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I have read numerous books written by #SarahRayne so I was excited to start a new series from her. If I didn't know the same person wrote them all, I wouldn't believe it. #DeathNotes has 5 competing storylines, and not one of them is told well. The writing is stale, flat and cumbersome and having been trying to read and finish it for what feels like weeks, I forced myself to focus. Now I'm just annoyed to have spent my Sunday with a book I have in no way enjoyed.

Interesting gothic style story that was enjoyable to read. Will look forward to the next in this series.

Ive aways loved this author but i just could not get into this book at all .

Phineas Fox is asked to some rezearch for a TV documentary. The subject of the research is the life of a gifted musician who was hanged for murder.

Phineas relunctently starts preliminary research on Roman Volf, uncovering interesting materjal writen by a journalist and music critic. The research takes him to Kilcarne on tne West coast of Ireland. Beatrix Drury also travels to Kilcarne.

Beatrix goes to her family cottage Tromloy to confront the ghosts of her husband and daughter and complete a series of artwork for a children's book.

This novel switches between Phineas Fox and his research an old diary from tne 1940's and Beatrix Drury.

It is about muscians, music halls, artists, researchers, secrets, identity, an old cottage and half forgotten memories.

Set in London, Kilcarne, Ireland, Galway and Russia.

Thanks to the publisher for an advance readers' copy.

The writing of this mystery is fine, but with four separate storylines, I found that I didn't care much about any of them very much. Plus, I'm fairly certain that there are two mistakes in logic in the first section (or at least some giant leaps from point A to point Z). After I got caught up in trying to figure those out, I had a hard time taking the rest of the book seriously.

Sarah Rayne is now batting 2 for 2 with me. Her new series, featuring professional researcher Phineas Fox, gets off to a good start with Death Notes. Here we have a mystery dating to the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1882 and tendrils that lead to present day West Ireland. Just who was Roman Volf, a noted 19th c. violinist and the alleged assassin? And what, if any, is his connection to the Maxim Volf living a life of virtual solitude in the Irish village of Kilcarne. Fox becomes involved in his role as researcher and potential presenter for a proposed television documentary on the original Volf's life. Contradictions begin to fly and what appears fairly cut and dry becomes anything but.

Unlike much of Rayne's other work, this story is grounded in the here and now and evidence. There are coincidences, to be sure, but the supernatural/paranormal does not come into play. But it remains an interesting read that kept my attention throughout.

If you enjoy historical fiction, interesting characters, and tricky plots, I believe this series will be for you. While this is not an historical fiction per se, much of what Fox unearths occurred deep in the past. So there is much to think about in that area. And of course, "past is prologue"--as many have said over the years and I will parrot out again. Perhaps one day we will live long enough to learn from it.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Reviewed online for Crime Review - link below.

Phineas Fox is a professional researcher with a dwindling bank account. He is offered a hefty fee to investigate and present a well documented TV program on the life of 19th century Russian violinist Roman Volf, a gifted musician who was hanged in St. Petersburg for the assassination of Tzar Alexander ll. Did Roman Volf mastermind the assassination plot or was he a bit player in its implementation? Perhaps the Romanovs wanted a scapegoat? Phin foresees an excellent opportunity to re-enact the crime for TV audiences, if and only if, Roman is guilty.

Phin's pursuit takes him to an antiquarian bookshop where he uncovers a book entitled "Lost Buildings of Old Russia". The book contains a photo of the burned out Skomorkh Theatre with Roman Volf in the foreground. Under Roman's arm is a newspaper, The Golos, dated 13 March 1881. Evidence indicates that Roman could not have been complicit in the tzar's demise. An enigmatic journalist for The Golos, Feofil Markov, teams up with music hall performer Mortimer Quince. Quince is the illegitimate son of Roman Volf. Quince's diaries reveal memories of his father's final concert at Mikhailovsky Theatre. It is revealed, additionally, that Feofil Markov once lived in Ireland and owned a cottage called Tromloy meaning nightmare, from the Gaelic word tromlui. Nightmares and tragic occurrences affect the Drury family, current owners of Tromloy and the Cullens living in nearby Galway City.

"The Death Notes" by Sarah Rayne is the first book in a new series featuring researcher Phineas Fox. I enjoyed the book, however, there were many story lines to connect. As a result, it was a difficult tome to review. Phineas Fox was not as prominent as one would expect of a recurring character of a series. I would hope that his merits and shortcomings are more thoroughly fleshed out in subsequent books.

Thank you Severn House and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "The Death Notes".