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Nell West/Michael Flint #2
The Sin Eater
The sins of the past break through to the present in this chilling tale of supernatural suspense. - When Benedict Doyle finds himself the owner of his great-grandfather’s North London house, it stirs memories of his time there as a frightened eight-year-old and the strange glimpses that revealed the darkness in his family’s past, through which runs the grisly thread of an old legend about a chess set believed to possess a dark power. And when Michael Flint, meeting Benedict in Oxford, starts to research his story, chilling facts begin to emerge – facts that suggest the old legend contains a disturbing reality. Could the chess set’s malevolence be reaching out to the present?
272 pages, Hardcover
First published March 30, 2012
51 people are currently reading
491 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Rayne
46 books307 followersAka 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
April 3, 2016
If you were to ask me to name one author who is supremely underappreciated, I might pick Sarah Rayne. Perhaps she is more well known outside of the US, but here, I stumble onto one of her historical ghostly mysteries purely by chance, and then was like, "who IS this person who spins a really great story, a LOT of really great stories, and who I have never heard of?"
Happily, Sarah Rayne is (as noted) a prolific writer, and from what I've read, her books just seem to improve as she goes along.
The Sin Eater is the second in a series featuring antiques dealer Nell West and Oxford professor Michael Flint. It has all the elements of a completely absorbing, gripping, scary tale, with a couple of main characters who are funny, decent, and loveable, to counterbalance the terror. This series is a whole lot of fun, but don't underestimate how scary it is! I am not a big fan of horror, and when reading these, while I think they are huge fun, they have also been known to give me bad dreams. So be warned....a great tale, a great series...but one that may make you think twice about turning off the nightlight.
Happily, Sarah Rayne is (as noted) a prolific writer, and from what I've read, her books just seem to improve as she goes along.
The Sin Eater is the second in a series featuring antiques dealer Nell West and Oxford professor Michael Flint. It has all the elements of a completely absorbing, gripping, scary tale, with a couple of main characters who are funny, decent, and loveable, to counterbalance the terror. This series is a whole lot of fun, but don't underestimate how scary it is! I am not a big fan of horror, and when reading these, while I think they are huge fun, they have also been known to give me bad dreams. So be warned....a great tale, a great series...but one that may make you think twice about turning off the nightlight.
January 15, 2014
The Sin Eater by Sarah Rayne is the second novel in the Michael Flint / Nell West series and follows on from Property of a Lady. I absolutely fell in love with Property of a Lady, and gave it 5 stars in my review, so I was eager to read the next in the series. However, unfortunately for me The Sin Eater just wasn't able to match it.
Nell West is an antiques dealer and Michael Flint an academic working in Oxford and together they make a great pair. In this novel they become involved with Benedict through a friend and his inheritance of Holly Lodge. Benedict begins to experience a presence in Holly Lodge and is convinced he is suffering from dissociative personality disorder or DPD. I was frustrated by the character's explanations for what was happening to him: perhaps it was DPD, it was the mist, I knocked my head etc. In fact, each of the three main characters were reluctant to accept that there could be unexplained forces at work.
As the reader I jumped in straight away and was more than willing to accept what was happening and just wanted to get on with the plot. The character's continual reluctance held me back when I just wanted to be swept away by the narrative.
The sections set in London and Ireland in the 1890s were the most gripping of all, and I could easily have spent the entire novel there. The story of the first sin eater, the evil and malevolent chess pieces and the fire in the watch tower had me powering through the pages to find out what was going to happen. These sections were written in the signature Sarah Rayne style I've come to know and love and I just wish Michael, Nell and Benedict were less reluctant to accept what was happening to them, and get on with it.
I'm very much looking forward to reading the next in the series, The Silence.
Nell West is an antiques dealer and Michael Flint an academic working in Oxford and together they make a great pair. In this novel they become involved with Benedict through a friend and his inheritance of Holly Lodge. Benedict begins to experience a presence in Holly Lodge and is convinced he is suffering from dissociative personality disorder or DPD. I was frustrated by the character's explanations for what was happening to him: perhaps it was DPD, it was the mist, I knocked my head etc. In fact, each of the three main characters were reluctant to accept that there could be unexplained forces at work.
As the reader I jumped in straight away and was more than willing to accept what was happening and just wanted to get on with the plot. The character's continual reluctance held me back when I just wanted to be swept away by the narrative.
The sections set in London and Ireland in the 1890s were the most gripping of all, and I could easily have spent the entire novel there. The story of the first sin eater, the evil and malevolent chess pieces and the fire in the watch tower had me powering through the pages to find out what was going to happen. These sections were written in the signature Sarah Rayne style I've come to know and love and I just wish Michael, Nell and Benedict were less reluctant to accept what was happening to them, and get on with it.
I'm very much looking forward to reading the next in the series, The Silence.
April 29, 2016
I certainly did not enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the first in the series. The ghost story in PROPERTY was well-founded and well-explained. The plot of SIN EATER was much less “solid.” A young man named Benedict Doyle inherits his grandfather’s house after the latter’s death, a home which his father told him as a child he should never enter because “It” was there. His father and mother died in a car wreck when he was just a child, killed some say by a dark-cloaked pedestrian standing in the middle of a road in a blizzard. Benedict has always felt uncomfortable in the home, especially as he sees a mysterious figure of a man in the mirrors of the house, a reflection of a man who Benedict believes is his great-grandfather, Declan Doyle. Nell and Michael are involved as researchers of the story of both Declan and the home Benedict has inherited. The downside of this novel is that the plot centers on the somewhat hazy stories of Declan having possibly been the never-captured Mesmer Murderer of the late Victorian age and a chess set created and owned by the Devil. I never quite figured out the purpose of the latter. The set is of figures who can come alive and who seem possessed by an evil energy. All said and done, the mystery was entertaining, but I felt less sure of my footing here than I did in PROPERTY. I am hoping #3 will redeem the series.
November 11, 2013
This was a real clunker, sadly. I think I have finished with Sarah Rayne now. For one thing the premise--an evil chess set--just seemed silly, and for another, one of the main characters, Benedict, gets diagnosed with disassociative personality disorder (aka multiple personality disorder), based on pretty much zero evidence. Huh? First of all, that's extremely rare and difficult to diagnose, and secondly--where's the treatment plan? The doctor is all, "here, take these pills and we'll follow up in a few weeks" and Benedict is all, "oh thank goodness I am merely severely mentally ill instead of actually being in communication with dead people, la la la!" Lame.
The novel switched back and forth between the 1890s and the present day but the two very different eras are virtually indistinguishable, given the poor character development and oddly modern speech and writing styles presented in the 19th century scenarios. Overall this book was just not very interesting or entertaining; it reads like Ms Rayne had a deadline so she just threw together some odds and ends and mailed it off.
The novel switched back and forth between the 1890s and the present day but the two very different eras are virtually indistinguishable, given the poor character development and oddly modern speech and writing styles presented in the 19th century scenarios. Overall this book was just not very interesting or entertaining; it reads like Ms Rayne had a deadline so she just threw together some odds and ends and mailed it off.
March 25, 2014
Interesting plot - really interesting - but the execution wasn't quite up to it. I almost felt like I would have rather just read Declan's story, but there definitely needed to be either less of it or more. Less would have allowed the present-day characters to have a complete story. Things like the chess pieces on the calendar just didn't get the treatment they deserved. We got answers, but they were cursory and unsatisfying. I mostly enjoyed the book; I just wanted more from it.
January 27, 2024
The second book in this series didn't feel as polished at the first book. It still had a Gothic feel to the horror and the mystery, but it wasn't as strong as book one. Part of that, I think, is that much of this book takes places outside the house in question, and Nell and Michael (the two protagonists) feel like secondary characters in this story. They also were reluctant to become involved in the mystery in this book, and one thing I like to see in Gothic stories is the reactions of the characters. Part of the charm of book one was both characters were so eager to dive into the mystery of a haunted house, and I loved how the story used them and the settings to drive the atmosphere. This story suffered a little in building atmosphere, which is a shame, for the ghost story was clever.
Yet, the setup in the book is still fascinating, and I liked how Sarah Rayne uses the past narrative to add doubt and confusion into the present narrative, but then also slowly draws out the answers. The past narrative is definitely the most gripping of the two in this book. It felt so vibrant and alive, and the characters in that past narrative were wonderfully written. I would have been happy to sit back and read more about Declan and Colm, as they tried to navigate life in historic London.
If you like stories where the first few chapters drag you in, then this will suit your needs. It hooked me in the first few chapters. It's just unfortunate that a few elements after that amazing beginning were not as strong.
Still, I feel driven to read more in this series.
Yet, the setup in the book is still fascinating, and I liked how Sarah Rayne uses the past narrative to add doubt and confusion into the present narrative, but then also slowly draws out the answers. The past narrative is definitely the most gripping of the two in this book. It felt so vibrant and alive, and the characters in that past narrative were wonderfully written. I would have been happy to sit back and read more about Declan and Colm, as they tried to navigate life in historic London.
If you like stories where the first few chapters drag you in, then this will suit your needs. It hooked me in the first few chapters. It's just unfortunate that a few elements after that amazing beginning were not as strong.
