Sins of the Mother was SO GOOD. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I did not read the first Caitlin Bergman novel, but I do not think I was missing out on anything by reading this one as a standalone. I'm tempted to go back and read it now, but this book kind of spoiled the story (as usually is the case with a sequel). The story was compelling, intricate, and believable. Any time I mentioned the basic plot points of this novel, people asked me if it was nonfiction! I found myself rooting for Caitlin throughout the book and laughing out loud at all her jokes. I even made my own cast list for each of the characters if this were to be made into a movie (which it totally should, by the way). There is some allusion to physical and sexual abuse of adults and children, but I think it was tactfully done.

I hope the author continues writing stories for this badass woman! I can't wait to see what she does next!

You had me at long lost mother was in a cult. This was a book I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy just by reading the description, and I was right. This was page turning fun and I can't wait to read more with these characters!

Thank you to NetGalley and Books Forward for my copy of Sins of the Mother. Receiving this book for free had no influence over my opinion of the book.

This book is phenomenal!! You want cults, mystery, and a strong female lead?? This book has it all. I absolutely love Caitlin Bergman. She is a badass, and the woman I think we should all strive to be. She goes to her small hometown to confirm the death of a mother she's never even met. When she tries to just drop in and drop out, she gets tangled up in a web that she never would have even dreamed existed. It's amazing the amount of tenacity she has when pushed up against a wall. Such a great book!

This book grabbed me right from the beginning. I really liked Caitlin and didn't realize there had been another book written about her which I definitely want to check out. I feel like this is a stand alone book and didn't really feel like I missed out on anything important by not reading the first one except for maybe getting to know Caitlin more. The book moved at a fast pace and once the plot gets going you just can't put it down and have to find out what happens next.

This is a very well written story of suspense with great characterization. Caitiin has wit and is very tough. There are thrillS and action galore in this cult story.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

When award-winning journalist Caitlin Bergman gets a request to drop everything and fly to Oregon to identify remains believed to be those of her mother, she’s unsure she wants to make the effort. After a lifetime of hating the woman, why bother? It won’t change anything. Or will it? When the investigator in Caitlin forces her to pack a bag and get on the plane, there’s no turning back. Maybe she’ll find the answers she’s been hoping for her entire life. Maybe even the name of her biological father. But what she finds in the rural coastal town is more than a little disturbing. The dead woman has no face. There’s no way for Caitlin to identify the physical body as her mother. But the contents of the woman’s diary—an obsessive diatribe on her end-of the-world beliefs—make it clear that Caitlin is the daughter of whoever penned the apocalyptic predictions. Beneath the façade of this quaint coastal village lies as many secrets as there are trees in the woods. Between the true-believer members of the Daughters of God cult and a sadistic white supremacist looking for revenge, Caitlin has her work cut out for her in trying to uncover her personal truth and save the world from the end-of days. “Sins of the Mother,” the second book in the Caitlin Bergman series, is a well-crafted, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will leave you eagerly awaiting book three.

Sins of the Mother: A Caitlin Bergman Novel
August Norman
Crooked Lane Books (September 8, 2020)
http://www.crookedlanebooks.com
13-digit ISBN number 978-1643854366
List Price $26.99
Suanne Schafer
suanneschafer.author@gmail.com
SuanneSchaferAuthor.com

August Norman continues the Caitlin Bergman series with book two, Sins of the Mother. If you’re a bit shy about picking up the second book in a series, excellent job developing Caitlin psyche further without getting bogged down referring back to book #1, Come and Get Me. Book #2 works well as a stand-alone novel.

Caitlin Bergman has told everyone that her mother is dead as, after giving Caitlin up for adoption, the woman dropped out of sight. When Caitlin receives word from a police department in Oregon that her mother has died, Caitlin travels to Oregon to identify the body. This turns out to be rather complicated as the tips of the corpse’s fingers have been amputated and all her teeth pulled. She gives a DNA sample to confirm the woman’s identity and while Caitlin awaits the final results, she uncovers a free-love cult, a small but politically powerful clan of white supremacists, the kidnapping of a teenager who’s the victim of parental sexual abuse, and a web of deceit that dates back many years and covers ground from LA to Oregon.

This story is written by a male from the first person female perspective, and Norman does a good job of doing so. Award-winning journalist Caitlin Bergman is tough, has a good sense of humor, laced with a bit of charm and humility. She’s beginning to learn that family is less about breeding and more about the people she surrounds herself with. The cult is well written and interesting, brining to mind the Jonestown Commune in Guyana with its mass suicide and the Branch Davidians.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Great characters and a very deep plot make this book highly recommended. This second work by this author is a real winner. Five stars!

