Chalice of Darkness

October 1, 2018
In the third Phineas Fox mystery, the professional music historian and researcher is asked to resolve a debate concerning the provenance of an opera scheduled to be performed at Cresacre Abbey School in honor of the school's bicentennial. There is a concern that the opera might have been plagiarized from an earlier work; resolving the debate takes Fox deep into the school's history, where he uncovers a 200-year-old mystery that will challenge his sleuthing skills like no other mystery has. The Phineas Fox novels are markedly different from the author's popular Nell West and Michael Flint Haunted House series. Phineas is a more nuanced character than Nell and Michael; we sense there are many layers of his personality and life yet to be revealed. Equally important, the mix of music and history provides a refreshing backdrop to Fox's amateur sleuthing. This series started strong and keeps getting stronger.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

February 1, 2023
In 1908, Jack Fitzglen, who runs a London theater and has a lucrative sideline in stolen goods, proposes a new production about the Talisman Chalice, which once belonged to Richard II. Rumor has it that the chalice is held by Maude Vallow, a mysterious Northumberland woman who has disappeared. Jack decides to combine both of his professional interests by traveling to Maude's home to find (and steal) the chalice, certain that if he can get his hands on the treasure, he will not only be able to launch a profitable production, but also might attract the attention of the Royal Family, purported to be the chalice's rightful owners. He soon discovers, however, that the prophecy surrounding the chalice--if it's taken by someone with no right to it, that person will face mortal peril--may be more than legend. As Jack delves further into the chilling backstory, he realizes that only by putting the chalice into the hands of its rightful owner will he be able to break the deadly curse. In this taut, Gothic-style mystery, Rayne offers a gripping plot with plenty of suspense and period ambience.

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Starred review from January 2, 2023
Set in 1908 England, this superb series launch from Rayne (the Phineas Fox mysteries) introduces charming actor Jack Fitzglen, who enlists the help of his extended family of “society burglars” in a “filch.” Jack plans to secure the Talisman Chalice, a medieval treasure that was owned by the royal family but vanished in 1893, and make it the surprise centerpiece of a theatrical production. A letter dated 1891 from a mysterious woman, Maude Vallow, to Jack’s father provides a strong lead to the chalice’s location. Jack sets out for Vallow Hall in Northumberland in search of Maude. Flashbacks to 15 years earlier show Maude, a lonely young bride, married to a dangerously bitter and jealous landowner near the Scottish border. The suspense rises as the narrative shifts between 1908 and 1891, and both Maude and Jack get into serious trouble. Meanwhile, the enticing backstory of the Talisman Chalice unfolds, drawing on several of the darkest chapters in the royal family’s history. Lovers of British historical mysteries with a dash of romance and gothic atmosphere will clamor for more. Agent: Jane Conway-Gordon, Jane Conway-Gordon Ltd. (U.K.).

December 15, 2022
Has an overconfident thief met his match in a haunted mansion? In the early years of the 20th century, grandiloquent actor Jack Fitzglen heads a mediocre theatrical family, abetted by his adoring dresser, Augustus Pocket. When theatrical engagements are meager, Mr. Jack likes to augment the family's income with some artful thievery, a sideline that fills Gus with trepidation, though not enough to make him refuse to assist his idol. Impersonations are such a key component of Mr. Jack's heists that they're almost better described as performances. His latest felonious obsession is a priceless relic called the Talisman Chalice, which carries a curse and is reportedly hidden somewhere in a Northumberland estate called Vallow Hall or in the ominous neighboring Bastle House. Rayne puts this plummy plot on a back burner to take the reader north and lay out complicated inheritance questions swirling around sincere, timorous Maude Vallow, who becomes the hapless heiress to these properties. The discovery of the corpse of a servant thought to have decamped only increases Maude's anxiety It is in this forbidding atmosphere that the flamboyant Mr. Jack attempts to execute his plan. Rayne's tale, a half-step away from the simmering suspense of her upscale Phineas Fox series and West/Flint ghost stories, feels delightfully unleashed from their milieu. She depicts hammy antihero Jack with relish, loads the last half of her bubbly, spooky yarn with lively set pieces like a suspicious fire, and ties her chalice to the dark fates of Richard II and Anne Boleyn. Frightful fun with haunted history and a blustery thespian.

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February 1, 2023

The Fitzglens are a leading theatrical family in 1908 London and owners of the Amaranth Theatre. They are also all charming criminals, thieves who only steal from the rich. Jack Fitzglen has a plan for the family's latest filch. Fifteen years earlier, the Talisman Chalice disappeared. Jack has two photographs and a letter to his late father, who died in a fire at the Amaranth. The photos show a woman named Maude with the chalice just before it disappeared, with a warning to Jack's father, Aiden, not to come near Vallow Hall. Jack has found Vallow Hall in northern England, in Northumberland. He plans to find the chalice, steal it, and use it in the next production at the Amaranth. While Jack sets his plans in motion, Byron Fitzglen, the family writer, and Jack's dresser Gus will dig into the superstition that the chalice brings bad luck to those who aren't the rightful owners. With Jack's arrival at Vallow Hall, a dark drama of violence and murder and old tragedies, combining Maude's story and historical legend, comes to a head. VERDICT The author of the Phineas Fox mysteries launches a series featuring a family of thieves, beginning with this dramatic gothic mystery.--Lesa Holstine

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