Still, I feel driven to read more in this series.
December 10, 2020
Sarah Rayne has really blown my mind with her wonderful way of writing in this. The ability to merge storylines and weave them together was an awesome way of telling this story. This is the first book I have read of hers and I am intrigued to read more!
December 8, 2025
This is the second book in the Michael Flint/Nell West ghost story series. I'm reading these totally out of order, though it doesn't seem to hurt.
When Benedict Doyle is 8 years old, his parents and paternal grandfather are killed in a one-car crash in snowy and icy weather. The mystery is what they were doing out there in that weather. What was so important that they would risk their lives? No one knows, least of all Benedict, who is devastated by the loss of his parents. He has to go live with his aunt Lyn and cousin Nina now. He also has to attend the funeral and for the first time he visits Holly Lodge, the family home in north London. It will be his when he turns 21 years old.
Right before the funeral, Benedict sees something in a mirror - a man staring right back at him. The man resembles Benedict's father, but with piercing blue eyes, and appears to be standing in the same room as Benedict - except he isn't there. Benedict hears his aunt call him and when he looks back at the mirror, the man is gone. However, after the funeral at Holly Lodge, Benedict comes across some old photographs and recognizes the person in one of them - "The man in the photograph was the man who had looked at him from his bedroom mirror four days earlier."
Benedict finds himself haunted by someone - his great-grandfather Declan Doyle? - who has been dead for decades, and who may have committed a series of murders a century earlier in London, right around the time of the Ripper murders. Benedict begins to have lengthy flashbacks to the time of Declan Doyle and his best friend, Colm Rourke, from Ireland to London in the late 19th century. Benedict's life and sanity are endangered by the ghost, who has a mysterious agenda of his own.
Then there's the strange, unsettling chess piece, the sole remnant of a magnificent and magical set:
"A carved figure, some eight or ten inches high, dulled with the dust of years, but unmistakably fashioned from a smooth, black substance. Ebony, though Benedict, staring at it. The figure was studded with tiny glinting black gems and beads of something that might be jet. There were the folds of a cloak around it, and the sharp outline of a crown encircled the head. In one hand was a slender staff, tipped with a further crown.
The black king from the devil's chess set."
Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I liked Benedict and felt sorry for him. He really was an innocent victim of his own family's history. The flashbacks were interesting and well done. I was reminded of how there was no safety net for people at this time (late 19th century) either in the UK or the US. It was very easy to fall into poverty and very hard to get out. I'm sure Romilly's fate was not at all uncommon.
The downside was the ghost. For the most part, I didn't find him very scary. There were a couple scenes that were the exception, but he interacted so much with the other characters, especially Benedict, that he didn't feel intimidating, just annoying. Familiarity breeds contempt. However, the story kept me interested and I will definitely read more Sarah Rayne novels.
When Benedict Doyle is 8 years old, his parents and paternal grandfather are killed in a one-car crash in snowy and icy weather. The mystery is what they were doing out there in that weather. What was so important that they would risk their lives? No one knows, least of all Benedict, who is devastated by the loss of his parents. He has to go live with his aunt Lyn and cousin Nina now. He also has to attend the funeral and for the first time he visits Holly Lodge, the family home in north London. It will be his when he turns 21 years old.
Right before the funeral, Benedict sees something in a mirror - a man staring right back at him. The man resembles Benedict's father, but with piercing blue eyes, and appears to be standing in the same room as Benedict - except he isn't there. Benedict hears his aunt call him and when he looks back at the mirror, the man is gone. However, after the funeral at Holly Lodge, Benedict comes across some old photographs and recognizes the person in one of them - "The man in the photograph was the man who had looked at him from his bedroom mirror four days earlier."
Benedict finds himself haunted by someone - his great-grandfather Declan Doyle? - who has been dead for decades, and who may have committed a series of murders a century earlier in London, right around the time of the Ripper murders. Benedict begins to have lengthy flashbacks to the time of Declan Doyle and his best friend, Colm Rourke, from Ireland to London in the late 19th century. Benedict's life and sanity are endangered by the ghost, who has a mysterious agenda of his own.
Then there's the strange, unsettling chess piece, the sole remnant of a magnificent and magical set:
"A carved figure, some eight or ten inches high, dulled with the dust of years, but unmistakably fashioned from a smooth, black substance. Ebony, though Benedict, staring at it. The figure was studded with tiny glinting black gems and beads of something that might be jet. There were the folds of a cloak around it, and the sharp outline of a crown encircled the head. In one hand was a slender staff, tipped with a further crown.
The black king from the devil's chess set."
Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I liked Benedict and felt sorry for him. He really was an innocent victim of his own family's history. The flashbacks were interesting and well done. I was reminded of how there was no safety net for people at this time (late 19th century) either in the UK or the US. It was very easy to fall into poverty and very hard to get out. I'm sure Romilly's fate was not at all uncommon.
The downside was the ghost. For the most part, I didn't find him very scary. There were a couple scenes that were the exception, but he interacted so much with the other characters, especially Benedict, that he didn't feel intimidating, just annoying. Familiarity breeds contempt. However, the story kept me interested and I will definitely read more Sarah Rayne novels.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2012
A lively and engrossing tale of the supernatural with a hit-or-miss delivery. The writing brought goosebumps to my arms several times, even (or especially) when I knew what the next paragraph would bring and yet the confirmation was rendered so well as to be chilling still.
But there are jarring transitions to the continuity characters' tacked-on roles in the story, and within those still more jostling interjections of humor and/or "sexy talk".
And there's also the repeated use of "... expecting to find something sinister, but of course there was nothing there. Or was there?". Pleasant enough the first time or two, but drawing audible tongue clicks after a while.
But the story itself comes through well enough for pages at a time, with strong pacing and skillful flashback transitions.
The final confrontation deflates on the last page in an incongruous and unsatisfying sigh. That I wished it had gone on a bit longer is more a telling of how good the story was rather than how the ending was.
But there are jarring transitions to the continuity characters' tacked-on roles in the story, and within those still more jostling interjections of humor and/or "sexy talk".
And there's also the repeated use of "... expecting to find something sinister, but of course there was nothing there. Or was there?". Pleasant enough the first time or two, but drawing audible tongue clicks after a while.
But the story itself comes through well enough for pages at a time, with strong pacing and skillful flashback transitions.
The final confrontation deflates on the last page in an incongruous and unsatisfying sigh. That I wished it had gone on a bit longer is more a telling of how good the story was rather than how the ending was.
June 26, 2014
This book felt like it had potential it couldn't live up to. Though some parts of the story were scary, it just didn't scare me. There was no real tension in the writing. Characters too often ridiculously ignored the obvious or dismissed ghostly happenings just for the sake of moving the book along. Also, the characters of Nell and Michael didn't seem like they belonged in this story, and they were only there to tie together a series of novels (this is the second of four so far).
October 5, 2014
The Sin Eater is part horror,part ghost story and a murder mystery to boot. As with all Sarah Rayne stories it is a very readable piece of fiction that presents a dark and bleak world. A story of the dark and distant past returning to the present and involving those living today in something evil and dangerous from two centuries below. the story line holds together well and it is an absorbing read. Recommended.
January 8, 2016
An old fashioned ghost story. Good, but not nearly as good as Property of a Lady.
June 18, 2023
309 pages
This is a great book. While it was not up to Ms. Rayne’s usual standards, it was gripping and interesting. From the very beginning, I was pulled into the story.
The reader is treated to a dual-timeline story. It is set in 1890’s Ireland and England and also in the present. I loved the supernatural overtones. I loved the mystery and the surprises. When the 1890’s character stepped out of the mirror and interacted with the present-day characters, I was thrilled!
I was a little disappointed that Benedict, who inherited the spooky house, and Nell were the only ones who could see the “ghost” in the mirror. I thought that Michael should have interacted with him as well.
But Michael played a big part in the book by verifying all that Benedict told him about the 1890’s incidents.
I felt immense relief when the three protagonists in this story, Nell, Michael and Benedict, discovered that Benedict was not mentally ill, but was haunted. I didn’t believe in Benedict’s diagnosis of DID. It is such a rare disorder. Some clinicians don’t even think it exists. Perhaps if Benedict was diagnosed with fugue states, it would have been more believable - to me at any rate.
Great book, great characters, great writing. I can hardly wait for the next in the series.
This is a great book. While it was not up to Ms. Rayne’s usual standards, it was gripping and interesting. From the very beginning, I was pulled into the story.
The reader is treated to a dual-timeline story. It is set in 1890’s Ireland and England and also in the present. I loved the supernatural overtones. I loved the mystery and the surprises. When the 1890’s character stepped out of the mirror and interacted with the present-day characters, I was thrilled!
I was a little disappointed that Benedict, who inherited the spooky house, and Nell were the only ones who could see the “ghost” in the mirror. I thought that Michael should have interacted with him as well.
But Michael played a big part in the book by verifying all that Benedict told him about the 1890’s incidents.
I felt immense relief when the three protagonists in this story, Nell, Michael and Benedict, discovered that Benedict was not mentally ill, but was haunted. I didn’t believe in Benedict’s diagnosis of DID. It is such a rare disorder. Some clinicians don’t even think it exists. Perhaps if Benedict was diagnosed with fugue states, it would have been more believable - to me at any rate.
