Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

“As I rebuild the WLS archive with books I've read from 2011 through to 2025, I want to build a fully-fledged ecosystem of books I've read and recommend. I'd like to be able to reference and speak to any I've finished. For books I haven't reviewed (or can't entirely remember), please enjoy this brief questionnaire that can help you decide whether it's a read you'd like to pursue. Some of these are favorites I just haven't gotten around to fully reviewing yet—I'll explain in each description, but I hope this Q&A can be illuminating to you in the meantime.”

Sinner follows Cole St. Clair, a pivotal character from the #1 New York Times bestselling Shiver series.

Cole St. Clair has come to California for one reason: to get Isabel Culpeper back. She fled from his damaged, drained life, and damaged and drained it even more. He doesn't just want her. He needs her.

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Isabel is trying to build herself a life in Los Angeles. It's not really working. She can play the game as well as all the other fakes. But what's the point? What is there to win?

Cole and Isabel share a past that never seemed to have a future. They have the power to love each other and the power to tear each other apart. The only thing for certain is that they cannot let go.

First, Read the Original Series.

In terms of Maggie Stiefvater novels, Sinner feels like an outlier. It's a companion work, not part of the original Wolves of Mercy Falls series, but you won't want to pick it up unless you've read the core arc. (There will be spoilers.) The plot's left Minnesota in favor of a sharp, sun-drenched depiction of L.A.

The messiness and hurt of their relationship reminds me a lot of Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings, although in much less detail. If the length of that particular comp intimidates you, this might be a stellar choice for wading into that combination of emotion. You'll just have to be willing to (oh, the horror!) devour the wintery, sappy werewolf series first for the foundation—and the first book, Shiver, is being adapted into a movie, so get on it.

Sinner Amplifies Such Sharp, Satisfying Characterization.

In Sinner, ex-frontman Cole comes to L.A. to reemerge into the public eye after an assumed stint in rehab. As the former wild child of rock band NARKOTICA, he radiates I-don't-give-a-shit energy. In the first scene, he ditches a phone interview to weave through interstate traffic because he can't stand the gridlock in L.A. (You and me both.) Girls who swoon for the bad-boy affectedness of say, Damon Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries (TV) will appreciate his particular flavor of edge and wit.

He's playful and curious and has a reputation for being a jackass, but he means well, and the book plays with accountability and intention and forgiveness in satisfying ways, especially for teen characters. He struggles with addiction in various ways, so a lot of the tone and language in his voice uses this emphasis on need and self-destruction. (I love a writer who can so accurately infuse their prose with such specific characterization.)

He's come to find Isabel, in part, who's moved away with her mother and cousin after the events of the original series. Isabel's acerbic and also wonderful in a similar way to Cole. I adore her and don't normally connect to "mean girl" archetypes, but her specific brand of bitter callousness makes sense and doesn't prevent her from hurting or aching in a thoughtful way. Both characters suffer from acting before speaking, and their flaws and methodology feel realistic rather than forced.

They each have a prickly exterior in divergent ways, and they're each a little lost and bittersweet.

It is a Love Letter to L.A., But Not How You'd Expect

The depiction of Southern California is phenomenal, illustrating the love-hate relationship many have with the city. Stiefvater doesn't paint palm trees and Hollywood. Instead, she writes about the L.A. that many notice instead—wavy heat and traffic and smog. It's cutthroat in contrast to the glittery, romantic tones of other "love letters" like in Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour.

The sense of place operates similarly to Isabel and Cole's relationship, so it's an apt mirror for the relationship arc too. The setting feeds the characterization which feeds the setting again, and so on and so forth. All in all, that's one of my favorite book qualities, and difficult to master.

You'll Either Love or Hate the Plot Itself, But It's About the Feel Instead—

Sinner is a subtle book in comparison to Stiefvater's other novels, perhaps because it's an add-on. It's definitely not for everyone, for that reason. Scenes include Cole auditioning a new drummer, convincing his driver to go to the beach in the middle of the night, and Isabel musing about the faux-affectedness of being a shopgirl selling leggings in Beverly Hills (and she captures the particular exhaustion of working in retail perfectly—can vouch. You can feel the fluorescents and the dull boredom and the deeper ennui, especially powerful after knowing her backstory.)

Sinner traces the lines of mundane behavior that set the tone for Stiefvater's slow-but-rich depiction of the same in The Raven Boys. Everything means something, but you have to dig deeper for it.

The tone is sardonic and scathing and stunning. There's no greater plot than Isabel and Cole examining the shrapnel of their connection, and seeking a maybe-nonexistent closure from the grief arcs of the previous series. There is of course the through-thread of Cole being a literal werewolf from The Wolves of Mercy Falls series (bear with me now), but there's not much else that's supernatural. The reality show Cole's in L.A. for doesn't threaten to expose them, for example; that conflict's been put to bed.

Overall, the feel is restless and longing and hungry, which is why this series (and really everything Stiefvater writes) has such an alluring grip on me. Sinner still has its claws in me years after finishing, although my opinion on various aspects of the story may change depending on when I pick it up again.

Overall Thoughts

Sinner's a strange book, but it deals so effectively with this idea of scarring and aftermath. Personally, I love a read that's willing to roll up its sleeves and get messy in regards to human connection, who we choose and go back to, and what happens when our flaws get in the way of our best intentions.

Cole and Isabel are each vivid, larger-than-life characters, which makes their combination even more explosive. They're either the best match ever or going to kill each other, but they both have a lot of toxicity to work through. They're both so stung and hurt and a little fucked up, and their growth is on major display in this one; they're brutally self-aware now, but still can't quite get to the level of fixed. Cue angst. (I love angst in the proper doses, and Sinner definitely has the perfect proportion.)

Recently, I've also been thinking about how hypocrisy might be a necessary step between awareness and change, so maybe I shouldn't be so judgmental about it. There's a point in which you know what needs to give, but autopilot kicks in first—and both characters struggle to break past their bad habits. Superb characterization, both together and apart.

For me, the prose and atmosphere are what make Sinner stand out, which is why Maggie Stiefvater is one of maybe three authors on my auto-buy list. She commands her craft in such an excruciatingly precise way. I love her metaphors and layers and poeticism. She knows when to get whimsical with her literal language, and when to dial in specifically on a tone or impact, so the overall effect is otherworldly.

While Shiver (original series) is gentle, Sinner is not, but it establishes this parallel worldview that's just as compelling and heartwrenching. And, like I said, I do love that it's such a dynamic portrait of L.A. in the personality so many of us know.

If you're an audiobook person, I'm generally quite picky about listening to books but think that Stiefvater's language makes every book of hers a delight on audio—including this one. You can really sink into all the details, and the narrators are noninvasive.

Some Favorite Lines & Moments

“You're always telling me I only ever do things because they will make good TV, or say things because I know they'll make good lyrics later, or do things because I like the way I look doing them. You say it like I have a choice. Just because I'm singing it for a crowd doesn't make it untrue.”

“The girls were all legs, and the boys were all teeth.”

“In the mirror, I looked stark and out of place in front of the worn stall doors. I wasn't sure if that was actually how I looked or just how I stood, with my elbows tucked so that nothing in the room would accidentally touch me. That was the rule: Nothing was to touch me. I didn't know why I kept letting Cole break it.”

“I didn't answer for along time. I knew it maddened her more, but I didn't know what to say. It was too raw that she hadn't trusted me, and too raw that, in the end, I hadn't been trustworthy after all.”

“It was somehow freeing and depressing to know that love didn't seem to have anything to do with passion.”

For fans of:

Shiver, obviously; Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver; Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (for narration and voice only); The Vampire Diaries (TV); Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings; 16 Ways to Break a Heart by Lauren Strasnick; A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (relationship dynamic only.)