SINNER

review by

Larry Shallenberger

SINNER: A Novel

by Sharon Carter Rogers

(RiverOak/Cook Communications)

Reader Appeal: Adults

Genre: Fiction / Suspense

First time novelist, Sharon Carter Rogers, delivers a compelling and original supernatural thriller with her debut novel Sinner. In fact, Rogers has single-handedly renewed my hope in a genre that for far too long has lived underneath the safety of Frank Peretti’s impressive shadow. This author has blazed her own trail and offered us a hero who must fight the demons within, not without.

Sinner is the story of how investigative writer CK Ivors crosses paths with a shadowy figure known only as "the Sinner." CK’s historical work has made her aware of the legend of Sinner, a vigilante who been spotted in the margins of history for the past 150 years. After a series of circumstances pique her curiosity, CK takes it upon herself to track down this inky figure...until she finds her story irreversibly wrapped up in his.    

The character of the Sinner is unforgettable. His’s vigilantism is driven by self-loathing and hatred for those who prey on the weak and defenseless. He not only battles himself and the wanton, but the God whom he believes has forsaken him. Sinner's brand of justice is as brutal and pugilistic as that of the evil he fights. I can’t say more without getting into “spoilers” but I would classify the Sinner in the same genus of hero as Batman. As such, I’ll be sorely disappointed not to see more Sinner novels in coming years.

CK Ivors is another compelling character who quite frankly merits another novel or two. In this book, CK’s royalty checks have allowed her to assemble a large, colorful staff to assist her, including a conspiracy theorist (Galway), a video game creator (Chance), and an irrepressible photographer (Junebug). Rogers has created fine characters to assist CK and I’d love to see their further exploits as well.

Parents should note, however, that the world of Sinner is dark, gritty and violent. For instance, the book opens with the brutal beating of a priest implicated in a sexual abuse scandal. Sinner’s assaults on criminals are both surgical and barbaric; my “cringe factor” was tested a few times while reading this book. Yet it should be noted that the violence is never gratuitous and that Rogers has painted a world in which evil is avenged. And still, Rogers isn’t content with vengeance and offers us a higher value on which she rests her well-crafted novel.

With Sinner, Sharon Carter Rogers has instantly earned a place among authors like Brad Meltzer, Ted Dekker, Dean Koontz, or G.P. Taylor. Some bloggers have even theorized that she actually may be one of those authors now moonlighting (slumming?) in the freedom of obscurity, using a new name to test a new creative effort. Whatever the truth is, Sharon Carter Rogers is an author from whom I’ll be looking for more in the future. 

FAMILYFANS RATING:  A-

 --LS