New Slain Knight

Haunted Ballad #5

by Deborah Grabien

It's summer in England, and---with nothing urgent demanding their attention---Ringan and Penny are planning a quiet vacation alone together. Their plans change when Ringan's niece, fourteen-year-old violin prodigy Becca, is dumped in their care while her parents deal with an emergency abroad. Ringan has no idea what to do with a teenage relative. Penny points out that Becca is more a musician than a child, and suggests a musical holiday in Cornwall. Playing in front of a live audience with Ringan and a band will give the girl much-needed experience and confidence. It will let Ringan get to know his niece better, as well. It's a good plan, and everyone approves. And yet something about the St. Ives home of their host, Gowan, leaves Penny uneasy. She hears voices in her mind, speaking in Cornish, and has a horrifying vision through the eyes of a dying man. When, soon after, she finds Becca sleepwalking, Penny learns from Gowan that, many years earlier, his emotionally unstable lover hanged herself in this house. It may simply be the echoes of that tragedy disturbing both her and Becca. But after Becca has a seizure during a live performance of a seemingly harmless song, Penny and Ringan realize that a much older tragedy hangs over Gowan and his family. And if they can't find the truth and lay to rest whatever ghosts still walk, they may lose Becca. "New-Slain Knight, " the fifth in the Haunted Ballad mystery series, touches on the ties that bind: family, the past and the present, and the mystery that lies behind every story.

Genres: Mystery, British Literature, Music, Ghosts, Fantasy, Suspense

240 pages, Hardcover

First published November 13, 2007

About the author

Deborah Grabien is a world traveller, retired medieval historian, and lifelong rocker chick. Her short fiction, reviews, and essays can be seen in many diverse venues.

Reviews

[LJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Sentence: In the large upstairs room at the pub called the Duke of Cornwall’s Own, a local band, the Tin Miners were playing to an enthusiastic audience.

Musician Ringan Laine and theater producer Penny Wintercraft-Hawkes are looking forward to a rare vacation off together. Plans change when Ringan’s sister, whose mother-in-law needs her, asks to send him her 14-year-old daughter, Rebecca, a violin prodigy. Staying with Gowan, a musician friend in Cornwall, seemed like a good idea until Penny has a vision of a man dying and Becca starts sleep-walking. What are the forces from the past and beyond the grave influencing these two women?

Books that include a cast of characters and a map are such a treat. It is even better that Ms. Grabien’s characters are distinct and strong I didn’t need reminding of them, but it’s still a lovely thing to have.

The recurring characters of Ringlan and Penny are now old friends to me, but the author doesn’t assume they are known to every reader. New readers will have no problem learning who they are and uncovering their backstory. I think that is such an important thing for an author to do. The new characters are interesting, and fully dimensional. There is one character, Gowan, you start by liking but the shine dims a bit; for another, Lucy, the reverse is true. It is very well done. Lucy is a particularly interesting character as she is a researcher and a true skeptic—something you don’t usually see in a book with paranormal elements. She is very believable and adds the perfect balance to the story.

Ms. Grabian’s powers of description not only create a sense of place by showing us around Cornwall, but provided us a sense of the characters through their personal environments. When including old documents, I appreciate her leaving them in the appropriate Old English and Victorian spelling and grammar. She trusts the ability of her audience, which is wonderful.

Each of Ms. Grabian’s “Haunted Ballad” books is based on an actual old ballad, with a verse from the ballad at the beginning of each chapter. From that, she constructs a story each with a unique use of the paranormal element and a solidly constructed plot. Just when you think you’ve found a hole, she closes it. The characters ask the questions you mentally ask, and she answers them. The tension and suspense increase at a steady rate but without ever crossing over into graphic horror. The result is even more frightening than if she had, and then she adds excellent twists.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and closed it without identifying any flaws in its construction. The only question for potential readers is whether they enjoy books with a paranormal theme. If the answer is yes, I highly recommend “New-Slain Knight”.

NEW-SLAIN KNIGHT (Para/Susp-Ringan Laine/Penny Wintercraft-Hawkes-England-Cont) – Ex
Grabien, Deborah – 5th in Haunted Ballad series
Thomas Dunne Books, ©2007, US Hardcover – ISBN: 9780312374006

[Melissa Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cannot say enough about how much I have enjoyed this series. Ghost tales are not usually in my to read list, but the mysteries tied into old English folk songs appealed to me. Deborah Grabien does not disappoint as each book in the series has been better than the last. I have read them in order, but the stories don't build on each other so much that you would have to.

"Summer in England, and---with nothing urgent demanding their attention---Ringan and Penny are planning a quiet vacation alone together. Their plans change when Ringan's niece, fourteen-year-old violin prodigy Becca, is dumped in their care while her parents deal with an emergency abroad. Ringan has no idea what to do with a teenage relative. Penny points out that Becca is more a musician than a child, and suggests a musical holiday in Cornwall. Playing in front of a live audience with Ringan and a band will give the girl much-needed experience and confidence. It will let Ringan get to know his niece better, as well. It's a good plan, and everyone approves. And yet something about the St. Ives home of their host, Gowan, leaves Penny uneasy. She hears voices in her mind, speaking in Cornish, and has a horrifying vision through the eyes of a dying man. When, soon after, she finds Becca sleepwalking, Penny learns from Gowan that, many years earlier, his emotionally unstable lover hanged herself in this house. It may simply be the echoes of that tragedy disturbing both her and Becca. But after Becca has a seizure during a live performance of a seemingly harmless song, Penny and Ringan realize that a much older tragedy hangs over Gowan and his family. And if they can't find the truth and lay to rest whatever ghosts still walk, they may lose Becca. "New-Slain Knight, " the fifth in the Haunted Ballad mystery series, touches on the ties that bind: family, the past and the present, and the mystery that lies behind every story."

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fifth, and likely the last book in the Haunted Ballad series. Ringan and Penny are joined by Ringan's niece, Rebecca, who is a talented young violinist. They journey to Cornwall for a holiday and stay with an old friend of Ringan's, Gowan, who is also a musician. Gowan is shocked by Rebecca's grey eyes which remind him of a tragic love who hanged herself in his cottage. Penny is struck by another, earlier tragedy in his family, where a young man is killed with rock by a young woman. Becca is drawn into the mystery by being possesed by the young women's ghost and is racked by seizures. Ringan and Penny are in a race to solve the earlier mystery and the tie in to the song the New Slain Knight which Gowan felt compelled to play and which initiated the return of the spirits. Dark family histories come in to play, not only in the far past, but Gowan's recent past as well. The ending is chilling and adds a dark twist to story. I am sad to be at the end of a great series.

[Spuddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I have enjoyed this series of "haunted" mysteries that have roots in old English folk songs and their stories, I have to say I'm glad the series has ended. The first couple were stellar and kept me turning page after page, but after a couple more, it was fairly easy to see the formula and pattern for the stories and pretty much knew how they were going to turn out. I love these characters and the author's way of writing that welcomes you right into the pages and makes you get totally lost in the place and time of the book. Very much looking forward to moving on to her next series, the JP Kincaid chronicles.

[Anne Barwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of this series since a friend introduced me to it, and am sad that this is the final story. I find this series and its characters one I turn to when I want a 'comfort read'. I love the music references, and it being such an important part of the story, and that the characters are well-educated and intelligent. This story has a few twists and turns, and the ghosts aren't that easily ridden of, but that makes it a very satisfying read.

[Normalene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of history and of music and these bring those loves together in a mystery that revolves around old ballads and how much of them are based in truth. This one is #5 in the series so if you want to read them do it in order. The research that must go into these is extensive and well-placed in the narrative - not too much and not too soon to spoil the mystery. This one had a twist right at the very end that blew me away and now I think I have to go and re-read them all again.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still like the characters, and the "mystery" was interesting, but like the previous book, the ending is a little weak - nothing really happens to make the ghosts go away. In the first three books, Ringan and Penny have to figure out how to exorcise them, in the last two they just have to let the scenarios play out while they find information about them. There isn't a strong sense of closure.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

She writes like she's Irish. Not just the dialogue, but descriptions. The use of the word, "after." It's a very pleasant read and a fascinating story-line. Makes me wonder what their concept of "warm" is in Cornwall and if it'd be worth a summer trip there. The people sound like just my type - warm and nice, but blunt.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm very sorry that this is the last book in the series of Haunted Ballad books. After all, there are 301 more Child Ballads alone! A scary story with a Cornwall setting and a lot of descriptions of wonderful music.

[Eileen Burbage · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sad that this is the last in the series. I am really hoping that there will be another. For me, these books just got better and better...Love Ringan and Penny and the whole cast of characters from all the books.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the last one - still delightfully spooky and meticulously detailed. Can't wait for the next book to come out.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deborah Grabien writes a series of current day mysteries based upon old Celtic ballads. Very interesting and a fun read.

[Americanogig]

Unfortunately neither the ballad nor the book was haunting...at all. I never thought about it, forgot to read more and that was that as they say.

[Lois]

I can blame not finishing this one on my sister - it came due at the library and she took it back!

[Sumiko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the setting in Cornwall. And the way that it wasn't really "done" when the book was over.

It's a satisfying addition to the Haunted Ballad series.

[Aiisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

main characters Penny Wintercraft-Hawkes a theatre director, Ringan Laine a folk musician and architectural historian/restoration consultant

[Helen Fleischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another interesting twist on the dangers of folk music.