Shadow Of Death

Sister Agnes #8

by Alison Joseph

Agnes is up to her neck in books. Having been asked to help sort out the library of the nearly defunct Order in Bermondsey before the building is sold, she is trawling through piles of tatty Victoriana and mawkish lives of the saints. However, the 17th-century Hawker archive, a collection of beautifully preserved books on spells and magic as well as hand-written journals, does catch her eye. These tell the story of Alice, her husband Thomas and their daughter who died in infancy. Alice did not long survive her.

Alice’s story seems to haunt the present. The building, now an NHS day center for the mentally ill, is the backdrop for a modern mother’s fears for the safety of herself and her child Agnes is increasingly drawn into the predicament of Jeanne-Marie and her daughter Leila as well as Alice’s narrative. The line between past and present becomes hazy, as Jeanne-Marie, like Alice before her, is prey to the men in her life and depression.

When unexplained and horrible things start happening and Agnes becomes convinced that buyers are after something more than the obvious in the Hawker archives, she hurries to protect Leila and lay some ghosts to rest.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

Alison Joseph was born and brought up in London. She studied French and Philosophy at Leeds University, and then worked in local radio in Leeds as a producer and presenter. She moved back to London in 1983 and worked for a Channel 4 production company, making short documentaries. In 1985 she set up her own company, Works on Screen. Productions included Through the Devil's Gateway, a series about women and religion presented by Helen Mirren, which was broadcast by Channel 4 in 1989. A book of the series was published by SPCK. Sister Agnes became a reality with the publication of Sacred Hearts in 1994. This was followed by The Hour of Our Death (1995), The Quick and the Dead (1996), A Dark and Sinful Death (1997), The Dying Light (1999) and The Night Watch (2000). All the Sister Agnes books are published by Endeavour Press and Allison & Busby in the UK, and the first three are also available in German.
Other novels include Dying to Know (published by Endeavour Press), featuring D I Berenice Killick. Alison is also the author of two novellas in which (a fictional) Agatha Christie is the detective. They are Murder Will Out and Hidden Sins, both published by Endeavour Press. The third is due out Autumn 2016.

Alison has also written short stories for Radio 4, for YOU magazine, for Critical Quarterly and for various women's magazines, as well as abridging novels for Radio 4's Book at Bedtime and The Late Book, including the award-winning production of Captain Corelli's Mandolin. She is the author of about twenty-five plays for BBC Radio 4. Her most recent short story is Samir's Lament, available on Kindle Singles.

Alison lives in London.

Reviews

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another satisfying and engaging read. Sister Agnes follows her conviction even when she doesn’t understand it. I like the acceptance of complexity - that things will go wrong, people will lie, scheme and take risks - sometimes that is for crime, sometimes for more mundane reasons. It may or may not be an indicator.

Throughout the narrative we consider not just motivation and morality but world view, values and what matters.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

i have enjoyed this and other Sister Agnes books, and i like the way they are written, and that they also make one think about religious beliefs and it comforting that Sister Agnes does have her own doubts at times, but she always comes back to the fold in the end

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agnes is becoming restless, staying in an old convent house awaiting closure. Then something awful happens on her doorstep and she can't resist getting involved.

[Andrea Barlien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly delightful book. The mystery was good but the dialogue about religion and faith was very interesting.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

weil geinig. wel veel over t geloof, niet echt mijn ding... maar wel vermakelijk

[Anne Herbison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another easy read - although with some complex characters and situations - featuring a ghost and a library in an old house where Agnes is living.

[Chris]

Can't remember it

[JenniferB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but a bit of a mixture, about a nun who's not traditional. Good in parts.