An excellent read. A lot of action and well plotted mystery. This book was a slow beginning but when it revved up to full speed, you couldn't put it down.

Thank you so much to August Norman, Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Books Forward PR for this ARC. The cover is stunning and it caught my attention right away. I liked that even though this was a second book in a series it was easy to jump right in. I love a book about cults and this book is no exception. There were also diary entries in this book which was a fun way to break it up. There were many different themes in this book that were relevant and interesting. I love a strong female character and it was something I appreciated about this book! All the characters were actually interesting and easy to read. 4-stars!

I enjoyed this book. I liked the strong female characters. The fast paced suspense was great too, this book really moved along. I'm looking forward to more in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Cooked Lane Books for my advanced ebook copy.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Caitlin is notified of the death of her biological mother. When called to identify her mother's remains, she begins a quest to get to know the woman who abandoned her.

There are many plot twists in this novel. I love the ending.

I'm still on a novels-that-revolve-around-mother-daughter-relationships kick lately. This cover and blurb caught my attention, and I was thrilled to be approved.

Caitlin Bergman is a reporter trying to find her ground after the buyout of her paper. When she receives word that her estranged mother has died, she travels to Oregon to identify the body. This turns out to be more complicated than she expects, and as she waits for DNA results to conclusively prove her mother is the dead body, she unearths a layered web of deceit and mystery, centering on a cult, a group of white supremacists, and an accusation of kidnapping.

So, let me start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and if you're wary about picking it up because it's the second in the series, don't be. Unlike other series where you have to start at the beginning to get a solid understanding of a character, Norman does an excellent job of developing Caitlin Bergman without bogging down the narrative with veiled references to the debut. There are some, but you get a complete picture of who she is without needing to rely on previous texts--and I love her. She's smart, tough, and funny; I really appreciated her sarcasm and dark sense of humor. I thrive on sarcasm, and very rarely do I see a character with my own penchant for smart-ass retorts, so if you're like me, the kind of reader who won't be put off by jokes about murders and death, I think you'll love her, too.

As for the plot, Norman does a good job of weaving the voices and plot points into a well-paced unraveling mystery. The Daughters of God were an interesting cult focus, the diary entries were delightful, and the subplots of the missing thirteen year old girl and Caitlin's desire to find her biological father's identity were interesting pieces that rounded out the focus of Caitlin and her mother. I've said this before, but books highlighting complex mother/daughter relationships are so important, and Sins of the Mother doesn't shy away from gritty details. Prostitution, drugs, adoption, and a middle-aged narrator who is not married and doesn't have any children--this is not your average MC, which I found refreshing in a genre dominated by suburban housewives, intelligent serial killers, and grumpled detectives trying to save damsels in distress.

Overall, Sins of the Mother is a witty, gritty read with heart and punches. I'd recommend to anyone looking for a cultist story without tons of blood and gore or fans of Ozark or The Sinner.

Thank you to Crooked Lane and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

This is book 2 in the series and I highly recommend you read them in order to fully grasp who the main character is. Really enjoyed this second book and the story. Well-written and paced. Read from start to finish in one day. I look forward to the next in the series.

Thank you #netgalley and #crookedlanebooks for the eARC.

*Thank you so much to the author, publisher,and Book Forward Friends for a copy of "Sins of the Mother" in exchange for an honest review. This in no way has any influence in my reveiw*

So to be honest, this kind of missed the mark for me. I couldn't connect with Caitlin, although, to be fair, I was unaware this was book #2 in a series. Maybe if I read book 1 , I might have connected better. The dialogue was very lifelike, although, again, I felt like I was playing catch-up.

I could definitely see this appealing to readers of James Patterson, Daniel Silva.

I really enjoyed this book. The main character was a strong and determined woman who fought hard to find the truth. I like that the description of the characters was based on their personalities and not on their appearance. There are numerous women in the book but the author did waste time describing them with the exception of tall or hair colour. The storyline evolves nicely and answers any questions upon might have. It had suspense and action but also went deeper into things delving into families , relegion/cults and inner strength. While this might sound ,Ike a spiritual book it isn’t. It’s a fast paced suspense with as much violence as there is inner depth. Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this exciting book.

