The Famous Flower of Serving Men

This was a very good book. Fast read. Wonderful ghost story like ghost stories should be done. I have bought and started reading the 2nd book and loving it. I hope to see much from this author.

Deborah Grabien brings The Weaver and the Factory Maid's Ringan Laine and Penny Wintercraft-Hawkes back with adroit and elegant storytelling in her second Child Ballad novel, The Famous Flower of Serving Men. Penny inherits the magnificent Bellefield Theatre in an area of London steeped in more than the usual helping of history. The Tamburlaine Players begin rehearsals for their opening play while hired workmen begin necessary refurbishments, and echoes of former lives begin to swirl and eddy like draughts in the Bellefield's corners. If you enjoyed the first in this series by Grabien, be prepared to have the tension cranked up a notch or two in this outing. And if this is your introduction to her characters, prepare to fall in deep like, if not complete love.

Theater producer of the traveling troupe The Tamborlaine Players Penelope Wintercraft-Hawkes and folklorist and building restorer Ringan Laine never expected to deal with ghosts again after the exorcism of the latter's home. Penny is ecstatic when she learns she inherited Bellefield, a theatre on Hawthorne Walk in London. She hires Ringan to restore the place as she plans to put on the play Iphagenia. However, from the moment that Penny sets foot in her new theatre she hears voices and sees visions of a woman on fire asking for a priest. The angry ghost hurt Ringan and indirectly caused the death of an art restorer. Until they can get rid of the ghost they cannot restore the place nor rehearse the upcoming production. With each passing day, the ghost grows stronger intending touse Penny as the means to leave Hawthorne Walk. Deborah Grabien has written a fabulous ghost story in which the seemingly mean-spirited ghost will elicit fan empathy. The protagonists are likable and complex while brave enough to try to banish the ghost. Historical tidbits from the reigns of Richard II and the Regent John of Gaunt provide an authentic anchor to an enjoyable paranormal tale. Readers who enjoyed THE FAMOUS FLOWER OF SERVING MEN will want to obtain the first novel starring Penny and Ringan, THE WEAVER AND THE FACTORY MAID. Harriet Klausner

I really loved Grabien's first book in this series, The Weaver and the Factory Maid, and this one was even better! Really scary, but not in the traditional "horror" way, I stayed up reading it, unable to put it down and had a nightmare the second I was down for the night. Spooky and vivid, it made me want to buy some Old English Folk Music. Can't wait for the third book in the series!

A witty and chilling follow-up to Grabien's excellent "Weaver and The Factory Maid" this book will be of special interest to mystery fans bored of the current serial-killer glut within the genre, looking for more of an homage to mysteries of the type written by Marsh and Christie, with a paranormal twist. Should be especially enjoyed by people who know a lot about English history and folk music, which, I hate to confess, is not I, but I was able to follow the story well, and learn things too.