1887
Under misconstrued devotion, the Bald Knobbers terrorize towns and target women. No victim survives under the lurking gaze of the Bald Knobbers and none who witness their wake of terror are ever the same.
Present
More than a hundred years later, the Bald Knobbers, are a name of the past.
Yet it only takes one man and a mask
to unleash a legacy of eye-widening horror.
Zeke is a middle age man who works in a grocery store and everyone sees him as eccentric, but average.
Not all is as it seems.
Dani is trying to find her way in life and move on from her cheating ex-boyfriend by going out on a nice dinner date.
Her evening will sure be memorable.
All is going well until Zeke begins to yell on the phone in the middle of the restaurant and disrupts their otherwise quiet evening. Before leaving, Zeke's attention travels to Dani's dress that reveals a butterfly tattoo over her breast. After unleashing a terrifying torrent, Zeke exits the restaurant, so Dani and her dinner date resolve to make nothing more of the outburst. The evening soon draws to a close and Dani is filled with a great sense of happiness.
Until the shadows in her room come to life and reveal a mysterious figure in a mask.
Before she realizes it, Dani is abducted by none other than Zeke. At his mercy, Dani experiences a firsthand world of horror and the twisted ritual where his victims are forced to face death or redemption.
Against all odds, dare she try and find a way to escape?
Christopher Graves has a writing style very reminiscent to classic thriller and horror novels, such as The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, which enthralls readers from the very first page. I found that the plot never slowed down its high-speed narrative that: ‘unmasked’ characters and their origins, delved into Zeke’s terrifying form of psychological and physical torment, and unleashed gasp worthy passages that showed the strength of a person's survival instinct.
Sinner gains further credibility because the characters are fleshed out individuals who are a product of their backgrounds. For instance, Graves expands on how Zeke was not simply a monster from birth, but rather he became one after a sequence of childhood traumas. Zeke represents how a person’s past, and certain defining moments, can engrain themselves on you and, unfortunately, it is almost impossible to escape the clutches of your upbringing. To that end, Sinner adds a touch of dark psyche that implies the actions of Zeke and his predecessors, the Bald Knobbers, are perusals of primitive, murderous instincts under the guise of justice.
On the other hand, Dani breaks Sinner’s convention of a victimized woman by channeling her fears and translating her past traumatic experiences into pure will and determination to survive. Sinner presents an utterly nightmarish situation that Dani must find a way out of and readers can’t help but cheer her on as she refuses to succumb to panic and despair. Instead of becoming another victim, Dani becomes a champion of nightmares.
What makes this book even more terrifying is the probability and realism of it all!
-A friendly stranger could end up being your stalker.
-Not watching your garage door close can give someone the chance to slip in.
-That shadow in the corner of your room may be an intruder.
-If you don’t watch your back who knows where you’ll end up.
Christopher Graves infuses Sinner with so many descriptions that you don’t just read the book. You experience it. Sinner is a heart pounding, page turning, read through the night book, and all these elements combined make Sinner a rather, shall we say, horrifying read that makes its own mark in the thriller genre.
If you're a thriller fan, Sinner is a must read.
However, if you are afraid of snakes, be warned!
To read the latest updates from Christopher Graves visit www.christophergraveswrites.com/
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