I've enjoyed the Fitzglen series, but "The Face Stealer" is less about the theatrical family dynamics, and more about a gruesome history on stone artefacts involving dead children. The gothic drama was more than I had bargained for. I'm not sure I'll pick up the next in the series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I missed the first books in this series about the Fitzglens, an acting family that also engages in heists but this was fine as a standalone. Know that there's a lot packed into a relatively slim volume as this moves back and forth in time between 1909 and the time of Catherine the Great. Oh and it moves between London and Russia. It's atmospheric, it's a tad creepy and it kept me reading. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of historical fiction.

Thank you to the author and publisher and Net Galley for providing an ARC in exchange for my review.

I'll admit, I'm a Sarah Rayne fan. I discovered her books about 10 years ago, and they have been hard to find her book here in the US, but I'm always on the look out for her books. I love her writing style and character development. I haven't read the previous 2 books in this series - now they are all on my wishlists!

This series is about a family of actors who then get involved in heists. How can you pass that up? In this book, the family is asked to find artefacts from the reign of Catherine the Great; Russian in origin, are linked to a story that is rather grisly to read. MR James' book "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" is referenced and MR James is also cameoed in this book.

Raynes books are almost always very spooky, very atmospheric with well developed characters and clear plot lines. The family rivalry is a great addition to this one. Can't wait to read the first two, and then re-read this one!

IF you like a spooky, creepy, historic mystery, look for this books and others by the author.

5 stars - loved it and I will re-read!

I have been a fan of Sarah Rayne for a few years and have always enjoyed her books.

The Face Stealer is an excellent read. Ms Rayne really knows how to set the scene and build up an earie sense to the scenes. I wouldn't say terrifying, but a feeling of cold creepyness that can make you feel cold on a warm day. The Face Stealer was set over two time periods that flowed along each tale flowing and fitting in with the other. There was a bit of Russian history involved, but very easy to follow.

I enjoyed the book and thanks to NetGalley for the early reading copy.

I am a huge Sarah Rayne fan having read all of her novels, over the last 15 or more years. 'The Face Stealer' is the third in her relatively new series starring the Edwardian theatrical Fitzglen family of actors, stage managers and thieves (or 'filchers' as they call themselves) and now in book three, Rayne is well and truly into her stride with the characters, (especially Jack and his amorata, Viola), the period setting and the twisty, interlocked plots.
As usual with her novels, you have a linked narrative set in two or three time periods; this time it's 1909 London with the Fitzglen family, the 1760s onwards with Catherine the Great in Russia - including (fictionalised) excerpts from her private diaries, and a fictional love affair with a historic Fitzglen  (who founded the Amaranth Theatre) as well as gruesome goings on in a monastery above an isolated village, involving a murderous monk, missing children, and a macabre rhyme maker. Somewhere amidst all this madness and murder is the eponymous 'face stealer' and a secret worth killing for which is inscribed in the stone heads. There are flashbacks to the monk's childhood, revealing the roots of his tragic life and destiny.
Ranye writes with her usual historical flair and panache, blending the disparate threads and characters into a whole which hums with deceit, death and betrayal. There is even a guest cameo from M.R.James himself which amused me. A mausoleum features in a significant and eerie way which would no doubt please James.
If you enjoy historical mysteries with twists and Gothic drama, this is for you.

Third in the Theatre of Thieves series - I hadn't read the other two but realised it's about a family of thespians who get involved in heists.

This time round, the Fitzglens are asked to find some Russian artefacts which are linked to a very grisly story during the reign of Catherine the Great - stone heads which are the images of murdered children and which also hide an explosive secret. Plus they discover links to their own family history, and the fact that one of their own (a baddie) is involved - and they flush him out by acting out a version of MR James' 'The Treasure of Abbot Thomas' (as an MRJ fan, I thoroughly enjoyed that and MRJ's cameo!).

Very spooky and atmospheric; good characterisation, and I like the way there's clearly some rivalry with another family (Shakespeare's threaded through very nicely).

The Face Stealer by Sarah Rayne.
This is #3 in the Theatre of Thieves series.
The Fitzglens, a troupe of edwardian gentlemen thieves, are asked to find some stolen Russian artifacts.
The story is a dual timeline- 1909 in London and 1762 during the reign of Tsar Peter III and Tsarina Catherine the Great. Even M R James pops up with the Fitzglens performing a ghost story. It was a great read and so informative about a part of history that I knew nothing about and wanted to learn more.