Wow! This is an exceptional piece of writing. From the first word to the last, I was riveted to the page. Clearly set in the UK during the reign of the first Queen Elizabeth, names and certain facts have been altered to enable the writer to present a thinly-veiled alternative history.

The concept of a Sin Eater is fascinating - a woman who is banished to the very fringes of society and called upon to hear deathbed recitations before eating the foods associated with the sins of the dying. Thus, she takes their sins upon her own soul, and leaves theirs unblemished for when they meet their maker. This concept, alone, would have made an interesting novel; but Megan Campisi doesn't leave it there. She gives us a treat in the form of an intriguing mystery - skillfully weaving historical fact with historical fiction and characters that are artfully brought to life with the stroke of her pen.

I cannot recommend this book more highly.

The Sin eater by Megan Campisi is set around the 16th Century, where persons called Sin eaters who would visit the dying to hear a recitation of their sins. After they die, they would eat foods that coincide with their sins on their coffins to cleanse their souls of their sins.
So, when 14-year-old Mary Owens is arrested for the crimes of stealing a loaf of bread. She thinks that she will be sent to the gallows for her crimes but instead they made her a Sin eater. She is firstly shunned by everyone she meets and rumours that being a Sin eater she is cursed and anyone that touches her. But when she starts settling into her new role and she has been summoned to the castle she overhears things of murder and treason in the royal household.
Thank you, Pan Macmillan, and NetGalley for the copy of this book. The subject matter of this book is a true. I have never heard of Sin eaters before reading this book. I was excited to read this as the blurb said it was like The Handmaids tale. But for me personally I didn’t think that. But I thought this was a unique story of how people try and cleanse their sins before they die. I did enjoy about two thirds of this book, but I am afraid that the last third lost its way and I just lost interest. 3 stars from me.

Wow I loved this book! It is very unique and had me hooked from the beginning.
It is creepy, dark, twisty, and everything I had hoped for!

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this book. I enjoyed it very much. It's a strange story set in another history, which has recognisable shades of Tudor England. Megan Campisi alters the facts, but retains the paranoia and power struggles of Elizabeth I's reign, and the powerlessness of women.

May is an orphan, arrested for stealing bread. She is sentenced to become a Sin Eater. Her job is to hear deathbed confessions, prescribe the foods that must be eaten to remit those sins, and then eat the food from the coffin to take on the sins of the dead. She is effectively a non-person, unseen, unheard, except in these specific circumstances.

There's a mystery to solve - a female mystery, a mystery of women using the little power they have to change the world. There's May's own struggle to find companionship and value in her role, to manage the idea that all these sins are hers, that she carries them, outcast from society. There's a great cast of characters, and a couple of lovely twists.

I would definitely recommend this book.

For reasons which she doesn't understand, May Owens is sentenced to become a Sin Eater when she steals a loaf of bread. Sin Eaters can only speak when they listen to the sins of the dead, which are then represented in food that the Sin Eater consumes to take away people's sins and ensure they go to heaven. Even the older Sin Eater doesn't speak to her. But when they are summoned to the Palace, to eat a sin that wasn't confessed, May has to try and untangle what seems like a conspiracy to kill the Queen - even though she is unseen and not permitted to speak.

The book is set in a slightly different Elizabethan England (Angland, with Bethany on the throne) and skewed versions of historical events. For example Catholics are Eucharistians, but it's fairly easy to work out what's what. The sin eating itself is a real historical thing, although I found it quite strange, it's an important plot device. The horror that most people have when faced with May - the emobodiment of their sin - is demonstrated by the fact that even outcast beggars are reluctant to help her or even communicate with her, which exacerbates the problem she has in trying to solve the mystery of who really was responsible for the deaths she knows about. Only one person isn't afraid of her, because he's a Jew who has different beliefs, but May seems to have absorbed her own mythology so much that she can't speak to him, even if she can get some much-needed human contact from him.

It's quite a sad story because of May's alienation, whilst also being an interesting historical alternative. I found it quite thought-provoking and worth a read.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

The sin eater walks among us. I studied history and taught it, so how did I not know about sin eaters?? It’s the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (Bethany in the book) and May Owens is caught stealing bread. Her punishment is to be branded a sin eater and a collar placed around her neck. May is now marked and shunned by society. She will be summoned by a family who has a dying relative. She has to eat a ritual meal after hearing a death bed confession, allocating foods to sins. These are placed on the coffin and once eaten May takes on the sins of the dead, she absorbs them and therefore the deceased’s soul can enter heaven. This ritual is linked to Eve and she is cursed like Eve and she will bear the sins in silence until her own death. However, this story goes beyond sixteenth century rituals although they are central to the story. May goes to the Queen’s court where she hears a deathbed confession where her observations uncover a conspiracy symbolised by the appearance of a deers heart on a coffin. May knows that the dead person did not confess to that sin. So who has placed the deers heart there and why? The story is told by May herself in a style reminiscent of the century.

There is much to like and praise in this book. The historical detail is fantastic, the writing is colourful and lively with occasional touches of humour. I love the folklore and the superstition which captures the period of time effectively and the style feels authentic. It’s a dark and intriguing story and I like the twist at the end.

However, it is complicated and I think readers will need to have some understanding of the history to appreciate some of the plot and the characters in it. It does get repetitive towards the middle too which causes your interest to fall away somewhat.

However, overall because it’s so original and it looks at a little known historical area that is absolutely fascinating I would recommend it to fans of historical fiction or anyone who finds the concept intriguing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan McMillan

Set in an alternate 16th century England, Queen Bethany is on the throne and 14 year old May Owens finds herself orphaned and alone. Unfortunately for May she is caught stealing and is imprisoned, however instead of the typical sentence for stealing she is condemned to become a Sin Eater, a role imposed upon certain women. The Sin Eater is expected to consume the sins of the dying, eating symbolic foods which stand for particular sins and bear them until their own death. The Sin Eater is shunned by the world around them and yet are a vital part of the society in which they live. May finds herself embroiled in the dangerous world of Queen Bethany's Court, and has to outwit the conspirators.

Campisi cleverly captures and alters Elizabethan England, and in the character of May shows us the injustice suffered by the poor and in particular the women of the society. Great for fans of speculative fiction and historical fiction.

I enjoyed this book! One thing that felt fresh about it, for me, was that the central character and narrator May isn’t educated. A lot of the historical fiction I’ve read is narrated by educated, very (sometimes too) eloquent characters. May isn’t that, which isn’t to say she’s not clever – she’s pretty sharp. But it felt a nice change to be seeing the book’s world through someone who doesn’t feel suspiciously modern and book-learned.

I liked some of the little point-of-view touches too: like the fact that a number of the higher-born characters from the court are referred to by the nicknames May gives them – Mush Face, The Painted Pig, The Willow Tree, The Country Mouse – rather than their actual names (because, of course, she wouldn’t know them and they wouldn’t ever think to tell someone of her status). This and other things really did make me feel I was seeing the world through May’s eyes.

The ‘alt-history’ aspect of the book is interesting: it’s not Queen Elizabeth but ‘Queen Bethany’, and not protestants vs catholics but ‘makers’ vs ‘Ainglish’, and so on. This was occasionally distracting: in my head I was mentally doing the ‘Oh wait, so that’s Thomas Seymour…’ calculations, which took me out of the story momentarily. But I liked it too: not being quite sure what’s real history and what’s fiction. It’s a book that’ll send you on some Wikipedia hunts, and they’re always fun.

I was fascinated by the concept of sin eaters – people who visit the dying to hear their confessions of sins, and then come back after they die to ‘eat’ those sins (with different foods corresponding to different sins) to absolve them. These were real people from history, and I’d never heard of them before. The book also felt like it didn’t pull any punches with the sheer unpleasantness of life for someone of May’s class and (enforced) career: the stinks, the sheer bleakness, come across regularly.

