Thief of Souls [Kindle Edition]

Ann Benson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Two narratives similar in subject and story if not in style make up one exceptionally well-written thriller about child murder and molestation in 15th-century France and 21st-century Los Angeles. The reader will wait in vain for Benson to tie together two feisty and dedicated women separated by six centuries. Although the connection is never made, it's clear that what Lany Dunbar and Guillemette le Drappiere have in common is their dedication to the vulnerable children victimized by two powerful men and their resolve to bring them to account. Guillemette, the widowed assistant to the Bishop of Nantes, is the first to see that the disappearances of dozens of young boys, including her own son, are connected to one man--Gilles de Rais, whom she raised from infancy and who the world knows as the notorious Bluebeard. And Lany, a detective with the Crimes Against Children division of the LAPD, is also the first to realize that the disappearances of several young boys with a disturbing resemblance to one another together are the work of a serial killer. Thief of Souls is a riveting adventure story with two well-realized characters whose quest for justice results in one compelling tale. --Jane Adams

Review

Praise for Ann Benson’s Novels

The Burning Road

"A riveting medical thriller...cleverly combines two stories, separated by centuries."
--USA Today

"Gripping...Exciting and Complex."
--Booklist

"Boldly conceived...aims to please historical romance readers as well as futuristic thrill-seekers...Benson’s medieval tale and its colorful characters are...intriguingly drawn."
--Publishers Weekly

"Engaging... With the same ingenuity and skillful plot development she used in The Plague Tales, Benson takes us back to 14th-century Europe."
--The Tampa Tribune

The Plague Tales

"Part historical novel, part futuristic adventure...chock-full of curious lore and considerable suspense."
--Entertainment Weekly

"A hard-to-put-down thriller steeped in historical fiction and bio-tech sci-fi ...a rich, tightly rendered tale...the enticing hold of parallel historical and futuristic stories--with a virulent epidemic as the ultimate common enemy--is a grip that is hard to resist."
--Middlesex News (Mass.)

"Benson reveals a formidable talent as she blends historical fiction with a near-future bio-thriller. [Her] debut is assured and accomplished in both the past and the present. [She] renders both eras and their character in vivid detail."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Intriguing...Benson neatly alternates between two attention-grabbing stories."
--Booklist



From the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 731 KB
• Print Length: 642 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0440236290
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (November 26, 2002)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000QCQ9AM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,293 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "They Eat Small Children There", December 30, 2002

By 

George Dellagiarino (Reston, Va. United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thief of Souls (Hardcover)

Detective Lany Dunbar and Abbess Guillemette le Drappiere are sisters in both time and crime. Though they are separated by some 600 years of history, each is in pursuit of an abductor and murderer of children. Similiar to her earlier novels, "The Plague Tales" and its sequel, "The Burning Road", Ann Benson weaves two stories, one set in modern times and one in the 1400s. Though this novel doesn't contain a physical link, such as the piece of cloth that ties the two stories together in "The Plague Tales", there are enough nuances and references to keep any detective of historical fiction going. While Lany's perpetrator is fictional, what makes Guillemette's quest even more eerie is that she pursues an actual person, the infamous Gilles de Rais, upon whom Bluebeard is based. De Rais' debauchery is especially unnerving because it is based upon true accounts. How many ghouls would save the heads of over 300 children just to determine who was the prettiest? Ugh! While the collection of the skulls of dead children is a key in the case against de Rais, a collection of footwear plays a part in Lany's investigation. "They eat small children there" is a reference to de Rais' castle but it is also a movie title in Lany Dunbars 21st century Los Angeles. In her pursuit of the serial abductor, Lany uses a text book that references de Rais.

We, as readers, cannot help but root for these strong willed women, both of whom must fight for everything they can in order to succeed in their endeavors in a male dominated society, in Guillemette's case, and in a male dominated profession in Lany's case. Both must deal with the arrogance of their respective abductors and both must find the emerging pattern in their respective investigations.

