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Father of Lies #2

Tanners Dell

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A Darkly Disturbing Occult Horror Novel The Sequel to Father of Lies Following the hypnosis of violently disturbed psychiatric patient, Ruby Dean, an unholy dark force was unleashed on the medical staff who tried to help her. Now only one of the original team remains - Ward Sister, Becky. Despite her fiance, D.I. Ross, being unconscious and many of her colleagues either dead or critically ill, Becky is determined to rescue Ruby's twelve year old daughter from a similar fate to her mother. But no one asking questions in the desolate mining village Ruby descends from ever comes to a good end. And as the diabolical history of the area is gradually revealed, it seems the evil invoked is now both real and contagious. Don't turn the lights out yet!"

248 pages, Paperback

Published May 21, 2016

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About the author

S.E. England

17 books110 followers
Pseudonym for author Sarah E. England.

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5 stars
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178 (14%)
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34 (2%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
Profile Image for Maxine (Booklover Catlady).
1,429 reviews1,422 followers
May 28, 2025
Satanism. Sacrifices. Demonic oppression and possession. Curses. Dark Arts. Death. Evil...

This one is not a light hearted read. Nope. If you like your horror fiction on the dark side you will really enjoy Tanners Dell. I can imagine that S.E. England's Google search history is rather scary. You might want to read this one with the light on and perhaps with someone in the room. It's creepy stuff! There are disturbing scenes so don't say I did not warn you.

I had read and enjoyed the prior novel to this one Father of Lies by Sarah England and some of the characters that first appeared in that resurfaced again in Tanners Dell. You don't need to necessarily read Father of Lies first, this reads fine as a stand alone but both are great books so why not?

Following the hypnosis of violently disturbed psychiatric patient, Ruby Dean, an unholy dark force was unleashed on the medical staff who tried to help her. Now only one of the original team remains - Ward Sister, Becky.

Despite her fiancé, D.I. Ross, being unconscious and many of her colleagues either dead or critically ill, Becky is determined to rescue Ruby's twelve year old daughter from a similar fate to her mother. But no one asking questions in the desolate mining village Ruby descends from ever comes to a good end. And as the diabolical history of the area is gradually revealed, it seems the evil invoked is now both real and contagious.


Tanners Dell goes to some dark places and deals with some really evil human beings. Satanism is still a practiced thing around the world today and I felt that the author had done some real quality research around practices and beliefs to present her. It might be fiction but knowing it's still practiced is a truly terrifying thought.

The book is set in a small English village with a not so fluffy history. We meet Ruby again in Tanners Dell who is spending time in a psychiatric unit after suffering the most horrific of lives, but the darkness is not yet finished with Ruby, not by a long shot. She is not the only one influenced by it either. Relentless curses are taking good people down one by one.

With very spiritual elements to the novel this will be enjoyed by those who enjoy dabbling in the supernatural with their reading time and prefer their books on the dark side. I think my only small criticism (and it's tiny) with this novel is I felt some elements of the story were repeated a bit too closely to Father of Lies, but honestly I enjoyed the read very much. 4 stars from me!

Many thanks to Sarah England for an ARC of her new novel to read and review, much appreciated!

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Profile Image for Phil.
2,438 reviews236 followers
January 13, 2023
England gave the second volume in her trilogy a much more linear narrative and the events chronicled take place over the course of just three days (albeit with numerous flashbacks to prior events). Following the unleashing of some sort of evil, dark force from Ruby, the very disturbed psychiatric patient in the last volume, most of the original crew working with Ruby are either dead, insane or possessed. Our main protagonist in Tanners Dell, Becky, a nurse at the hospital, is the only one functional, and she had to have her personal demon expunged at a church. Now, she is on a quest to save Ruby's daughter Alice from the demonic cabal lead by Ida Dean before the 'blood sabbath'...

