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The Disciple by Sarah Sheridan @BLOODHOUNDBOOK @SKSHERIDAN @NETGALLEY
Would you follow him into darkness?
Book blurb
Sister Veronica is back at the Convent; a changed woman as a result of her experiences with Father John and the murder she lived through.
Now – more than ever – she has a thirst for righting wrongs, even if it means getting herself into danger.
So, when a two-month old baby girl is left on the Convent doorstep one night, wrapped up in dirty blankets and placed in an open cardboard box, Sister Veronica steps in to help solve the mystery. And when she discovers a tarot card left with the baby, she is drawn deeper into the search for the mother.
Sister Veronica sets out on a mission to discover the truth, and in doing so begins to peel back the layers of secrecy and lies. But is she really prepared for what she’ll discover?
My thoughts
In this second outing for Sister Veronica and Melissa we delve into the murky world of a cult.
Arthur ‘Art’ Pendragon is the reincarnated King Arthur and has built an idyll – New Avalon – on the outskirts of Glastonbury for himself, his knights and their extended families.
Mona is an ex-disciple of King Arthur having left Glastonbury after some strong accusations against Art which brought his wrath upon her and furthermore his hatred as she left New Avalon with his beloved son, Lance.
It is some time since the awful events of Sister Veronica’s investigation into Jason’s murder and she is being closely watched by the Mother Superior and her sisters at The Convent of the Christian Heart to ensure that she is regaining her mental and physical health. Indeed it has been tough but when a baby is left on the convent doorstep Sister Veronica begins to engage once again and becomes very interested in what has happened to the baby’s mother – Mona – a prostitute who has disappeared.
With with the help of one of the Sisters Veronica is able to get a trip to Glastonbury agreed to by the Mother Superior and soon she along with Melissa and the baby – Hope – are on their way. Whilst trying to find out what happened to Mona and whether it’s connected to New Avalon they meet Celeste, Hope’s aunt; Lucan a disenchanted disciple of King Arthur and other ex-New Avalonians. They are building a picture of a rather nasty leader – Art – and some terrible things that are happening within the cult. Then Hope is snatched.
The police are now involved and are desperately searching for the missing baby.
We also find out that Mona is being kept in a cupboard somewhere, she is being starved and beaten.
We work through the various events following Sister Veronica’s lead along with help from Melissa – will we find Mona? Will Hope be returned safe and well? What will happen to Art, New Avalon and it’s occupants?
As the pieces come together there is an attempted murder of an MP, the discovery of several beaten bodies and a tense police raid on New Avalon.
This is a such a good read. It feels like it should be a cosy mystery but has, like Christie’s Miss Marple books, a very dark side to it. Indeed we can see a few similarities with Christie’s. These books, whilst not shying away from the darkness, do not get graphic and Sister Veronica is a pretty shrewd nun.
Still these are most definitely books with their own, unique stories and characters. They are well worth reading, well written and very engaging. I look forward to reading more.
Previously read: The Convent
Thanks: With many thanks to Maria Slocombe, Publicity & Social Media Manager, Bloodhound Books for the invite to read and review The Disciple by Sarah Sheridan and for the eBook.
Information
Published: Bloodhound (29/4/2021)
ISBN-10 : 1913942473 |ISBN-13 : 978-1913942472
Buy: AmazonSmileUK | Waterstones | Hive | Your favourite bookshop
Author:
Sarah was born in London and now lives in a village in South Northamptonshire. She gained a Masters degree in Eighteenth-Century French and English art from the Courtauld Institute of Art, before teaching art in secondary schools for thirteen years. After working with human rights organisations that protect minority groups from institutional abuse, Sarah worked towards a PhD at The Open University, researching the effect of secrecy on marginalised people, specifically the biological children of Roman Catholic priests. She has spoken about her research on various news programmes for the BBC and other media outlets around the world. It was this sense of secrecy and silencing that became the inspiration for her first crime novel, The Convent.
Sarah is hugely obsessed with reading and is amassing such an unrealistically large book collection that some of it is now in storage. She is also addicted to writing, and after inventing stories (mostly in secret) from a young age and having various articles and short stories published, she wrote a children’s book, The Top Secret Diary of Davina Dupree – inspired by her daughter – in 2013. Overjoyed to hear that young readers were enjoying the story, she went on to write a series about Davina Dupree.
When she is not looking after her three children and menagerie of pets, or going for long walks with her wonderful partner Rich, Sarah can be found writing, while consuming large amounts of chocolate.
Books
Love Books, Read Books 
There is always something slightly disturbing and sinister about a cult, all of a sudden you start thinking about Jonestown and Kool-Aid.
I will give it a go, thanks for the review.
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