Sarah Rayne
Felony & Mayhem
June 2012 / 9781937384101
Historical Mystery
Amazon
Reviewed
by Jan Fields
The dark, unused
Tarleton Music Hall in London's South Bank is haunted by shadows
of the past -- and maybe a little more. The old building houses
a mystery hidden behind a makeshift wall. It seems everyone associated
with the hall have mysteries of their own as well, and Sarah Rayne
slowly peels away the layers on all of the interlaced mysteries
-- those of the past and those of the present -- with skill and
style.
I love old
buildings, so the sensory detail that Rayne puts into every step
inside the Tarleton was particularly delightful for me. She really
makes the setting live, and certainly the Tarleton itself is as
much a character in the novel as any of the people who play out
their own mysteries within and around the old theater. As the author
follows a number of character threads, you jump from one character
to another when the book changes setting or time - with frequent
dips into the past. It takes focus to keep up with the complicated
plotline, but Rayne does a masterful job of keeping it from becoming
confusing -- mostly by making each character a unique person.
Though terrible
things happen in the book, it remains a charmingly hopeful and romantic
story of dreams (and sometimes nightmares), giving us a glimpse
of ordinary people who may -- at any time -- be called upon to be
heroes. A seach arose to the challenge, I cheered a little. If you
want a thinking-person's novel that pulls you in and leaves you
feeling good --this is definitely a winner.
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