England fleshes out more of the backstory of the desolate mining village up in the moors where Tanners Dell is located, including the origins of Ida and more of Ruby's background, but the intent is largely to further the dread and sense of impending doom that has been building since the start of the trilogy. It seems all the powerful figures around, from head doctors, police chiefs, even the clergy, are all somehow linked to the demonic coven and anyone asking questions usually ends up dead pretty quickly. The strength of the Tanners Dell are the pacing and the sense of helplessness you feel for the main characters as they try to sort out where Alice is and how to stop the sabbath ceremony. England utilizes some fairly standard horror tropes here, but to good effect. 3 demonic stars!
Profile Image for Mark Tilbury.
Author 27 books279 followers
June 5, 2016
This is the first book by Sarah England that I've read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm now a huge fan of Sarah's writing and story-telling. Her characters are realistic and engaging, the dialogue between them suits who is speaking and when she describes this book as a darkly disturbing occult thriller, she means it.

I've read a lot of scary, paranormal and horror books and this is up there with the best of them. I like horror to be implied and suggested rather than slasher, blood, guts and gore type horror. Sarah creates an atmosphere and tension that oozes out of her story-telling, and leaves you feeling anxious about what could happen next.

The character of Ruby was excellently written, with empathy created for both her and her other identities. I also hope that Celeste will feature in a future book. If you want a book that is going to unnerve you and keep you turning the pages then I recommend this book. One of my top reads of the year by a new favourite author.

I was given a given a free copy of this book by the author via THE Book Club in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Holly.
240 reviews81 followers
March 25, 2022
Such a good series thus far. Legitimately creepy. I can’t wait to read the third book!
Profile Image for Sarah Maleficent .
246 reviews17 followers
June 30, 2016
Wow...Just...Wow! This book is a deliciously dark cocktail of everything I want and love in a good horror novel.
A horror story that is wonderfully written with a mix of the occult, satanism and witchcraft thrown in.
Not enough for you? One of the main characters in the story is Ruby. A woman who has suffered in some of the most horrific ways you can imagine, and more besides. She is suffering from a multiple personality disorder, and is in Drummersgate, a psychiatric hospital.
This is the second in a series, the first being Father of Lies. I bought F.O.L when I received Tanners Dell as an ARC. It is better if read in order (as with any series ) however, you don't miss out if you read this as a stand alone. The authors brilliant storytelling quickly brings you up to date with the back story and any details you need to know.
It is told from many different points of view, which I found added an extra depth (not that it was lacking in anyway ) and another dimension to the emotions you felt when reading it. Believe me, you will be put through the proverbial "wringer" with this book and enjoy every, single,minute.
As for the time setting, it moves seamlessly through from now to the 70's and back again.
What Sarah England has here, is a well paced, superbly written, "Do not read if alone in the dark" novel. Absolutely fantastic, and I eagerly await the next instalment. #sleepwithoneeyeopen
Profile Image for Cam.
1,217 reviews2 followers
July 4, 2020
I actually liked this book better than the first. I can see myself finishing this trilogy. Fiction horror about a devil worshiping cult town in England that live to serve a witch that will bring about the devil. All the same characters from the first book.
Profile Image for Sarah.
2,956 reviews222 followers
January 1, 2017
I highly recommend reading Father of Lies which is the first novel in the trilogy before reading this one as there is a lot of background that you need to familiarise yourself with and its also a great read.

The story starts where it finished in the first book. Becky finds herself pretty much on her own and has to enlist help from others in her attempt to bring down a cult and save Alice, Ruby’s daughter. Only problem is, anyone that tries to uncover the dark forces tend not to fair to well and dark and disturbing things start to happen to them.

I have to say as much as I understood Becky’s determination to put an end to the horrors that were happening to her and people close to her, I certainly wouldn’t have thanked her if she had turned up on my doorstep! You just know that things are never going to end well and my heart was literally in my mouth as horrible things started to happen to many of the characters.

This would really make a great horror film. I could easily visualise a lot of the horrors that were unfolding in front of me which was actually quite scary. It’s a bit hard to hide behind a cushion when your reading a book!

Tanners Dell is a brilliant second book in a truly gripping trilogy. It is seriously creepy and will scare the bejeezus out of you! Brilliant!
Profile Image for Shani Struthers.
Author 48 books508 followers
May 31, 2016
Ms England does it again - she's scared the life out of me! Father of Lies was the first book I've ever had to stop reading at night and, although I managed to read this in the dark hours, it did give me nightmares! Brilliant though, absolutely brilliant. A well-crafted horror novel with a deep insight into witchcraft and Satanism that takes you on a rollercoaster of a ride from start to finish. Ruby is one of the main characters of Tanners Dell, an in-mate at Drummersgate psychiatric hospital and one of the most disturbed patients they've ever ha with multiple personality syndrome. In Tanners Dell we find out why this is so as chief protagonists Becky, Noel and Toby go on a mission to unearth the secrets of the old mill and exactly what happens (and what has happened) there. Suffice to say, one scene in a hotel bedroom, later on in the book, well... I could barely sleep after that one and under no circumstances do I want to stay alone in a hotel room anytime soon if ever now, thanks to Ms England! Intelligent, pacy and very well-written, it ends on a slight cliff hanger leaving us desperate to know more.
Profile Image for Daniel Lorn.
Author 7 books78 followers
January 3, 2024
After having an absolute blast with Father of Lies, I couldn't wait to check out this sequel!

Although this story didn't hit me as hard as Father of Lies, Tanners Dell is a perfectly worthy sequel to Father of Lies (hard to beat) and has its fair share of terrifying and unsettling moments.

Recommended!
Profile Image for Kath.
3,073 reviews
June 10, 2016
This is the follow up to the brilliant Father of Lies and, although enough (but not too much) information from that book is included in this, it would really be better to read that first as this book picks up straight where that finishes.
As with FOL, this book is just as creepy and scary in places. I was lucky that I read it during the day. I wouldn't have wanted to read late at night with all the strange noises we get where I live and I am well used to all things horror and supernatural! Again, as with the first book, I found this book ticked pretty much every box for me; good, well fleshed out characters playing out a very well crafted storyline. The supernatural element of the plot was also very well done, enough "super" to fit the genre but with enough "natural" to make it scary - I find that the closer a story is to being possible, the scarier it is for me and there was nothing in this book that was too over the top to make the book far fetched. Again, the amount of research done by the author is evident too. She has a head start with her professional expertise but there is also evidence of a lot more research done on the occult side of things too. And from what I read, what didn't fall within those bounds also came across as real and credible to me.
Pacing was good too. As I have already mentioned, there are a fair few spooky-scary parts in this book but there are also periods of gentler moments that allowed me as a reader a bit of well earned respite. This made for a well paced and balanced read.
Characterisation is also spot on. Those that have been carried forward from book one are developing well in this book and new ones fit in nicely. I especially like the connections made between characters in this book, especially their interactions.
As before, we move about in time, although this is very easily navigated and I never got confused like I have with some time-hop books. I found that this was handled very well by the author and the whole book flowed nicely. We also have the story from different points of view, again this is well handled and easy to follow.
All in all, a great addition to the series and I am very much looking forward to book three and what happens next.

I received a free review copy of this book from THE Book Club in exchange for my honest review.