The ending felt like it came and played out very quickly, and I occasionally had a twinge of not quite understanding why May wasn’t running a mile from the murderous court intrigues, even with her motivations for getting involved. But then, that would make for a much less interesting novel!

I really enjoyed this alternative take on English history. The narration was compelling but the main reason for not giving it 5 stars was that the very last chapter as an add on was a little contrived and seemed unlikely. Otherwise an enjoyable read.

This galley is unreadable. The lines have been chopped up and scrambled into some kind of random order - and fragments repeat. This isn’t just a couple of glitches, it is sustained, page after page. I reached out to the publisher a week ago about this and have not received a response.

Therefore I am offering a 1 star review for the galley to warn other members of the problem but will not be posting on any review sites because I suspect the correct text might be rather good,.

I would be very happy to read the text if a corrected copy could be made available.

I struggled a little at first with the bleak opening, In the first few pages, we see May lose her Da, suffer at the hands of her kinsfolk and be made a Sin Eater; her tongue is tattooed with an S and a collar is locked around her neck. Luckily we quickly dip into the story of what happens next, which is intriguing and wonderfully written. Mysteries lurk around every corridor of the castle and scurrilous and intriguing characters are encountered at every turn.

May is bound not to speak, so for most of the book, we are in her head, perceiving and seeing what she sees and feeling her frustration in not being able to use her voice. I can't think of another read to compare this to, I found it to be quite unique and a compelling way to handle the murder mystery at the heart of the tale.

Set in the reign of a fictionalised Queen Bess, I found it thrilling and I am not usually a one for historical fiction, unless a dragon or some magic pops up, (it doesn't).

I really enjoyed May's journey. Looking forward to reading more by Megan Campisis!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for an eBook copy of the book for review. (It didn't work on my Kindle and confused me greatly but worked excellently in Adobe when I downloaded it as an ePub book!)

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley.

Sin Eaters did exist through many centuries. Outcasts, often women, who would take away a person′s sins at the end of their life by eating something at their funeral. But the author has taken that idea and expanded it into a precise accounting of the sins people commit.
At first sight the book is set in Elizabethan times, but here Elizabeth is Bethany and her favourites have no names. It allows the story to unfold without the reflex of wanting to stop to check facts. Still, it is based on many of the events and rumours of Elizabeth′s life, and from them spins a mystery which the sin eater has to solve at peril of her own life. May, the young girl who is condemned to be a sin eater is someone who notices things. At the beginning of the book this is merely a quirk, but it enables her to spot clues and from them draw conclusions.
The specifics of the sin eaters job are what I found fascinating, the delineations of each sin and which food is associated with them. I could have read a book which just followed May settling into her new life, but the mystery (interesting, but not too difficult to resolve) gives more meat to the story. A book which would appeal to readers of historical novels, detective stories, or fantasy fans.

For some, history has an uncanny way of drawing you in with seemingly mundane facts that illuminate a world so distanced from ours. Me, I'm some. I bloody love little history blossoms between a thicket of fantasy; so when the opening words are an author's note saying 'this isn't real' (I'm paraphrasing) and a list of sins and their associated foods, I'm not only intrigued, but inspired. What platter would be laid next to my death bed? Is that too morbid? Who would be the one eating it? What kind of person does this, and gets paid to? I have so many questions, and the narrative hasn't even started yet! 

I was less interested in the family tree, but is a historical fiction really a historical fiction without one? 

Also, there's a mild prologue. I say mild because whilst it builds the word our Protagonist is in, being harsh, and visceral, and real, it is short. The stage is set. The descriptions of the food alone set the scene for the rest of the narrative. This is not a light read. This is not escapism for escapism's sake. But I enjoy that about it. And then chapter 1 begins. 

Each chapter is carefully crafted to balance the microcosm narrative - that of May Owens, our main character - and the wider context of the world outside. Through conversation, we determine era, religion, context, without it feeling heavy-handed or forced. And because our main character is a chatterbox, and we are in her internal dialogue, she guides us through both in equal measure. 

May Owens is not wholly good or wholly bad. She has agency, opinions, and personality. I like her. An orphan, a thief, and isolated as a new, young sin eater. No one speaks to her. No one looks at her. And the cruelest part is, all she wants is the company. When her parents die she actively seeks it out. Now she cannot.  She doesn't need your pity. I like her for that too. 

Megan Campisi bridges the gap between genre and literary effortlessly, and as we wind through the old streets, activities and understanding of an old world, we're also embarking on a journey of melancholic self-discovery. I will finish reading this book because the character-driven narrative and interesting world are so rich and well developed, it would be rude not to! 

Highly recommend this book, the first three chapters have broken my heart without any promise of mending it!

There's a four star novel in here somewhere, but somehow all of the author's ideas seem to dwindle and peter out. Like many I was interested in a new to me concept of Sin Eating, but I was thrown by the decision to create a shadow Tudor court and then lazily just make up some wink and nudge names like wife murdering King Harald. There are pacing issues that left me a little bored and the language grated my nerves as the same phrases were hammered again and again. On the whole I was underwhelmed but I was still intrigued enough that I would happily read something less fanciful on the subject.

From what I was able to read this was a very engaging and interesting story and I cconnected to the main character straight away. Unfortunately due to formatting issues I wasn't able to complete the book.

2.5 ⭐️ Well, I tried.
Let me tell you what I liked first....I was fascinated by the sin eater. I have never heard about it before, no idea it ever existed and, also thought the whole concept of book was very interesting.

Having said that I really dislike the way it was delivered. The writing style annoyed the life out of me and it's down to 3 things: first person narration, short sentences and a lot of telling but not showing.
It's hard to pull off a first person narrator because it can be very limiting to the narrators own experiences and that's exactly what it felt to me. Also, so many short action sentences empty of descriptions and full of repetition (SO MUCH REPETITION!) - which I appreciate that's the effect the author was going for - it just was not for me. And lastly, there was so much telling, that happened here and then that happened there and then, it happened again over there. Don't tell what happened, show me please!

All of those 3 points are down to my personal preference and I appreciated what the author tried to achieve.

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the advanced copy.

I am no Eve. Eve wasn't content to live in the heavenly plains with the Maker. She leapt to earth and sought out Adam, keeper of the fields and orchards, made him lead her to the Maker's tree and stole its fruit/ When she ate all but the last bite, which she fed to Adam, the Maker cursed her for her treachery and sent her to be the mistress of the underworld.

The sin eater was a fantastic read! Of course, it's set in an alternate Tudor world, and the queen is totally Elizabeth and the Maris before her was Mary (I've also never studied British history, so I'm just basing this on general knowledge. I was also surprised to realize that Sin-Eaters were an actual thing! The last Sin-Eater in England actually passed away in 1906, which does indicate that this is a fairly modern custom.

Of course, sin-eating could not have been as regulated as it is in this book by Megan Campisi. But it's not hard to imagine because we do live in a world where the legal system means that the rich and powerful can manage to absolve themselves of almost anything. We all know of Brock Turner, and we have those men in this story. Epstein may have committed suicide, but Weinstein is still ready to fight and hold on to any power and support he has.

But this is a review about the book, and what I mean to say is that it reflects modern society fairly accurately. Upon being pronounced a Sin-Eater, everyone who has ever known her turns their backs on her and won't even hear the sound of her voice. In an attempt to keep all sins between her and the dead, she is not allowed to speak; not even to the older mentor. The poor cannot afford her services because they cannot buy that food, as we see from those in jail. The man who sentenced her to this had done this to his own wife before her to be rid of her; he made her the dumping ground for everyone's sins.

But what I did appreciate was how the custom of Sin-Eating also brought secrets out into the open. Everyone knew what a certain heart represented; everyone could bear witness, but also be locked out of the particularities of the witnessing. Everyone knows, but also no one but the woman whose voice no one will hear.

Of course, May is more like Eve than she wants to be, and while she attributes this to the more wicked (read nasty, cruel, vindictive) side of her family tree, it's more how she really isn't content to starve to death like a good poor person or do anything more than eat sins in her new role.