07 June 2008

Review: The Death Chamber by Sarah Rayne

The Death Chamber by Sarah Rayne book coverI found out about this author in Good Reading Magazine and I was so glad I did! What appealed to me was that every book by this author has a haunting, creepy historical building, and she brings it to life in the book. This was very true in The Death Chamber where the focus of the story was Calvary Gaol.

The blurb on the back of the book doesn't really do it any justice. I enjoyed multiple plots interwoven with many twists and turns and a few surprises. I was left wanting to follow each of the plots further, but that was what kept me turning the pages into the night. In fact, one of the surprises had me going back to the start to read over a particular section. (In the same way you want to watch Sixth Sense again when you know the twist).

Based on the title of the book, you could be mistaken in thinking that this book will be full of bloodshed and carnage, but in fact it's not. Trust me, you don't need that to make you jump. Rayne does a magnificent job of describing the gaol, you almost feel like you're there.

I can't wait to read another of her books.

My rating = ****

Carpe Librum!

Would you like to comment?

  1. Hi Tracey, I haven't read this review yet as I'm currently reading the book, but I look forward to comparing our opinions once I have finished. Can I borrow the Celestine Prophecy next? Thanks for recommending books to me so I don't have to go through the pains of choosing them myself :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment, Carpe Librum!