The Sinner (2022) is a dark romance standalone novel by Shantel Tessier. It is the second novel in the L.O.R.D.S. series of standalone novels set in the same universe. Tessier is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author known for pushing the boundaries of dark romance. In addition to the L.O.R.D.S. series, Tessier has written six other series, including the Dark Kingdom, Dare, Undescribable, Seven Deadly Sins, Selfish, and Dash series, each of which consist of multiple novels. The novel that precedes The Sinner is The Ritual, and The Sinner is followed by five further novels in the L.O.R.D.S. series.

The Sinner follows Easton “Sin” Sinnett and Ellington “Elli” Asher as they struggle against the oppressive Lords society in which Sin is a new initiate at Barrington University. Elli, a survivor of child sexual abuse, is in love with Sin but does not know how to Sin truly feels, while Sin is torn between his love for Elli and his responsibilities to the Lords. Tessier explores themes of The Privileges and Prohibitions of Elite Societies, Gendered Social Grooming and the Commodification of Women, and The Impact of Trauma on Attachment and Self-Image as Sin and Elli navigate the truth about their families, the society, and their love for each other.

This guide is based on the 2023 Kindle edition of the text published by Shantel Tessier.

Content Warning: The source material and guide features depictions of gender discrimination, sexual violence and harassment, rape, mental illness, child abuse, child sexual abuse, pregnancy loss, death by suicide, suicidal ideation, substance use, addiction, graphic violence, sexual content, cursing, illness, death, physical abuse, and emotional abuse.

Plot Summary

As a part of the L.O.R.D.S. series, The Sinner assumes the existence and involvement of the Lords society, a secret society of elite men who control the world.

Prior to the events of the novel, Ellington “Elli” Asher’s father, Nicholas, died by suicide when Elli was 12-years-old. Following Nicholas’ death, her mother, Laura, was “gifted” to another Lord, James, who then proceeded to sexually abuse Elli.

Six years later, when Easton “Sin” Sinnett becomes an initiate to the Lords society at Barrington University, he kills James on an assignment and uncovers evidence of James’s crimes. Sin sexually assaults Elli, and they begin a sexual relationship based on sexual nonconsent, in which Sin wears a mask and hides his identity. Elli does not know the masked man is Sin, but she is grateful that the anonymous man killed James, thus ending the abuse. Sin is in love with Elli, but he is not allowed to have sex until he completes his initiation as a senior at Barrington University.

When Sin completes his initiation, he begins a sexual relationship with Elli in which she is aware of his identity. With the help of his friends, Jayce and Corbin, who are also Lords, Sin starts making Elli’s fantasies come true, most of which involve violent sex acts. Sin also exposes David, Elli’s professor, as a sexual predator, ending David’s sexual relationship with Elli.

To take ownership of Elli, Sin brands her with his Lords ring and prevents her from interacting with other men. Elli struggles with drug abuse, which she notes is a means of blotting out her traumatic memories of James’s abuse. Sin tries to help Elli with her substance abuse by killing Marcus, a notable drug dealer on campus, upsetting Marcus’s friend, Holland.

Meanwhile, Sin is assigned a chosen Lady, Amelia. He argues with his father, Liam, to make Elli a Lady and take her as his chosen. Liam appears to help Sin, who then discovers that Lincoln, the Lord in charge of initiations, is marrying Elli’s mother, Laura. Lincoln unveils his plan to Sin, in which Lincoln intends to have Elli marry Chance Beckham, Lincoln’s nephew, who will allow Lincoln to sexually abuse Elli. Elli recalls Lincoln and Chance’s involvement in the abuse she faced as a child, in which James would allow Lincoln to sexually assault Elli while Chance watched. Lincoln frames James’s crimes as “training,” preparing Elli for life as a Lord’s possession. Sin, enraged by Lincoln’s plan, begins an elaborate scheme to undermine Lincoln.

Sin pretends to buy a house with Elli, in which he actually marries her on paper. Since Lords are not allowed to have sex with each other’s Ladies without permission, Sin plans for Chance to pretend to marry Elli, at which point Lincoln would attempt to sexually assault Elli, and Sin would then be able to challenge Lincoln before the Lords. However, another Lord, Ryat, discovers that Elli’s biological father, Nicholas, is still alive, which allows Sin to come up with an alternate plan. Sin agrees to give himself over to Carnage, a group on the fringe of Lords society, in exchange for Nicholas, who Sin hopes can reenter Elli’s life as her father.

After retrieving Nicholas, Sin becomes concerned that other men were involved in Elli’s trauma. Nicholas reveals that only Laura and Liam knew about his twin brother, Nathaniel, whose body was used to frame Nicholas’ apparent death by suicide.

Nicholas and Sin discover that Liam was also involved in abusing Elli as a child, and Nicholas, Elli, and Sin stage Lincoln’s death to match Nathaniel’s. Laura and Liam had been involved in an affair for years, and Liam wanted to declare Elli unfit to run Nicholas’ company, Asher Corp. Exposing Laura and Liam, Sin succeeds in eliminating everyone who hurt Elli, but he still must deliver himself to Carnage.

After finding out that Sin went to Carnage willingly, Elli and Nicholas enlist the help of Tyson Crawford, a notorious Lord nightclub owner. They exchange Laura and Liam for Sin. Sin returns from Carnage only to find that someone else is trying to harm Elli. Chance, Holland, and Amelia had heard that Sin was dead, and decided to punish Elli for ruining their own schemes. Elli kills Amelia, and Sin kills Chance, allowing Sin, Elli, and Nicholas to live without further threats on their lives.

In two Epilogues, Tessier reveals that Liam and Laura are pregnant, and Sin and Elli adopt the child while having a child of their own. Eighteen years later, Sin is a successful Lord running Asher Corp, Nicholas lives happily outside the Lords society, and Elli is a sex therapist helping others work through their trauma.