Title: Sins of the Mother by August Norman
Caitlin Bergman Series Book Two
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 318 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
August Norman returns with the second thrilling Caitlin Bergman novel, perfect for fans of Julia Keller, Tess Gerritsen, and Michael Koryta.
Caitlin went in search of her mother…but what she found may set the world on fire.
Caitlin Bergman’s mother is dead. That’s what the award-winning journalist has told everyone for the past forty years. Easier to lie than explain how Maya abandoned her only daughter before dropping off the map forever.
But when a rural sheriff invites Caitlin to the woods of coastal Oregon to identify her mother’s remains, Caitlin drops everything to face the woman she’s spent a lifetime hating. Unfortunately, the body–abandoned on the land of a reclusive cult, the Daughters of God–was left faceless. Instead, Caitlin finds the diary of a woman obsessed with the end of the world, one that hints the cult’s spiritual leader knows the identity of Caitlin’s real father. She’s not the only one looking for clues in her mother’s writing. Johnny Larsen, a violent white supremacist whose family runs the county, thinks the Daughters of God kidnapped his teen-aged daughter–and will do anything to get her back.
At the top of a hill, an army of women wait for the end of days. In the town below, the Larsens plot to purify their county. Caught in the middle, Caitlin must decide which is more important–learning the truth about her past, or saving Mama Maya’s chosen daughters from the end of the world.
Review:
Sins of the Mother by August Norman is a clever mystery with a topical storyline. Although this newest release is the second mystery in the Caitlin Bergman series, it can be read as a standalone.
Caitlin Bergman is an investigative reporter who is notified that her birth mother Maya Aronson is dead. At the request of the Coos Bay County, Oregon sheriff, Caitlin travels to the small town to identify her mother. Unfortunately, they will have to rely on DNA testing to definitively answer the question of whether or not the deceased woman is Maya. But an unanticipated finding provides Caitlin with an unexpected glimpse into her mother’s life after she joined the Daughters of God cult back in the ’90s. At the time of her death, Maya still belonged to the cult.
As Caitlin decides to dig a little deeper into her mother’s life and the cult, she crosses paths with white supremacist Johnny Larsen. His daughter Promise is in the cult’s compound and he will go to any lengths to get her back. With Johnny and his friends hunting for her, will Caitlin unearth the truth about Maya and the cult she called family?
Caitlin loved and revered her adoptive father, but she always had questions about her birth father. Her resentment towards Maya has not abated and she still wants to know her birth father’s identity. She is not at all happy she did not have the opportunity to confront Maya before her death. But her interest is piqued as she reads her mother’s diary and she wants to talk to the Gods of Daughter’s leader Desmond Pratten. With her protégé and friend Lakshimi Anjale’s assistance, will Caitlin find the answers she is seeking?
Sins of the Mother is an intriguing mystery with a strong lead protagonist. Caitlin is not one to back down and she is quite tenacious as gathers information about Maya and the Gods of Daughter. Caitlin disregards her own safety as she is confronted with a situation that is fraught with danger. With a timely storyline, August Norman brings this well-written and compelling mystery to an unpredictable but satisfying conclusion. Old and new fans of the Caitlin Bergman series are sure to enjoy this newest installment.
