The Sinner by Amanda Stevens

September 26th, 2016 Kimberly Review 58 Comments

26th Sep
The Sinner by Amanda Stevens
The Sinner
by Amanda Stevens
Series: Graveyard Queen #5
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star

I am a living ghost, a wanderer in search of my purpose and place…

I'm a cemetery restorer by trade, but my calling has evolved from that of ghost seer to death walker to detective of lost souls. I solve the riddles of the dead so the dead will leave me alone.

I've come to Seven Gates Cemetery nursing a broken heart, but peace is hard to come by…for the ghosts here and for me. When the body of a young woman is discovered in a caged grave, I know that I've been summoned for a reason. Only I can unmask her killer. I want to trust the detective assigned to the case for he is a ghost seer like me. But how can I put my faith in anyone when supernatural forces are manipulating my every thought? When reality is ever-changing? And when the one person I thought I could trust above all others has turned into a diabolical stranger?

The Sinner by Amanda Stevens is the fifth novel in The Graveyard Queen series.The series  features Amelia Gray a graveyard restorer and blogger with a special gift. She is known in Charleston as the Graveyard Queen. Dark and chilling, Stevens takes us on a harrowing journey to Seven Gates Cemetery for her scariest story to date.

If you have not yet read the Graveyard Queen series, I highly encourage you to do so. While each book features a new graveyard and dark, evil entity, the overall story arc requires that books in this series be read in order.

Our story picks up almost a year after the events in Visitor. Needed an escape from Charleston, Amelia accepts a graveyard restoration in Ascension. South Carolina. She is renting a local farmhouse where she sleeps nights on the screened porch allowing the coastal breezes to lure her to sleep. Despite missing John Devlin, she is at peace, but all that comes to end when she discovers mortsafes in a clearing not far from the cemetery and feels something watching her.(que ominous music)

A mortsafe is a caged gravesite meant to keep folks out but as Amelia gets closer, she sees these were meant to keep people in. As the buzzing or chanting increases in her ears, she makes a grisly discovery. There are hands coming out of the freshly mounded grave and they are grasping the sides of the cage. They are tiny, chalky and covered in dried blood with broken nails, as if the person struggled to climb out of the grave and was buried alive. The tale that unfolds is dark and sinister as Amelia discovers there is an unholy evil lurking that only she can stop.

Mortsafe_at_Logeriat_Church1

Holy chills and thrills the Sinner shared a murder mystery that delved into immortality and soul possession giving me the heebie-jeebies. The people of Ascension were strange, and warnings given to Amelia made us unsure of whom to trust. Detective Kendrick an enigmatic police officer who seems to know more than he lets on intrigues Amelia. Previous characters both worldly and not made appearances and helped guide Amelia. I loved and squirmed at the details.  Stevens delivered plenty of hair-raising moments.

I keep waiting for Amelia to accept who she is, and the more she comes into power the more we see her settle. She almost has two personas. In the light of day, she wants to ignore and lock out the forces around her, but she always comes through when danger strikes. We learn about another secret society, one that threatens Amelia and finally get some clarity of John Devlin.

The Sinner delivered all that I hoped for and more. The last line of the story left me open jawed and scrambling to discover when the next book will release. The Awakening, the sixth and (for now) final installment of The Graveyard Queen series will release March 28, 2017.

The Sinner by Amanda Stevens shares a mystery that will give you the heebie-jeebies #GraveyardQueen Share on X
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

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58 Responses to “The Sinner by Amanda Stevens”

  1. Lekeisha

    I’m a wuss when it comes to this much creepy. I was just commenting on Christy’s review about this. I may still try the first book just to see if I can make it through. Great review!

  2. Leona

    Ugh! This, as well as this series, sounds so good!!!! I love listening to creepy stories, but lately I’ve been a scaredy cat so I don’t think this series will be plugged into my ears any time soon lol.

  5. Lorna

    I forgot all about this series. Somewhere along the line after reading one of your reviews, I bought the first one and it’s sitting in my tbr. I really must read it-you make them sound so very good. Great review Kimberly!

  7. Debbie Haupt

    Oh this looks good Kim, I think I’ve missed the others but wow what a series premise and OMG Mortsafes, those are real. Okay another goes on my list. Thanks Kim!

  9. Angie

    I haven’t read this series, but it’s on my tbr list. It’s always encouraging to know a series you want to read hasn’t lost momentum this many books in!

  11. Sophia Rose

    OH man! I need to get busy with these and this is the perfect season for them. I have book one. Love the way you describe the thrills and chills it gave you along with the mystery and the character growing into her self. Big reveal at the end, too. Gah, bet you’re chomping at the bit. 🙂

  15. Melissa (Books and Things)

    Twinsies! 😀 Oh man that visual with the hands still creeps me out. AND it didn’t stop there. Gah! I loved this one so much as well. For me, nothing is clear about Devlin, but I did breathe a sigh of relief. 😀 So need that next book NOW! 😀

  17. Heidi

    Everyone is reviewing this one today. I finished it last week and loved it. So creepy. Those photos of the mortsafe are chilling. I didn’t think to look them up. I am sad that this series is drawing to a close, I think it is just hitting its stride.

  18. Lily Blain

    Kim if you really enjoyed this series you should really give Ellie Jordan a go, that being said I am already looking to pick up a book 1 of this series, creepy ghosts? yes please 😀

  19. Melissa

    Wow this sounds fantastic. I have the 1st 3 books on my shelf but haven’t dug in yet. I may just wait for the 6th and then binge read the series!

  21. Stormi

    I can’t wait to listen to this one!! I just got it on audio and I am pretty sure it’s going to be my next listen…lol. 🙂

  23. kindlemom1

    I absolutely loved this too Kim and it was probably my favorite of the series to date and that freaking ending! I need the next book!

  24. Nick

    OMG the description of the mortsafe and the tiny hands though!! Sounds terrifying! I’ve heard amazing things about this series, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get around to reading it. There are just so many books I need to read and you keep adding to my pile!

  25. kara-karina

    I so need to find time to read beyond the first book in this series which was marvelous! Glad the series still going very strong, K.!

  26. Kristin

    Holy What HELL, Batman?!?!?! A mortsafe??? Those things cannot not be real!!! I mean, I see that they truly are and I can imagine they were used to prevent grave robbers but who didn’t realize the potential for trouble??? I’m going to have nightmares tonight… thanks for the visuals… 😀 *shiver*

  27. Olivia

    I’ve stumbled over your blog through Bloglovin’ recommendations and found out that I chose an almost identical name for my blog… that’s what happens when one drinks too much coffee.

    Very much enjoyed this review and will put the series onto my tbr list 🙂