Music researcher
Phineas Fox attends his noisy neighbor, Tony’s, party
and agrees to help him find his missing cousin, Arabella.
In her flat they discover a gift from her godfather, Stefan,
a painting of the enigmatic Christa Klein. She was the long
dead sister of Stefan, but was she truly a murderess? And
who was the victim? Old sins cast long shadows, and the pair
will have to travel to Wewelsburg Castle in order to solve
the mystery.
I enjoy the works of authors like Kate Ellis and Elly Griffiths,
whose novels combine secrets of the past with crimes of the
present. If you too enjoy this type of story I can recommend
Ms Rayne’s new series, which starts with Death Notes
(also reviewed on this site.) Here Phin must discover what
a legendary piece of music has to do with the painting and
wrestle with some contemporary criminals. Running alongside
Phin’s investigations is the wartime story of the Klein
family, whose tragic tale shows how Jews were persecuted,
and the evil acts performed by the Nazis. It all makes for
compelling reading, and in this second entry we also get properly
introduced to Tony, who makes an amiable and lively foil to
Phin. Unfortunately although Ms Rayne is adept at creating
interesting characters, this does not extend to her protagonist,
and Phin remains elusive and something of a cipher. I will
certainly be looking forward to the next in this series, which
is shaping up nicely and makes ideal reading for long winter
evenings.
Reviews of other books in this series
Death Notes #1 [Amazon]
Chord of Evil
Reviewers Note: Some violence and gory scenes
Nell West, Michael Flint Haunted House Series
At Amazon
Haunted House Reviews
Spider
Light
Ghost
Song
Bell
Tower
Root
of Evil
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