When schoolteacher Trixie Smith turns up asking questions about legendary film actress Lucretia von Wolff, Lucy Trent is not unduly alarmed. She rather enjoys the notoriety surrounding her glamorous but infamous grandmother, whose lovers were legion, whose scandals were numerous, whose life ended abruptly in a bizarre double murder and suicide at the Ashwood film studios in 1952. Trixie Smith has uncovered information which she believes throws new light on the Ashwood case. In particular, she wants to know more about Alraune, the illegitimate child Lucretia was alleged to have borne at the outbreak of WWII. The child whose existence is surrounded in mystery. The child who may never have existed at all. But Trixie Smith's enquiries are brought to an untimely end. Some days later, her mutilated corpse is discovered at the derelict site of the old Ashwood studios. In the ensuing murder investigation, Lucy is to discover disturbing facts about her family's poignant and often tragic history - a history which stretches from the glittering concert halls of 1920s Vienna to the bleak environs of wartime Auschwitz - and at the heart of it all lies the shocking truth about the mysterious child called Alraune.
Roots of Evil
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About the Author
Sarah Rayne is the pseudonym of a well-known British author who has written several highly-praised novels. She lives in Staffordshire.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the second book I have read by Sarah Rayne and I would just like to say that she has now become my new favourite author. I absolutely loved this book. It is totally engrossing, from the modern plotline with the hilariously prim Edmund to the wonderful tales of the past. I love the fact that Sarah Rayne writes these thrillers but there's a touch of humour in there as well. I didn't want to put it down at all. Fantastic.
The only problem with reading such a great book is that everything else falls flat afterwards, though I can't wait to read her others.
The only problem with reading such a great book is that everything else falls flat afterwards, though I can't wait to read her others.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By R. Evans
Format:Paperback
I have just finished reading ROOTS OF EVIL and felt compeld to let others know just what an amazing and intreaging story it is.
I was utterly mezmerised and fasinated at this twisty and whinding plot that seemlessly goes back and forth in time from a present day horrificly gory murder, to the concert halls of 1920,s Vienna and then to the concentration camps of Auschwitz.
After reading Roots of evil i can visualize every person in the cast perfectly and although the tale is compleatly far fetched it is not far fetched enough to compleatly dismiss that some thing like this could really have happend. I can not write about ROOTS of Evil without a mention to the undoudted star in this whole bizzar story, and that is the Baroness Lucritia Von Wolff, the most amazing charaterization i have ever encounted.
This beautifuly crafted plot was part gothic horror, part murder mystery, part romance and part adventure. Madness, scandal, family skeletons, "ghost children", country houses, double identity, historcal reality and Drama, Drama, Drama is waiting for the readers inside these pages. Some bits of the story made me squirm so much with horror that i had to put it down for a second, other parts were exstreamly sad, and other parts gliteringly romantic. The story just builds and builds in to a dazzleing web until you can not rest until you know the whole truth. Every thing that you read on the pages was so well crafted that it came to life as though you were whatching a film , and what a film this story would make.
This is no ordinary murder story and it certainly does not have your typical thriller caracters, it is without any doubt the most complex and exciting novel i have read. Illusions feature stronly in this story line and at times the whole plot is so convicing and vivid you almost think the fianl twist could be that it isn,t actully a work of fiction and that every thing really did happen.
I have read Tower of Silence also by Sarah Rayne and i thouht that was excellent, Roots of Evil was her third book and i am now looing falward to reading her second novel that looks to be just as promising. i can not praise this book highly enough and i am sure that any one with a panchant fot the bizzare and slightly macarbe will be just as delighted with it. Breathtaking .......a truly remarkable illusion is created, the story is an inspiration to the drama queen in us all!
I was utterly mezmerised and fasinated at this twisty and whinding plot that seemlessly goes back and forth in time from a present day horrificly gory murder, to the concert halls of 1920,s Vienna and then to the concentration camps of Auschwitz.
After reading Roots of evil i can visualize every person in the cast perfectly and although the tale is compleatly far fetched it is not far fetched enough to compleatly dismiss that some thing like this could really have happend. I can not write about ROOTS of Evil without a mention to the undoudted star in this whole bizzar story, and that is the Baroness Lucritia Von Wolff, the most amazing charaterization i have ever encounted.
This beautifuly crafted plot was part gothic horror, part murder mystery, part romance and part adventure. Madness, scandal, family skeletons, "ghost children", country houses, double identity, historcal reality and Drama, Drama, Drama is waiting for the readers inside these pages. Some bits of the story made me squirm so much with horror that i had to put it down for a second, other parts were exstreamly sad, and other parts gliteringly romantic. The story just builds and builds in to a dazzleing web until you can not rest until you know the whole truth. Every thing that you read on the pages was so well crafted that it came to life as though you were whatching a film , and what a film this story would make.
This is no ordinary murder story and it certainly does not have your typical thriller caracters, it is without any doubt the most complex and exciting novel i have read. Illusions feature stronly in this story line and at times the whole plot is so convicing and vivid you almost think the fianl twist could be that it isn,t actully a work of fiction and that every thing really did happen.
I have read Tower of Silence also by Sarah Rayne and i thouht that was excellent, Roots of Evil was her third book and i am now looing falward to reading her second novel that looks to be just as promising. i can not praise this book highly enough and i am sure that any one with a panchant fot the bizzare and slightly macarbe will be just as delighted with it. Breathtaking .......a truly remarkable illusion is created, the story is an inspiration to the drama queen in us all!
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Helen Witts
Format:Paperback
Bought this book on impulse in a cheap bookstore and it was marked down to £2. Didn't have time to go to one of the big bookshops in town and I can't be without something to read!
What a book!
Could not put it down from the first page. I din't see any of the twists and turns coming.Totally compelling - dont miss it.
What a book!
Could not put it down from the first page. I din't see any of the twists and turns coming.Totally compelling - dont miss it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
ROOTS OF EVIL.
By no means the easiest of reads, Roots Of Evil is definitely a contender for the most confusing and possibly frustrating book I have ever read. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Petty Witter
5.0 out of 5 stars
great read
If you like a slightly spooky 'who dunnit' that keeps you turning the pages to find out more, buy this!
Published 1 month ago by LUCY B
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Ol Sarah
Another scorcher by Sarah Raynew! Great psycho author however she does tend to flit between past and present in her books and I know some people find this frustrating, but her... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Claire
4.0 out of 5 stars
gripping
About the third of her books I have read, most are excellent. This one had a gripping story, pulled you in and , as with her other novels, a byline, a story from the past, in this... Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2011 by Ichabod
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sarah Rayne at her best
Sarah Rayne is my most recent and much find. What an amazing author. She writes with such clarity that gets you involved with each individual character and brings them vividly to... Read more
Published on 22 April 2009 by Ms. Victoria Harvey
4.0 out of 5 stars
patcham
I bought this book looking for someting different. I liked the book, it is well written and to start with I was fascinated by the conjoined twins and would have loved to know more... Read more
Published on 9 Aug 2008 by patricia
5.0 out of 5 stars
ADMITTEDLY A LOT OF `COINCIDENCES` AND `HARD TO BELIEVE` BITS..
and a part of me really did want to rip this book to bits and scream -
` THIS COULD NEVER HAPPEN IN A MILLION YEARS - DO YOU THINK WE`RE STUPID ??? !!! Read more
` THIS COULD NEVER HAPPEN IN A MILLION YEARS - DO YOU THINK WE`RE STUPID ??? !!! Read more
Published on 4 July 2008 by Leeds lass
1.0 out of 5 stars
Roots of Evil fails to spark
Rather disappointing. I found this novel to be clumsily written with weak characterisation, weak dialogue and a cliche ridden, totally silly plot. Read more
Published on 20 Dec 2006 by Colin Judd
4.0 out of 5 stars
roots of evil
This book is unputdownable, it had me intrigued and hooked from page one. It is the first book i have read by sarah rayne and i will certainly be reading more.
Published on 1 Nov 2006 by Kim Queenan
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good concept, failed by sloppy continuity
The book started out well, and was a good read until the concentration camp scenario. Even this was okayish, although anyone who has read true biographical tales of these camps... Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2006 by Mrs. F. Smith
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