kind of ended after a violent episode, a story and a nap.
The story of SINNER is good, in spite of my negative comments. I enjoyed how the mystery unfolded. The piecemeal effect would have been more enjoyable for me with a wilder ending, more identifiable and pronounced characters--minus some of the crazy names. This book differs a great deal from most Christian fiction, which usually highlights at least one strong Christian main character. SINNER simply carries the message of God's grace, which I believe speaks louder than a sermonized chapter would. I do give the author applause for that, as it gives the book a broad-spectrum appeal in both secular and Christian markets. I'm just a reader who values character development and story pull as much as plot.
I do anticipate spectacular works from Rogers in the future. She has an entertaining narrative voice, a creative mind and a heart for God.
I'm used to reading multi-viewpoint novels, but this one I found a bit jarring. It quickly skips from one view to another, and I knew while reading that all these threads would eventually tie together--so it didn't bother me, but with most of the POV characters having strange names and very little physical description given, it is difficult to remember who's who. I had to keep flipping back, which is very annoying. If you set the book down, forget it. You have to remember who's who, who's where and what predicament they're in. Regarding the strange names, Lincoln, CK, Junebug, Keena, Cyril, Maria Eliza Garces, Rebel, Chance or maybe it's Chase--who knows without the book in front of me, Galway, James Dandy are just some of them, it seems as though the author thought using her list of favorite baby names in her novel would be cool, along with her favorite letters: k, j, c, l, r and S, which causes a lot of confusion. I cringed every time a new character came on the scene with their clunky, funky name. Strange names aren't necessarily bad, like with the Matrix, but the names there were distinct enough. The overuse of last names also, seems like a tiny detail, a preference thing really, but it ushers formality throughout the book. CK Ivors, CK Ivors, CK Ivors. I couldn't stand that. And with so many POV's, the protagonist in the story, CK I'm guessing, is not showcased enough. I don't feel like I know her well.
The author did a FABULOUS job at revealing little idiosyncrasies of the main characters, which were cute and fascinating, but there wasn't much beyond that. The dialogue, which could have been used to reveal more character depth was pretty blah and generic, with the exception of a few key scenes. I hoped to feel CK's passions, hurt, anger, frustration or something somewhere along the line, and I never got that satisfaction. I don't mean the author's characters weren't interesting or that they came across flat. It's just that I didn't experience the book, feel like I lived in that world, which I expect to happen when I read a book. While the intriguing story-question in this novel kept me riveted, there was so much about it that held me at arms-length and jerked me out of the story. By the end, I felt I knew very little about most of the characters, save The Sinner. Maybe that's the author's point. If so, then she was successful.
Also, I'm not one who needs a lot of character description to enjoy a story, but the author withholds facts about certain characters until the end. Totally unfair to the reader. Galway, for instance, is said to be old. So I adopted a certain mental image of him, thinking that's where the description ends. But no. Three-quarters of the way through readers learn he's a chubby, Irish-looking guy with reddish wisps of hair around his balding head. And the MC's description isn't given until almost the very end. Most characters I didn't picture. They were just shadows because I wasn't given much to composite a mental image. Also, journal entries from a Beverly Scott Thomas, who I assumed was a woman, nope, wrong again, were indeed written by a guy. Beverly? Really? Another weird name! Maybe it's a nineteenth century thing.
While the story served to answer the questions, mostly, SINNER didn't really have a converging climax like you'd expect from a book in the thriller genre. All the forces didn't come together, although the threads did, it just kind of ended after a violent episode, a story and a nap.
The story of SINNER is good, in spite of my negative comments. I enjoyed how the mystery unfolded. The piecemeal effect would have been more enjoyable for me with a wilder ending, more identifiable and pronounced characters--minus some of the crazy names. This book differs a great deal from most Christian fiction, which usually highlights at least one strong Christian main character. SINNER simply carries the message of God's grace, which I believe speaks louder than a sermonized chapter would. I do give the author applause for that, as it gives the book a broad-spectrum appeal in both secular and Christian markets. I'm just a reader who values character development and story pull as much as plot.
I do anticipate spectacular works from Rogers in the future. She has an entertaining narrative voice, a creative mind and a heart for God.
February 8, 2015
My friend led me to her bookshelf and said, "I have a book for you." When I first saw it I was very skeptical. But this book won my heart. To this day it is still my favorite book, by far, and it changed my life. Everyone needs fo read this book.
July 12, 2015
This book was intriguing, a little hard to follow but I liked the story and that it had a moral to the story. I found myself really fascinated but the flashback scenes the most.
June 15, 2023
3.75
November 11, 2015
Sinner
is about a mysterious vigilante who caught the eyes of a famous writer named CK Ivors after he beat up a local priest and exposed him as a pedophile. Now, CK Ivors and her investigative team are now after this mysterious vigilante called the "Sinner"--- but they will soon find out that there is so much more about this "Sinner" and his past than the surface they've barely scratched. Also, little do they know that another person has been searching for the "Sinner" for a long time; a man who's been waiting for almost a decade for his revenge.
This is my second read this month and I'm amazed that I've picked up yet another great, great read! It'll be hard choosing between this one and the book I read before this as my favorite read for the month. Hahaha. Anyway! YES, you should pick this up. You should find a copy and read it!
Thing is, at first, I was overwhelmed by the fact that at the start of the novel, every chapter was introducing a new character and therefore adding another POV to the story. Although, what I noticed was that they all seemed very gripping and although some POVs were stronger than others, none of them seemed "weak" or uninteresting, and I think that was a hard technique that was executed well in the novel. I enjoyed how it played out and how all the characters fit to the story and meeting all of them was enjoyable.
Second, the plot is amazing. The "Sinner" character is a real thinker for readers and he will make you analyze and ponder and reflect and I just looooved how that character had so much depth to dissect. I loved the references involved in the story (!! L O V E D!!). The movement of the story is amazing and I just also really loved how everything played out chapter by chapter.
A must-read!! A huge thank you to Tito for lending this book to me! I hope I can find a copy soon for myself, haha!
This is my second read this month and I'm amazed that I've picked up yet another great, great read! It'll be hard choosing between this one and the book I read before this as my favorite read for the month. Hahaha. Anyway! YES, you should pick this up. You should find a copy and read it!
Thing is, at first, I was overwhelmed by the fact that at the start of the novel, every chapter was introducing a new character and therefore adding another POV to the story. Although, what I noticed was that they all seemed very gripping and although some POVs were stronger than others, none of them seemed "weak" or uninteresting, and I think that was a hard technique that was executed well in the novel. I enjoyed how it played out and how all the characters fit to the story and meeting all of them was enjoyable.
Second, the plot is amazing. The "Sinner" character is a real thinker for readers and he will make you analyze and ponder and reflect and I just looooved how that character had so much depth to dissect. I loved the references involved in the story (!! L O V E D!!). The movement of the story is amazing and I just also really loved how everything played out chapter by chapter.
A must-read!! A huge thank you to Tito for lending this book to me! I hope I can find a copy soon for myself, haha!
January 28, 2017
Even though it started out a little confusing because it has a lot of characters and some scenes are brutal, the flow of the story is good and thrilling. The book is very interesting and has a moral. The twists are exciting and good, too. The mystery in it kept me reading the book until the last page. The book is about the mysterious "Sinner" who's been investigated by CK Ivors with her team and Loftis Johnson because of his mystery and the things he did. It's a good book.
September 28, 2012
This was awesome and as thrilling as the back of the book said it would be. The mystery was delightful with a fairly predictable ending that didn't dissapoint. The characters were brillant, relatable and people I wish I could have coffee with. The anxiety and anticipation that builds as the characters are flushed out is magnificient. Just great.
October 23, 2015
A really good book. I may have found a new author to be on the look for. I will admit to a little confusion early on with the entry of the diary journals but I'm glad I kept reading. The twist at the end was well played.
July 3, 2009
Liked it but definitely agree with the other reviews that sometimes her writing is a bit rough. I am a fan of her main characters and would love to read a sequel...
November 17, 2009
Slow start but did turn out to be a pretty good book.
January 1, 2011
Easy read - needed something lighter since I was reading both Soldiers of Reason and listening to Infidel... this filled the bill.. nice light story with a twist. Finished in about four days.
June 12, 2013
This was a beautiful wonderful book.
I loved every bit of it.
I loved every bit of it.
January 10, 2014
I found it a good page turner with well created characters.
August 21, 2014
Creepy, hair raising, though provoking. I enjoyed it.
September 11, 2015
A haunting, strangely touching story within a supernatural thriller. Well written, with well-drawn characters I cared about.
September 13, 2016
I found this book to be very interesting. It took a long time to build to get the story across and there are a lot of characters to follow but once you start to really get into it, it's a good read.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews