The Last Sin Eater

infobox Book |
name = The Last Sin Eater
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Francine Rivers
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Christian novel
publisher = Tyndale House Publishers
release_date = 1998
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 336 pp
isbn =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Last Sin Eater" is a 1998 book by the American author Francine Rivers. It deals with the themes of sin, guilt and forgiveness, and tells about the atonement of Christ.

Plot summary

"The Last Sin Eater" is about a ten-year old girl named Cadi Forbes. At the beginning of the story, Cadi's grandmother Gorawen has just died. At her funeral, the village's Sin Eater comes and Cadi does the forbidden and makes eye contact with him. The next day, Cadi goes into the narrows and is thinking about how to receive forgiveness from her mother. She finally comes to the conclusion that she can either have her sins taken away by the sin eater or kill herself. At that time, a little girl named Lilybet appears. Cadi is the only one who can see or hear Lilybet. Cadi seeks out the Sin Eater by talking first to Elda Kendric. Elda Kendric is the oldest person in the village and the wisest.

During all of this, a man of God comes to share the word of God, but camps outside the village. Brogan Kai, the self proclaimed village leader tells all of the villagers not to go near the man. Brogan's son Fagan and Cadi go anyway. They are intrigued by the word of God, but they cannot come out of the bushes for fear of lightning striking them. Cadi finds the Sin Eater and convinces him to take away her sins if she goes to see the man of God. The Sin Eater performs the ceremony, but nothing happens.

Later, Cadi goes back to see the man of God and talk to him in person because she was dared to do so by the Sin Eater. She talks with him a while and then Fagan comes and they both accept Christ and are baptized. Cadi goes back to Elda Kendric's, because she falsely convinced her parents that old Elda needed assistance. After Cadi and the man's next encounter, Brogan finds her and chokes her till she faints. Even later than that, Brogan kills the man of God and beats Fagan.

Cadi and Fagan run to Bletsung Macleod's house. Brogan and Iona Kai come to retrieve them, but Brogan is fooled and Iona allows it because she sees the beating Brogan gave Fagan. In the end, Brogan and the Sin Eater have a showdown in front of the entire village at Elda Kendric's house. Cadi and Fagan reveal the truth to the villagers, and the Sin Eater, also known as Sim, comes to live with his love Bletsung.

Film adaptations

In 2007, The Last Sin Eater was made in to a feature film, directed by Michael Landon Jr. and distributed by Fox Faith.