Customer Reviews

New-Slain Knight: The Haunted Ballad Series

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Reviewed by Sharon Broom

The best laid plans... .

When musician Ringan Laine and Penny Wintercraft-Hawkes' vacation is interrupted by the arrival of Ringan's fourteen-year-old niece, Rebecca, it is suggested that they all could visit Cornwall. Rebecca is a violin prodigy and the musical holiday is something that would interest her.

Ringan arranges lodging with a musician friend, Gowan Cambourne. But Gowan leaves Penny with an uneasy feeling that borders on disturbed. When the song New Slain Knight is played, both Penny and Rebecca see the same vision.

The group learns that Gowan's lover committed suicide in the house. Even more disturbing is that Rebecca looks a great deal like the dead girl. During a performance, Rebecca has another vision and Ringan and Penny realize that there are some serious problems involving Rebecca. If the mystery isn't solved, Rebecca might become a victim.

New-Slain Knight is wonderfully chilling. It's a ghost story that rings true and completely envelops the reader, transporting us to a place where we `live' the experience. I will be reading the earlier novels in this series.

Armchair Interviews says: For a haunting good time, New-Slain Knight should be at the top of your reading list.

Once again, Grabien brings us a lyrical ghost story, a haunting little mystery whose protagonists are centuries in the ground, found out by our old friends, Ringan and Penny. This time it isn't just them endangered by the shades of old murder ballads, but Ringan's 14 year old niece, Becca. As always, the peril of all is palpable, the love and friendship of the living members of the party real and joyous. Once again Grabien takes her own trope and gives it a twist satisfying enough to keep her series from getting old or campy. These books line up nicely next to Barbara Michaels at her best.

First Sentence: In the large upstairs room at the pub called the Duke of Cornwall's Own, a local band, the Tin Miners were playing to an enthusiastic audience.

Musician Ringan Laine and theater producer Penny Wintercraft-Hawkes are looking forward to a rare vacation off together. Plans change when Ringan's sister, whose mother-in-law needs her, asks to send him her 14-year-old daughter, Rebecca, a violin prodigy. Staying with Gowan, a musician friend in Cornwall, seemed like a good idea until Penny has a vision of a man dying and Becca starts sleep-walking. What are the forces from the past and beyond the grave influencing these two women?

Books that include a cast of characters and a map are such a treat. It is even better that Ms. Grabien's characters are distinct and strong I didn't need reminding of them, but it's still a lovely thing to have.

The recurring characters of Ringlan and Penny are now old friends to me, but the author doesn't assume they are known to every reader. New readers will have no problem learning who they are and uncovering their backstory. I think that is such an important thing for an author to do. The new characters are interesting, and fully dimensional. There is one character, Gowan, you start by liking but the shine dims a bit; for another, Lucy, the reverse is true. It is very well done. Lucy is a particularly interesting character as she is a researcher and a true skeptic--something you don't usually see in a book with paranormal elements. She is very believable and adds the perfect balance to the story.

Ms. Grabian's powers of description not only create a sense of place by showing us around Cornwall, but provided us a sense of the characters through their personal environments. When including old documents, I appreciate her leaving them in the appropriate Old English and Victorian spelling and grammar. She trusts the ability of her audience, which is wonderful.

Each of Ms. Grabian's "Haunted Ballad" books is based on an actual old ballad, with a verse from the ballad at the beginning of each chapter. From that, she constructs a story each with a unique use of the paranormal element and a solidly constructed plot. Just when you think you've found a hole, she closes it. The characters ask the questions you mentally ask, and she answers them. The tension and suspense increase at a steady rate but without ever crossing over into graphic horror. The result is even more frightening than if she had, and then she adds excellent twists.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and closed it without identifying any flaws in its construction. The only question for potential readers is whether they enjoy books with a paranormal theme. If the answer is yes, I highly recommend "New-Slain Knight".

