Kate Cann

rayne — (2008-2011) Young adult. Publisher: Rayne can't wait to start her summer job at a remote country mansion, far from the crowded, noisy London she so desperately wants to escape. But the retreat soon turns into a nightmare — the mansion is creepy, the legends of ghosts keep Rayne up at night, and she doesn't feel safe anywhere. Can Rayne figure out why she's so freaked — before she becomes a ghost story herself?

Possessed

The beginning of Possessed drops the reader right into the stifling life of Rayne, a young London teenager. Her relationships with her mother and boyfriend are dysfunctional, and she’s unable to find a moment’s peace amid the noise and crime of the city. Kate Cann does an excellent job of showing us Rayne’s frayed nerves and her desire to get out of her neighborhood by any means necessary. Desperate, she takes a live-in job at the country estate of Morton’s Keep.

As Rayne settles into her new life, Cann continues to excel at depicting the character’s mental state. When Rayne exults in her freedom, we feel it right along with her; when creepy events occur and Rayne is frightened, we feel that too. Rayne is not always a “nice” girl — she lies a lot, for one — but we are given plenty of reasons to sympathize with her. She makes mistakes, but they’re the kinds of mistakes we’ve all made, especially as teenagers trying to assert our independence.

Rayne uncovers a supernatural mystery and also becomes embroiled in the dramas of a mysterious clique; as the new girl in a small, insular town she inspires interest and jealousy. In a way, Possessed (though much shorter, and written earlier) reminded me of Rosemary Clement-Moore’s The Splendor Falls, which similarly deals with a new girl, a haunted estate, and the love triangles and nasty undercurrents of a rather incestuous circle of friends.

Possessed is an intriguing and entertaining novel, though the pacing is a little off. The romantic subplot moves a bit more quickly than I found realistic, though in Cann’s defense, there does turn out to be an exacerbating factor. Meanwhile, I felt that the ghost story could have been “seeded” a little more heavily in the earlier chapters of the book. We get plenty of spooky moments, but not much backstory until the very end. When the backstory does come, half of it is delivered in a lengthy villain monologue. It might have worked better to have Rayne discover the backstory in bits and pieces throughout the novel.

But while I was disappointed in this one aspect of Possessed, I did enjoy the novel and look forward to the US release of Fire and Rayne, the sequel. I’d love to know more about the sordid history of Morton’s Keep, the Morris-dancing group, and what happens next to Rayne. —Kelly Lasiter

Consumed

When I learned that Consumed (Fire and Rayne in the UK) was being released stateside, I was excited. I enjoyed the previous book, Possessed, and was eager to find out what lay in store for Rayne and for Morton’s Keep. Kate Cann has done a great job with this sequel, giving us a hair-raising tale that tops the first book and brings Rayne’s story to a thrilling conclusion.

Sir Simeon Lingwall’s modern-day pawn has been defeated and his basement chamber of horrors filled in with concrete — so why is Rayne still seeing and hearing uncanny things, and why are gruesome crimes being committed in and around the town of Marcle Lees? Rayne begins to suspect the evil has not been completely laid to rest and may be rising again even stronger than before. The only hope of stopping it lies in traditions half-remembered by the townspeople, and in Rayne’s connection with the mysterious Green Lady.

Possessed hinted at an ancient evil in Morton’s Keep, but focused more on a seventeenth-century man who invoked it for his own sadistic ends. Consumed delves deeper into the past and the folk rituals of Marcle Lees. I loved the greater emphasis on the pagan survivals, and the pacing is terrific in this installment, with each piece of backstory being revealed at just the right moment.

Rayne has to decide who to trust as the danger mounts. Sometimes she can be a frustrating protagonist, trusting unscrupulous characters too easily while refusing to trust characters who really do have her best interests at heart. She’s always relatable, though, as she struggles with disbelief, fear, and anger before accepting her role in the happenings at the Keep.

The romantic plotline is well-done, and refreshingly devoid of the “we’re fated to be together” trope so common in YA fantasy. In fact, Rayne questions the relationship at times and wants to be sure the attraction is not just because of the supernatural events.

Consumed builds to a suspenseful climax in which Rayne and friends face off against the people who would bring back the ancient evil. The conclusion leaves room for more Rayne books if Cann chooses to write them, but it’s a satisfying ending and I highly recommend these two books as a duology. Cann combines history, suspense, and romance into an addictive, spooky tale. —Kelly Lasiter