Book Review: The Portrait of Sister Elsa (The Ghosts of Crowford Book #4)

Title: The Portrait of Sister Elsa (The Ghosts of Crowford Book #4)
Author: Amy Cross
Genre: Horror, Ghosts
Rating: 4,5 stars
Purchase: Amazon

The year is 1898, and celebrated painter Anthony Toyner is dying. Determined to complete one final masterpiece, he travels to Crowford, a coastal town with a dangerous reputation. Convinced that he’ll find the inspiration for his last painting, Toyner never suspects that he’s about to become embroiled in a battle for hundreds of souls.

Soon after arriving in Crowford, Toyner encounters a mysterious nun who is staying in the same public house. Sister Elsa Farr has a tendency to sneak out in the middle of the night, and one morning she returns with serious injuries. She refuses to say what happened or where she’s been, but Toyner discovers that she’s particularly interested in an abandoned church beyond the outskirts of town. Something deadly lurks in that church, something that one destroyed an entire village.

What really draws Sister Elsa back to the church night after night? Can Anthony Toyner discover what happened to the lost village before tragedy strikes again? And is his final painting, the centerpiece of an exhibition a century later, really cursed?

The Portrait of Sister Elsa is the fourth book in the series. Each book is a standalone story, and there is no need to read them in any particular order.

Reviews of previous books in the series: The Haunting of Nelson Street (The Ghosts of Crowford Book #1), The Revenge of the Mercy Belle (The Ghosts of Crowford Book #2) and The Ghost of Crowford School (The Ghosts of Crowford Book #3).

In 1898, a renowned painter called Anthony Toyner has taken up residence in Crowford, convinced he’ll find inspiration for his final painting in the small coastal town. Soon after his arrival, he encounters a mysterious nun: sister Elsa Farr. The nun seems up to something, as she sneaks out in the middle of the night, and even returns with some serious injuries the next morning.

Elsa refuses to disclose her whereabouts, which makes Toyner even more curious about what is going on, and what connection is between Elsa and the abandoned church on the outskirts of town.

The Portrait of Sister Elsa is one of my favourite books in this series. This was one of the few books that actually managed to scare me a little – and if you take into account that I devour horror novels like sweet candy, then you’ll realize that’s no easy feat.

The characters were intriguing, in particularly Elsa, and the mystery kept me guessing for a while. The twists are fun and surprising. Another great installment in the Ghosts of Crowford series.