NEW-SLAIN KNIGHT (Para/Susp-Ringan Laine/Penny Wintercraft-Hawkes-England-Cont) - Ex
Grabien, Deborah - 5th in Haunted Ballad series
Thomas Dunne Books, ©2007, US Hardcover - ISBN: 9780312374006

This is the fifth, and likely the last book in the Haunted Ballad series. Ringan and Penny are joined by Ringan's niece, Rebecca, who is a talented young violinist. They journey to Cornwall for a holiday and stay with an old friend of Ringan's, Gowan, who is also a musician. Gowan is shocked by Rebecca's grey eyes which remind him of a tragic love who hanged herself in his cottage. Penny is struck by another, earlier tragedy in his family, where a young man is killed with rock by a young woman. Becca is drawn into the mystery by being possesed by the young women's ghost and is racked by seizures. Ringan and Penny are in a race to solve the earlier mystery and the tie in to the song the New Slain Knight which Gowan felt compelled to play and which initiated the return of the spirits. Dark family histories come in to play, not only in the far past, but Gowan's recent past as well. The ending is chilling and adds a dark twist to story. I am sad to be at the end of a great series.

I really like this series, in general; I read through all five of them within about a week. The tie to the song isn't always as clear and obvious as in the first few, but this one has an especially delicious chill in the ending. I hope we haven't heard the last of Ringan, Penny and their merry band.

I enjoy Grabien's books for their atmosphere and enthusiastic writing but have come not to expect too much from their plots. I don't hold it against the series that it tends to be formulaic -- hey, it's a series -- or that our lead characters don't seem to learn a lot from previous experience or even exhibit much sense. So previously, I've found her books easy to get through in a day or two and engaging enough so you want to do just that.

Even with these light expectations and the great pleasure I always feel in reading about British locations, I was disappointed in this one. The plot had inconsistencies and tangents which weren't tantalizing and were annoying. In all, it made for a sloppy-feeling read that I had to compel myself to finish rather than the reverse. Grabien could have done better and has in the past.

There's a trust that authors build with their readers when they develop a series and this trust includes a certain level of quality established by previous books in the series. In this case, I feel my trust was taken advantage of.

If you're new to the series, you will get greater enjoyment if you start at the beginning of the series -- and buy it in paperback. Also, it might make you want to read the whole series instead of giving up on it after reading just this book. If you're already a reader, you might find yourself very pleased with your prudence if you check this one out at the library instead of springing for the hardback.

All this said, please know I am not trying to be unkind to Grabien. I think she's worth reading and hope any readers of this review will consider her other books. If you start with this one, you might find no desire to read more from her -- and you would be missing out on some fun ghost stories.

A three week vacation with her lover is disturbed when his sister calls musician Ringan Laine to ask her to watch her daughter for two weeks. His significant lover Penny Wintercraft-Hawkes does not mind that Rebecca is going to be with them; she suggests they go to Cornwell. Ringan arranges for them to stay with his friend and fellow musician Gowan Cambourne. He makes Penny feel uncomfortable and she and Becca share the same vision when the song NEW SLAIN KNIGHT is played.

Gowan confesses that his lover committed suicide in the house and that Rebecca reminds him of a younger version of her. Becca performs NEW SLAIN KNIGHT with Gowan's band and has a vision of his ancestors who lived five centuries ago insisting murder, suicide and rape occurred. Before something deadly happens, a concerned Ringan takes his two women to Tintagell, but the visions continue. Only the truth about what happened in 1451 will free Becca and Penny.

The latest "Haunted ballad" mystery is a ghost story that transports the mediums into a tragedy that happened centuries ago; in turn this enables the audience to experience the pain and heartache that led to crimes occurring and an inability to live with the consequences of what they wrought. The danger to the modern females is palpable as each vision and flashback seems more vivid than the previous one as if those long dead are trying to redo their errors through Penny and Rebecca. Deborah Gabrien spellbinds her fans with this tense ghost story.

Harriet Klausner