Ms. Benson throws in some historical plums just for the interest. The actual childhood nurse of de Rais was named Guillemette La Drappiere and some of the 21st century detectives are named for real police detectives. But, still, it is the villains who warrant our attention. The thief in each case here not only steals souls but steals lives as well. And, when each seeks absolution and feels that it is at hand, each thief, as Ann Benson so beautifully puts it, will be as far from absolution as he would ever be in his life and yet more in need of it than ever before. Five stars indeed.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars strong crime thriller, December 16, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thief of Souls (Hardcover)

In 1440 Nantes, the abbess Guillemette le Drappiere, assistant and companion to Bishop of Nantes, learns that a child has gone missing. After talking to the mother of the abducted child, she starts an investigation and discovers that many similar children have vanished over the years. Guillemette and the bishop slowly come to the conclusion that the boy she nursed, the powerful Baron Gilles de Rais, is the guilty party but he is untouchable until he commits a crime of unspeakable horror against a churchman.

Over five and a half centuries later in Los Angles, Lany Dunbar is working on a case study eerily similar to the one that Guillemette investigated. Several young males, almost feminine in looks, have been abducted and their bodies never found. Each victim visited a certain popular exhibit at the La Brea Tar pits, leading Lany to the conclusion that the perpetrator is somebody connected to the exhibit who is very wealthy and has time to play out his or her fantasies. She intends to unearth and arrest this person even though the culprit knows that Lany is on the prowl.

Crime and depravity doesn't change very much over the centuries as the actions of the villains in THIEF OF SOULS prove. In both cases, a very strong woman in a position of power brings down a seemingly untouchable person. This is a long juicy novel that takes place ten years after Joan of Arc won the battle of Orleans as well as in the present. The crimes show that the more things change the more things remain the same.

Harriet Klausner

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Good, but Not Great., April 28, 2004

By 

paul mason "dedarkone" (Barrie On) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thief of Souls (Mass Market Paperback)

I hope I don't lower the average stars given this novel by writing this review, and rating it only three stars.
Benson's formula(?), I say formula only because she has written two previous novels with chronological setting shifting betwixt present and past before this one has been slightly altered with this offering. Instead of a "medical" thriller, Ms. Benson has opted to write mystery/thrillers using am L.A. police detective, and a fifteenth century nun as her protagonists.

Reading this the two heroines are not as dissimiliar as one may expect. Lany Dunbar though not specifically stated has some very classic christian values to her character. Mere Guillemette le Drappiere, while a respected nun and confidante/aide to the bishop of Nantes was not always a nunm and has some very pragmatic and secular values leftover before her life of service. One thing both ladies have in common is their passion to solve the mysterious disappearances of young children.

As I said in title of review this book is very good, Benson seamlessly parallels the eras the action of her novel is set in. She writes with a meticulate attention to her chief characters' motives and humanity.

There is only a couple flaws that bugged me very slightly as I read this book but I feel they are worth mentioning for the integrity of this review. 1) One reason I read this is the back blurb sounded really interesting setting half the novel in 1440 Nantes around "Bluebeard's" or Lord Giles de Rais's crimes hooked my jaded attention span. However while Benson gave equal "screen" teehee book i mean time to 1440 Nantes, I felt she could have characterized de Rais a little deeper. Until his trial he was like a phantasm mists of a character(perhaps intentional to further the plot), but if he is a draw to readers like myself I felt I would have liked to get inside his head more so to speak. 2.) This novel is probably longer than it could/should be, again another confession I skimmed about a hundred of the 600+ pages, because although it was entertaining and enjoyable it wasn't Great enough for me to self-justify reading every single word in the massive text.
Everyone's taste is different and this is the reason I can consciously recommend this title to others. While I felt it was long and dragged a little for readers of Benson, and readers that enjoy historical/contemporary fiction this could be the title you are looking for.:)