A Dark Dividing

Rayne, Sarah

ISBN 10: 0743232003 ISBN 13: 9780743232005

Publisher: Gardners Books, 2004

Synopsis

'Something strange happened within that family, Harry. People died and people disappeared, and although most of us suspected something odd had occurred, no one ever got at the truth.' At first, journalist Harry Fizglen is sceptical when his editor asks him to investigate the background of Simone Anderson, a new Bloomsbury artist. But once he's met the enigmatic Simone, Harry is intrigued. Just what did happen to Simone's twin sister who disappeared without trace several years before? And what is the Anderson sisters' connection to another set of twin girls, Viola and Sorrel Quinton, born in London on 1st January 1900? All Harry's lines of enquiry seem to lead to the small Shropshire village of Weston Fferna and the imposing ruin of Mortmain House, standing grim and forbidding on the Welsh borders. As Harry delves into the violent and terrible history of Mortmain, in an attempt to uncover what happened to Simone and Sonia, and, one hundred years before them, to Viola and Sorrel Quinton, he finds himself drawn into a number of interlocking mysteries, each one more puzzling - and sinister - than the last.

About this title

About the Author

Sarah Rayne is the pseudonym of a well-known British author who has written several highly-praised novels. She lives in Staffordshire.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Rayne (pseudonym for "a well-known British author") draws readers into four creepy stories in this hefty suspense thriller. Journalist Harry Fitzglen is unimpressed when he's sent to profile a new London artist named Simone Anderson. When Harry begins digging into Simone's past, however, he discovers that her twin sister, with whom she once was conjoined, mysteriously vanished years ago. As Harry's interest in Simone grows, the story branches into several separate tales: in addition to Harry's present-day investigation, there is the story of another set of conjoined twins, Viola and Sorrel Quinton, born in London 80 years earlier; Simone's own history with her twin, Sonia, and her mother, Melissa, dating to the 1980s; and the parallel plot of a novel that Harry uncovers during his research, The Ivory Gate, published in the 1900s. Rayne writes in a semiformal style that evokes turn-of-the-last-century England and lends the novel an appropriately gothic atmosphere. Well-drawn characters reveal themselves through thoughts and actions more than dialogue, as Rayne favors extensive narration over banter. Still, Rayne has crafted a memorable novel with the right mix of suspense, horror and emotion. Amazingly, she leaves no loose ends. (May)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Gardners Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0743232003
• ISBN 13: 9780743232005
• Binding: Unknown Binding
• Number of pages: 432