A journalist visits Oregon to identify a body and gets involved in a doomsday cult

If you are interested in fiction related to cults, then 2020 is most definitely a stellar year with the releases of both Todd Keisling’s stunning Devil’s Creek and James Brodgen’s excellent Bone Harvest. Both those novels are traditional horror stories, August Norman’s fiendishly well plotted Sins of the Mother is more of a thriller and does not contain anything of a supernatural nature. However, do not let that put you off though, as there was much to enjoy in this intense journalistic driven page-turner.

Sins of the Mother has the subtitle ‘A Caitlin Bergman Novel’ who is the journalist at the heart of the story. When researching this review, I was surprised to discover that this was the second ‘Caitlin Bergman Novel’, following Come and Get Me from 2019. Interestingly, I read this book without the slightest inkling that this was number two in a series and reading a follow-on before the original is not something I would intentionally do. However, I do not feel I lost anything by not having read its predecessor.

The action opens when Los Angeles based journalist Caitlin Bergman gets a telephone call from the sheriff’s office in a small town in Oregon, who have discovered a badly decomposed body which they believe to belong to Caitlin’s mother. However, the journalist who is in her early forties, never knew her mother and was abandoned as a baby and put up for adoption. Her own research into her parentage uncovered many unsavoury facts about her mother, including drug addiction and a career in adult films in the early 1980s. Should Caitlin be upset about the death of a woman she never knew and still feels abandoned by? The complex feelings of abandonment Caitlin has for her mother lies at the heart of this clever thriller and adds much emotional impact to the plot.

Upon arrival in Oregon Caitlin is unable to identify the body as all her teeth have been smashed out, the face has also been destroyed, any the fingers have either been cut or chewed off by wild animals. The whole story takes place over a few days whilst DNA checks are being verified after the autopsy finds a key hidden in the rectum of the dead woman which is connected to a safe deposit box containing a journal which belonged to her mother. From that moment on the mystery begins to deepen and the story has several very clever strands which slowly, but very intricately, merge together. Early in proceedings I did not have a clue where this story was heading, and it kept me on my toes throughout.

The novel is written in the third person and takes in several characters from the various plot strands, but Caitlin is the star with a fully drawn and believable backstory and inner conflicts resulting from the recent death of her adopted father. She is also slightly down on herself after a big story on the homeless situation in Los Angeles was rejected, having spent several weeks undercover living with the down and outs. However, you cannot keep a good journalist down and whilst visiting Oregon she uncovers another potential story and the novel successfully portrays a woman who loves her job and has the skills to sniff out a story from a mile away.

The impressive journalism backstory is further developed by Lakshmi, a young British Indian journalist who Caitlin has taken under her wing by sending her research jobs which eventually embroil her in the wider mystery. Lakshmi is new to Los Angeles and it was very easy to get sucked into the enthusiasm and verve this outstanding character throws into the case who obviously looks up to Caitlin. Should there be a third Caitlin Bergman novel I would be absolutely astounded if this very cool young lady does not feature, indeed, I would suggest giving her more page time.

The two other main story directions connect a white supremist group called the ‘State of Jefferson’ and the reclusive religious cult the ‘Daughters of God’, or DOG to their detractors. Caitlin’s journalistic instincts quickly bring her in contact with both. DOG were a fascinating bunch who bucked the stereotypes of how cults are often portrayed in fiction and for that fact alone they were scarily believable, playing a bigger part in proceedings as the story developed. Interestingly, they were at loggerheads with the State of Jefferson who have their own complex political agenda and were fronted by one of the richest and most powerful men in the county when Caitlin pitches up. Combined, the final product is a very cleverly plotted story which blends the various story angles nicely with a crackerjack action finish. This is an American cult, so expect guns!

As a character, Caitlin Bergman really goes through the wringer in Sins of the Mother, but I hope she returns for a third outing as this book drops some excellent long-term plot developments and by end she knows much more about herself than she started. August Norman takes the reader on a very entertaining journey into Oregon, not a state which features in much fiction, and I enjoyed this isolated location. Reviewing this novel from the UK, we Brits often forget that so many people have guns in the States, especially white supremacists and cults! Sins of the Mother was a very entertaining dark thriller which I am very happy to recommend.

Caitlin tells everyone her mother is dead. Her mother actually abandoned her and hasn't been seen since. When a sheriff contacts Caitlin believing he has found her remains, she travels to Oregon to find out what happened to her mother. Caitlin finds her mother's diary and finds out a lot about the cult she was living in-the Daughters of God- and lots of other secrets. Johnny Larsen thinks the cult took his daughter and he will do anything in his power to get her back. This book has a lot going on and you must read quickly to find out what is happening! I truly felt for Caitlin as she is trying to piece together her mother's life. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.