The Sinner (The Graveyard Queen, #5)

by Amanda Stevens

• ISBN10: 0778317846
• ISBN13: 9780778317845
• Publish Date: 27 September 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Imprint: Mira Books
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Tall Rack)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

The Sinner was a weird one for me. For a while, I thought we were going to be dealing with zombies, but that angle never really came to fruition. When the series started out, there were the living and the dead (ghosts), but now we are entering a gray area with beings that are “something in between”. There was talk of an occult group that practiced necromancy, so I was sure zombies were the logical conclusion. They weren’t…, exactly. To be honest, I’m not sure what the plot conclusion was. Resolutions aren’t Amanda Stevens’ strong point.

The book’s ending, however, got my attention. My interest in the romantic angle of this series had been slowly growing over the last two books. I’ll admit that I didn’t see the break up coming. It was a nice curveball. I liked seeing insertion of a love triangle in The Visitor. I never felt the chemistry between Amelia and Devlin, so I was excited to see another player enter the scene and the end result of that triangle really threw me for a loop.

The end of the series is in sight, so I’m overlooking plot holes and leaning into the atmospheric richness. It’s perfect for listening during a Summer afternoon thunderstorm. It’s nice to see that Stevens isn’t afraid to contradict the obvious assumptions. So much of this series was beginning to seem formulaic. Her new approach is keeping me on my toes, but the new covers are making me cringe…

[kimbacaffeinate]

Our story picks up almost a year after the events in Visitor. Needed an escape from Charleston, Amelia accepts a graveyard restoration in Ascension. South Carolina. She is renting a local farmhouse where she sleeps nights on the screened porch allowing the coastal breezes to lure her to sleep. Despite missing John Devlin, she is at peace, but all that comes to end when she discovers mortsafes in a clearing not far from the cemetery and feels something watching her.(que ominous music)

A mortsafe is a caged gravesite meant to keep folks out but as Amelia gets closer, she sees these were meant to keep people in. As the buzzing or chanting increases in her ears, she makes a grisly discovery. There are hands coming out of the freshly mounded grave and they are grasping the sides of the cage. They are tiny, chalky and covered in dried blood with broken nails, as if the person struggled to climb out of the grave and was buried alive. The tale that unfolds is dark and sinister as Amelia discovers there is an unholy evil lurking that only she can stop.



Holy chills and thrills the Sinner shared a murder mystery that delved into immortality and soul possession giving me the heebie-jeebies. The people of Ascension were strange, and warnings given to Amelia made us unsure of whom to trust. Detective Kendrick an enigmatic police officer who seems to know more than he lets on intrigues Amelia. Previous characters both worldly and not made appearances and helped guide Amelia. I loved and squirmed at the details.  Stevens delivered plenty of hair-raising moments.

I keep waiting for Amelia to accept who she is, and the more she comes into power the more we see her settle. She almost has two personas. In the light of day, she wants to ignore and lock out the forces around her, but she always comes through when danger strikes. We learn about another secret society, one that threatens Amelia and finally get some clarity of John Devlin.


Copy provided by publisher, This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer