''Sin might be the spearhead of a new fictional genre'' ANTHONY QUINN, INDEPENDENT

''The reader looks on with mingled shock and fascination '' NEW YORK TIMES

''Shocking . . . unrelenting in its intensity . . . you won''t be able to put it down'' COSMOPOLITAN

''Though she wounded me beyond pain, I too inflicted deep hurt. Not born to murder her, still I sought to break her . . . Her name was Elizabeth Ashbridge. And I even envied her that.''

A provocative novel of jealousy and betrayal between two rival sisters Ruth calls herself a malevolent creature, ruled since childhood by hatred and envy for her adopted sister, Elizabeth. She grew up in Elizabeth''s shadow, always falling short of her goodness and generosity, constantly resenting her very presence in the family. As they grow old, Ruth sets out to destroy her without guilt or hesitation. Ruth will strike Elizabeth where she''s most vulnerable-she will steal her husband and send her collapsing into ruin.

Written in Hart''s concise, striking prose, Sin is a powerful and compulsively readable exploration of hate-and the destruction and tragedy it begets. It''s about a woman possessed by an obsessive envy, a woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. From the author of the bestselling Damage, now takes its proper place as a Virago Modern Classic.