SIn Eater by Megan Campisi

Orphan May stole a loaf of bread and when arrested expected to die a horrible death. The Recorder stared hard at her and sentenced her to be branded as a Sin Eater. The teenager would be shunned for the rest of her life but would never again starve. She was to hear the sins of the dying and eat the proscribed foods to take their sins upon herself. The dead would fly to heaven; a locked collar kept May chained to hell.

Being a sin eater is a constricted life, alienated from society, yet May has unlimited access to the darkest secrets of the human heart for the the dying are eager to shrug off their worst sins before judgement.

The Queen's ladies in waiting are dying. May hears their confession but is given foods for sins never confessed. Something is afoot in the palace, and illiterate, powerless May is the only person who can cipher out the truth. 

Sin Eater by Megan Campisi is set in a familiar Elizabethan-inspired alternative world with the virgin Queen Bethany jealously guarding her favorite while lords present themselves as suitors. 

The stench and inhumanity of the times are vividly described, as are the consequences of the quest for beauty and power.

May is a remarkable and sympathetic heroine whose story arc takes her from powerlessness to embracing her destiny. The story winds up to a tense climax.

I was given access to a free ebook by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.

Sin Eater
by Megan Campisi
Atria Books
Pub Date April 7, 2020 
ISBN: 9781982124106
PRICE: $27.00/$36.00 (CAD) hardcover
$12.99 ebook/$19.99 audiobook