This is the third in Sarah Rayne’s series of the Fitzglen family. This theater family has been producing and performing plays in their London theatre for over 100 years at the time The Face Stealer begins in 1909. The family has a sideline too, what they call filching; but it’s done in the manner of Robin Hood by only stealing from the rich, never the poor.

This story begins in London of 1909 as the Fitzglens learn of the Stone Heads in Russia and their connection to Catherine the Great and one of her lovers, an Englishman said to be Harry Fitzglen, founder of this family. In the same conversation, after learning of Harry’s visit to Russia in the 1760s, they also learn of another distant family member who has been there very recently and up to nothing good. These Stone Heads, said to be unsettling to anyone who should see them and to have a mysterious history, have disappeared from the place they were stored, and kept from public sight. They need to be found and returned.

I enjoy reading Rayne’s novels generally. And this episode was enjoyable for the most part too. My only hesitation is my sense of some fragmentation of the story involved in moving from present to past to present several times throughout the novel. At times this broke the flow up too much for me. But I found the final third of the book moved very well, with the pacing adding to my enjoyment. The story really needed the breaks in the time frame, so this may have been a personal issue for me, though I’m usually not bothered by this type of narrative change. All in all, in the end I enjoyed the book and the reading experience.

3.5* rounded to 4*

Thanks to Severn House and NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this book! I couldn't give it 5 stars because it felt like I was dropped into a world that I didn't have the full shape of. These were characters with stories and history that I didn't fully grasp - was there another book in this series that I missed?

But the characters themselves I really liked. They were fun, irreverent, and the idea of focusing on a family who are a set of "gentleman/gentlewoman thieves" who are also excellent theater actors makes so much sense! I enjoyed following their escapades. I flew through the story with the style of writing - it sucked me in and kept up a quick pace throughout. The Face Stealer itself, and the lore around it was deliciously creepy.

I love how Sarah Rayne mixes humour, gothic, and mystery. Each story is a good reading experience and this one was intriguing, twisty, and entertaining.
More, more, more
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

DNF. This book was way too dark for me. I read the previous book in this series and it wasn't as disturbing as this one is., so I must have really misunderstood what kind of story this was going to be. Thank you to Severn House for the copy of this book. Opinions are my own.

I've enjoyed the Fitzglen series, but "The Face Stealer" is less about the theatrical family dynamics, and more about a gruesome history on stone artefacts involving dead children. The gothic drama was more than I had bargained for. I'm not sure I'll pick up the next in the series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I missed the first books in this series about the Fitzglens, an acting family that also engages in heists but this was fine as a standalone. Know that there's a lot packed into a relatively slim volume as this moves back and forth in time between 1909 and the time of Catherine the Great. Oh and it moves between London and Russia. It's atmospheric, it's a tad creepy and it kept me reading. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of historical fiction.

Thank you to the author and publisher and Net Galley for providing an ARC in exchange for my review.

I'll admit, I'm a Sarah Rayne fan. I discovered her books about 10 years ago, and they have been hard to find her book here in the US, but I'm always on the look out for her books. I love her writing style and character development. I haven't read the previous 2 books in this series - now they are all on my wishlists!

This series is about a family of actors who then get involved in heists. How can you pass that up? In this book, the family is asked to find artefacts from the reign of Catherine the Great; Russian in origin, are linked to a story that is rather grisly to read. MR James' book "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" is referenced and MR James is also cameoed in this book.

Raynes books are almost always very spooky, very atmospheric with well developed characters and clear plot lines. The family rivalry is a great addition to this one. Can't wait to read the first two, and then re-read this one!

IF you like a spooky, creepy, historic mystery, look for this books and others by the author.

5 stars - loved it and I will re-read!

I have been a fan of Sarah Rayne for a few years and have always enjoyed her books.

The Face Stealer is an excellent read. Ms Rayne really knows how to set the scene and build up an earie sense to the scenes. I wouldn't say terrifying, but a feeling of cold creepyness that can make you feel cold on a warm day. The Face Stealer was set over two time periods that flowed along each tale flowing and fitting in with the other. There was a bit of Russian history involved, but very easy to follow.

I enjoyed the book and thanks to NetGalley for the early reading copy.

I am a huge Sarah Rayne fan having read all of her novels, over the last 15 or more years. 'The Face Stealer' is the third in her relatively new series starring the Edwardian theatrical Fitzglen family of actors, stage managers and thieves (or 'filchers' as they call themselves) and now in book three, Rayne is well and truly into her stride with the characters, (especially Jack and his amorata, Viola), the period setting and the twisty, interlocked plots.
As usual with her novels, you have a linked narrative set in two or three time periods; this time it's 1909 London with the Fitzglen family, the 1760s onwards with Catherine the Great in Russia - including (fictionalised) excerpts from her private diaries, and a fictional love affair with a historic Fitzglen  (who founded the Amaranth Theatre) as well as gruesome goings on in a monastery above an isolated village, involving a murderous monk, missing children, and a macabre rhyme maker. Somewhere amidst all this madness and murder is the eponymous 'face stealer' and a secret worth killing for which is inscribed in the stone heads. There are flashbacks to the monk's childhood, revealing the roots of his tragic life and destiny.
Ranye writes with her usual historical flair and panache, blending the disparate threads and characters into a whole which hums with deceit, death and betrayal. There is even a guest cameo from M.R.James himself which amused me. A mausoleum features in a significant and eerie way which would no doubt please James.
If you enjoy historical mysteries with twists and Gothic drama, this is for you.

Third in the Theatre of Thieves series - I hadn't read the other two but realised it's about a family of thespians who get involved in heists.

This time round, the Fitzglens are asked to find some Russian artefacts which are linked to a very grisly story during the reign of Catherine the Great - stone heads which are the images of murdered children and which also hide an explosive secret. Plus they discover links to their own family history, and the fact that one of their own (a baddie) is involved - and they flush him out by acting out a version of MR James' 'The Treasure of Abbot Thomas' (as an MRJ fan, I thoroughly enjoyed that and MRJ's cameo!).

Very spooky and atmospheric; good characterisation, and I like the way there's clearly some rivalry with another family (Shakespeare's threaded through very nicely).

The Face Stealer by Sarah Rayne.
This is #3 in the Theatre of Thieves series.
The Fitzglens, a troupe of edwardian gentlemen thieves, are asked to find some stolen Russian artifacts.
The story is a dual timeline- 1909 in London and 1762 during the reign of Tsar Peter III and Tsarina Catherine the Great. Even M R James pops up with the Fitzglens performing a ghost story. It was a great read and so informative about a part of history that I knew nothing about and wanted to learn more.