Great book, great characters, great writing. I can hardly wait for the next in the series.
September 15, 2018
The story of the two young men in 19th century Ireland and London is so compelling, that I didn't mind that it wasn't entirely well integrated into the present-day plot. There are a few plot holes and events that are a little too supernatural for me - I can accept ghosts, but the denouement in the present time doesn't entirely make sense. As other readers have mentioned, the circled dates are left hanging, and the three characters in the present never really communicate with one another, so that different strands of the story are never woven together.
Rayne's prose is so lovely, however, that it doesn't matter. I was completely absorbed by the backstory, and the chess set sent a few chills down the spine.
Rayne's prose is so lovely, however, that it doesn't matter. I was completely absorbed by the backstory, and the chess set sent a few chills down the spine.
June 28, 2021
This one was not as good as the first one in the series but it was good enough for me to request the next book in the series through an inter-library loan. There was a lot of time spent with the characters attempting to explain away the supernatural things that were happening and that did begin to get on my nerves. Also, there was little character development in the two characters that I fell in love with in the first novel. I am hoping that there is more of them and their relationship in the next novel of the series. I was also slightly put off with the idea of that evil triumphed, at least to a degree, in this story. That always sets my teeth on edge.
April 11, 2018
A very soft ghost story. There's not much horrors or creepy thrills but has an interesting plot of a ghost mesmerizing across centuries. The ending was a bit softly done I thought but else I loved the characterization of Benedict. Michael and Nell are more in the supporting roles category rather than the main front which I thought was nicely done. Anyways Sarah Rayne's ghost stories are compelling and interesting reads and thoroughly entertaining.The history part about Ireland was quite the best part about the book.
January 22, 2023
A re-read of this one, the second in the Nell West ad Michael Flint series. When Benedict turns 21 he inherits his grand-father's house. He asks Nell to have a look at some items still there and value them. But something has been disturbed in the house and it tells of an ancient evil connected with a chess set . Can Nell and Michael uncover the secrets of the house before it's to late? Terrific read.
September 7, 2020
I’m no quitter....
At times it was painful, but I forced myself to finish this book. I love books written in past/present/future, but I think even the author may have forgotten which we were in at times.
I’m sure she’s a great author, but this was my first time reading her work.
I think I’ll sit the next one out....
At times it was painful, but I forced myself to finish this book. I love books written in past/present/future, but I think even the author may have forgotten which we were in at times.
I’m sure she’s a great author, but this was my first time reading her work.
I think I’ll sit the next one out....
November 27, 2024
The second book I've read by Sarah Rayne and the follow up to 'property of a lady'. I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first one, but I loved the creepy horror - which is almost 'cosy horror', as in all the creepiness but no really nasty bits. I'd like a little bit more horror, but a good read nonetheless.
January 22, 2018
Another spellbinding story about a haunted house. An evil chess set and murder are part of this great story. I’m finding myself loving this author. I cannot put the book down until I am finished. There was so much mystery and suspense to discover what caused the family to be haunted for centuries.
March 10, 2023
Book 2 in the series.
Another fantastic tale from the magical Sarah Rayne. This book is another tour de force, I honestly don't think Sarah Rayne is capable of writing a boring novel. Absolutely first class.
Another fantastic tale from the magical Sarah Rayne. This book is another tour de force, I honestly don't think Sarah Rayne is capable of writing a boring novel. Absolutely first class.
August 24, 2017
A fairly entertaining read. The ending was very anti-climactic but I did enjoy the story.
November 14, 2017
Fast read and thoroughly enjoyed. Author does a good job of switching from past to present times. The characters are well thought out and likable.
October 1, 2019
Way too much supernatural and fantasy for my taste. Difficult to follow all the different story lines.
October 10, 2019
Dark, gripping, and cheese-free, my kind of story!
November 13, 2019
Great eerie story.
February 1, 2020
Excellent story, not a fast read.
December 20, 2022
Recommend - well done novel - just enough creepy
January 12, 2025
Another great read
Throughly enjoyed reading another Sarah Rayne book. If you’re into reading about ghosts from the past and mystery than try reading a Sarah Rayne book.
Throughly enjoyed reading another Sarah Rayne book. If you’re into reading about ghosts from the past and mystery than try reading a Sarah Rayne book.
January 31, 2025
the sin eater
This was a great read,loved the characters,this was a interesting book,i liked how the author switched to past and present times.
This was a great read,loved the characters,this was a interesting book,i liked how the author switched to past and present times.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews