5 stars

I read the Kindle edition.

This book goes back and forth between the 1970’s and the present day, with a couple of side trips to a few years earlier than the present day.

Phineas “Phin” Fox gets an invitation to the Cresacre Abby School to solve a rather thorny problem the two mistresses of the school are having. It seems the niece of one Gustav Tulliver named Olivia is holding the school’s scholarship program hostage in order to guarantee that the school will play her uncle’s opera titles “The Martyrs” at the school’s bicentenary celebrations. They are asking Phin to determine if the opera plagiarizes an earlier work. The music is very dark and almost torturous. Mr. Tulliver was asked to retire from his position as teacher and music instructor at the school.

Also involved in the story is a group of nuns who used to live at the school when it was a convent back in the 1790’s. No one knows what happened to the nuns and there are several theories. Also questioned is the odd story of Ginevra. Was she real? Who was she? What happened to her?

There is much background information given in this story. It is very interesting and very essential to the drama as illustrated in the book. This is an excellent novel. While there might be one or two typos, they do not detract from the flow of the words on the page. I rate this book right up there along with the two previous Sarah Rayne’s Phin Fox books. The book reaches a very satisfying conclusion.

I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House for forwarding to me a copy of this great book for me to read, enjoy and review.