Review – Sinner: A Novel

In her debut novel, Sharon Carter Rogers has crafted a gritty mystery that’s unpredictable and delightful. With Sinner, she’s created a mythos akin to the “Wandering Jew” and the “Sin Eater”, weaving a tapestry of intrigue and legend. She leaves miracles partially unexplained, adding to the story’s sense of wonder. Sinner is unique and original, hopefully the first of many stories following fictional writer C.K. Ivors.

When a priest is brutally attacked and left in the middle of evidence damning him as a child abuser and pedophile, it seems to be a simple case of an enraged parishioner taking revenge. However, crime writer and sometimes gumshoe C.K. Ivors has a nose for these things, and something about this case stinks. Never one to let another potential best-seller slip by, C.K. mobilizes her team and jumps onto the case with her usual fervor.

When her photographer “Junebug” Collins snaps some crime scene pictures and they find an antique, archaic hundred year-old watch, C.K. feels the enticing tingle of a mystery that’s only the tip of a deeply buried iceberg. When another team member, paranoid conspiracy theorist Galway, identifies the snake-like symbol on the watch’s cover, C.K. is convinced she’s stumbled on the most important story of her career: an investigative report on the Sinner; a legendary cloaked vigilante who helps those in need, punishing those who deserve it. Theories abound – perhaps the Sinner’s mantle of vengeance is passed down through inheritance, perhaps there’s an entire clan of Sinners, like the Samurai; however, as C.K. and her team circles closer to the truth, they realize they’re dealing with something having no earthly, rational explanation. As reports add up, they’re faced with two undeniable truths: somehow, a figure has crept through the centuries, dispensing brutal justice since Colonial America, and that figure doesn’t like to be found.

C.K. and her team dig deeper – but are they fooling with matters too dangerous for them? Not only is the Sinner adapt at violence, other, darker forces swirl around the vigilante, as someone from his past plots revenge against the centuries-old avenger. Everything comes to a head, as C.K. Ivors learns not everything can be solved through investigative reporting, and there are things that shouldn’t be written about – ever.

This is truly a wonderful story that captures the mystery and intrigue of myth. The mythos of the Sinner is an excellent creation, one that Rogers doesn’t take undue pains to explain or “make acceptable” – it simply is, and continues beyond the scope of this story with its surprise ending. C.K. Ivors is an excellent character, and she and her team are reminiscent of actor Darren McGavin’s investigative journalist from the seventies television show Night Stalker. We get the idea we’ll see more of C.K. and her crew, which is something to look forward to, given their rich and well-developed personalities. Galway is ideal – in “motley crews” like these, there always needs to be a conspiracy theorist, and he fits the bill nicely.

You’ve got to like Roger’s “moxy” as well – visit her myspace, and you’ll end up knowing less about her than you know about the Loch Ness Monster. That takes some imagination and guts; a lot like Stephen King’s creation of his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. Makes you wonder – is some other CBA author masquerading as the “mythical” Sharon Carter Rogers? Hmmm.

Well, whoever Sharon Carter Rogers really is, far be it for me to dispel the myth. Sinner is a well-told, well written tale, whoever the author really is.