Profile Image for Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime.
5,640 reviews329 followers
May 29, 2016
Review: TANNERS DELL by Sarah England

Ever wonder if Horror fiction can inspire nightmares: paralysing, terrible nightmares? [Hypnagogia: it's not just a term in psychology texts]. TANNERS DELL, the exceptional continuation to the exceptional FATHER OF LIES, is outstanding. I don't get horror this refined often enough. The plotting is a conspiracy theorist' s dream come true, and the villains have it all wrapped up: nothing and no one can get at them or unravel the situation. Amazingly, I had near-immediate, near-total recall of the first book--a rare occurrence, since I read so much and so widely that I often struggle to recall title, author, or plot.
My recommendation: read TANNERS DELL, read FATHER OF LIES, reread: sleep with all the lights on [until the lights go off by themselves]--and remember, you never know who is part of the conspiracy--never....
Profile Image for Lorraine.
367 reviews5 followers
May 29, 2016
Loved, loved, loved this book! It was even better than Father of Lies, which says a lot as that was just amazing too. This book could be read as a stand alone book, but I would recommend reading Father of Lies first to get your head around the characters and their back stories. Highly recommended, a well deserved 5 stars from me!
Profile Image for Echo Bennett.
184 reviews11 followers
March 6, 2023
This author is the queen of occult horror. Her writing is frighteningly real. It raises goosebumps on my arms and is positively enthralling. Her characters are so vivid and their strengths and weaknesses move the plot forward in such a way you want to read straight through.
Profile Image for Dez Nemec.
1,074 reviews32 followers
April 17, 2021
Never did figure out how I felt about the first book, but this one dragged on in places and was rather anti-climatic. I basically skimmed the last 75 pages. I'm surprised how many people have raved on and on about this trilogy. Definitely don't need to finish it.
Profile Image for Gayle Beveridge-Marien.
38 reviews1 follower
May 26, 2016
Tanners Dell is the sequel to Father of Lies and although it could be read alone, it will be better enjoyed if you first read Father of Lies. The author, Sarah England, picks up the tale of mentally disturbed Ruby, a victim of child abuse. All who have attempted to investigate Ruby's past have met with death or horrendous mishap. There is dark magic at work and within its sphere of influence there is great danger. Nonetheless good people persevere and the tale is as much one of investigation as it is of horror. Much will be explained in Tanners Dell and loose ends will be tied. Ruby's drug addcited boy friend Jess is back and there is more to him that you might have imagined. In Tanners Dell we discover who Jess really is. Psychatric nurse Becky is at the core of the tale, having narrowly escaped evil in Father of Lies, her marraige in tatters and the love of her life comatose in hospital, she soldiers on. The story moves in time between the 1970's and the present and we meet Rosella, a gyspy girl gone missing and an important link in Ruby's story. The twist that comes at the very end is unexpected and leaves fans of the series wanting more. This is a faced paced novel so hang on to your seat.
Profile Image for Mike Sumner.
571 reviews28 followers
January 29, 2017
Another humdinger from Sarah England; starts seamlessly from book one in the trilogy. Dark, unholy forces are unleashed on the psychiatric team who are trying to help the violently disturbed patient, Ruby Dean. She is the focal point in this trilogy about the Secret Art in a location where Black Magic is practised with horrifying results as ward sister Becky and D.I. Ross are faced with diabolical events. The dark, dank Yorkshire Moors is the perfect setting for a Satanic sect that has worshipped Lucifer for decades, performing acts of depravity that will shock you. This is a disturbing read, not for the squeamish - and one to read with the light on!

OK - on to Book #3 - the final act.....
Profile Image for Gina Dickerson.
Author 33 books184 followers
July 21, 2016
I have already read Father Of Lies by S. E. England and thoroughly enjoyed it so I was looking forward to reading Tanners Dell and to find out a little more. I was not disappointed! Once again the story was engaging and well written, and of course chilling. It was satisfying to discover more about the events and persons involved. The scene settings are brilliant and I think it is perfect that it is told from different view points as I feel this adds depth to the tale. What I liked about this book is that is creepy and dark. I look forward to reading the third book!
Profile Image for Sue Wallace .
7,400 reviews140 followers
June 2, 2016
If you love horror and spooky books then I can highly recommend tanners dell by Sarah england. I received this from tbc to review and I couldn't put it down. It was totally gripping. I loved the characters Becky and Celeste and this book gets a 5* from me.
Profile Image for Helen.
626 reviews32 followers
January 22, 2017
3.5 stars

Solid follow up to Father of Lies. Very tense and claustrophobic with a dash of conspiracy theory vibe.
Profile Image for John Morris.
1,012 reviews79 followers
March 25, 2017
A dark and troubling story

This was a really disturbing story, well written and rather frightening. I just couldn't put it down. Roll on Book 3.
Profile Image for kirsty.
1,286 reviews86 followers
October 10, 2023
I really enjoyed the first book in this series Father of lies, so I was so keen to read the second installment, having patiently waited until spooky season to read it, and it was the perfect spooky read.

Dark, gothic and atmospheric this series is not for the faint hearted but I loved it and couldn't put it down I read it in one sitting.

It carried on seamlessly from where book one started and the writing is so descriptive it is such an immersive and evocative read.

If you like dark and chilling reads or horror as a genre I would highly recommend.
Profile Image for Gareth.
274 reviews4 followers
April 4, 2017
Not bad

I don't know whether it was my circumstances at the time or not but this book seemed to take a while to get through. It adds on to the story or Ruby etc, introduced in father of lies (book one) and develops quite nicely. There are some genuinely spooky parts and the research into demonic cults is still very good. I've given it 4 stars as it follows on well and it very well written (however, its night vision goggles, not glasses!).
Profile Image for Pixelina.
390 reviews55 followers
June 9, 2021
This was really not very good. I don't get why it is rated so high. The writing is plain bad, the story repetitive and silly, the characters extremely black or white.
I'll give it one and a half star
Profile Image for Selina Trafford.
172 reviews4 followers
November 26, 2017
Obsessive and compelling

Compelling like the first and I'm now obsessed with reading the third. Did Sarah England cast a spell...must read Magda.
Profile Image for Teigan.
107 reviews
October 11, 2023
the story wasn’t as captivating as the first one
Profile Image for Sarthak Bhatt.
146 reviews6 followers
February 19, 2025
Horror, peak horror! My god what a book, it really creeped me out, i imagine myself covered in white light now before I go to sleep. Beautiful little book.
6 reviews
October 5, 2016
Scary

I liked it a lot.I didn't think it was as disturbing as they warned about.I can't wait to read book three
Profile Image for louise conquer.
27 reviews2 followers
February 10, 2020
Omg!

A total page turner.Ive really enjoyed this one.Although in some places harrowing i could not put this down.True horror but with a huge element of truth.
Profile Image for Rachel.
105 reviews2 followers
August 9, 2022
The second of three

I have been waiting to read this book ever since finishing the first book 'Father Of Lies'. Luckily I stumbled across it and could continue with Ruby's and Becky's story.
I hugely enjoyed this book. It really feels like the author has grown more confident in her storytelling and takes a bit more time to shine a light on the horrors that are happening to the characters. Although at times it did feel a tiny bit rushed I would say that was due to the editing of the book and not the writing!
I won't go into details here about the story, as I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but I will say that it takes the reigns from the first book and sprints away with it. Many questions left from the first book are either answered or hinted at.
Happily this has turned into a trilogy, fingers crossed that the final installment is here soon
Profile Image for Em.
6 reviews1 follower
May 30, 2016
I read this as a stand alone novel even though it is a follow on from her novel Father Of Lies. Do not read alone late at night, it is a frighteningly good read. Even though its the second book in the series you are brought up to speed quite quickly with Ruby's story and the urgent need to find Alice. The book flicks easily from the 70's and to present day without confusing you. The race to find Alice has you gripped as the characters start dying or getting ill, will they rescue her before the satanic ritual happens when she turns 13?
The book ties up all the loose end we find out who Jes is and why he looked out for Ruby. We make it to the end but is it the end? The book closes leaving us waiting for the next installment to find Lilith.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews

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