In reading this book, it kind of felt like history coming to life. You could immediately tell the authors had done their research before writing as well as what the fictional angle was going to be. It was a really good blend of the two which should make both history and fiction readers both happy.


I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

This second book details a failed assassination plot by military leaders in 1938 and how the plan was foiled by Neville Chamberlain bowing to Hitler's will.
This is the sequel to "Wolf" and it continues its detailed narrative of Adolf Hitler's 3rd Reich. This story is told in bold, livid, grim detail and should be on every student of WWII history's reading list.
Thank you to Skyhorse publishing and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return.

I’m a lover of history so seeing that this book was based on a historical event I wasn’t made me Kip on it.

Knowing how things play out made things more these. Every one is a full fledged character. Seeing a younger less desperate Hitler is interesting. It makes it even more apparent why he rises to power. Even though I hadn’t read the first book and wasn’t aware of this incident it was easy to understand.

The blending of fact in a palatable fiction form does the subject justice.

Sins Of The Fathers was an extremely well researched deeply engrossing spy thriller kind of historical fiction. Because many of the main and side characters are real historical characters l had a bad feeling throughout the whole novel, as much as we wish for their enterprise to succeed, we as readers know it won’t and know that the Second World War with all its horrors is looming on the horizon. If recent German history is in our wheelhouse we even know that almost all of them will not see the end of this war because they will be tortured and hanged as traitors. Did I still enjoy this book ? I did, I thought the time focused on the Chamberlain pact with the annexation of Austria and the annexation of parts of Czechoslovakia right after was eerily timely in light of recent political events and the past is always there to teach us.
I liked the deep dive into this often disregarded attempt at a coup and loved that I could go on google deep dives beside this book. The author’s note was an added treasure trove of historical research.

Sins Of The Fathers
By Herbert J. Stern and Alan A. Winter
Publisher: Skyhorse
Publication Date: February 22nd, 2022
Pages: 432

This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a non spoiler review, because you as reader need to read this book. Also, I feel sometimes I have in the past gave away to much of the plot line. This has diminished the pleasure for would be readers.

Historical Fiction at its Finest

An excellent historical fiction based on the real life story of a 1938 attempt on Adolf Hitler’s life. This thrilling edge your seat read about a courageous group of Germans and the anti-Hitler movement within Germany.
This novel is the follow up to the novel Wolf, which I highly recommend reading and was one of my all time favorite reads of 2020

Meticulously researched, and filled with wonderful detailed observations.
the authors bend of actual facts with their own creative fiction, made for a seamlessly and smooth blend, that really stands out.

A riveting novel, readers are given front row seats into the working of Hitlers
inter-circle. Seen through the eyes of Friedrich Richard, an injured soldier who befriended Hitler as he recovered in a WWI hospital ward in the first installment.
We are also giving an enjoyable side storyline, of Friedrich Richard own character with his own trials and turmoils.

The authors Impeccable writing brings to light an incredible lost chance to halt Adolf Hitlers master plan, before World War ll started, and a series of events that would have changed history.
I held fast from start to finish until the intellectually suspenseful thought provoking ending, that left me shocked! A work of stunning achievement. An exquisitely written, ponderosa look at the series of events and if the Anti-Hitler movement would have gotten the full support of the British.


I highly recommend this book and it’s predecessor, Wolf the novel, to my readers, family and friends!

@skyhorsepub #SinsoftheFathers #historicalfiction #ww2

Okay, to start off, I didn’t finish this book. It honestly wasn’t for me, and not because it was a bad story. What I did read, I liked. This story is WWll fiction that follows one of Hitler’s closest friend. The book was obviously well researched and the blend of fact/fiction was done brilliantly (to the point I didn’t know what was fiction). There’s manipulation and secrecy; there’s love and a vast of information. I would strongly recommend if you love historical fiction books, especially about WWll.

Whew, this book is like watching a chess match. The strategic planning and placing of all the chess pieces, only to be checkmated in the end.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. It definitely exceeded my expectations. Our main character, Fredrich Richard, although a fictional character, gives us a history lesson on the true events leading up of the failed coup to overthrow Hitler. I enjoyed the blend of the imaginative fictional story and the historical aspect of the book. As a reader you can tell this book was well researched and delivers the story in an engrossing and engaging way. I'm not sure I've ever read a WW2 book that focused on Hitler and his rise to power that portrayed him as an actual person and not just the monster he is/became. When you look at what he did to millions of people it's hard to see anything but an evil monster, but through Sins of the Fathers you get a better idea of how he got to be in that position of power. The ending leads me to believe there may be a sequel to this series?? I'm here for it. Also, I haven't read the predecessor novel, Wolf but it is now on my list of books to read.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and honestly review an advanced readers copy.

Sins of the Fathers is a deeply engrossing historical novel by Herbert J Stern and Alan A Winter. All the more so because all of the important events, portrayed in the novel, are real, documented historical events involving well known historical figures. The amount of research that was done to bring this novel to life is evident from the beginning of the book to the meticulous notes at the end. I enjoyed it so much, I ended up reading it in one weekend.
Hitler’s ready to invade Czechoslovakia. Knowing the destruction this will bring to Germany, a coup is put in place to stop him. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
Sins of the Fathers brings together, these and many other historical facts, regarding the efforts of not only Germany's military leaders, but also those of its civil servants to try and solicit England’s assistance in putting an end to Hitler's tyranny.
Sins of the Fathers is the sequel to Wolf, the first book in this series, about Hitler’s rise to power.

Sins of the Fathers is an absolutely riveting novel. It is evidently a continuation of an earlier novel, Wolf, that tells the story of how the main character, Friedrich Richard, and Adolf Hitler met and came to be friends.

The backstory is something like this: the character we come to know as Friedrich Richard was injured in an explosion during the Battle of the Marne in World War I and lost all memory of his former life. After having his physical ailments treated in a regular hospital, he was sent to a psychiatric hospital in the hope that they could help him recover his memories. Nothing seemed to help, and eventually, the hospital director had him assigned the documentation for another patient who had died. This is how he acquired the name, Friedrich Richard. Also, while he was in this hospital, he met the patient in the next bed who was suffering from what was then termed hysterical blindness. That is, there was nothing physically wrong with him, but he couldn’t see. The doctor managed to cure this condition with hypnosis. This patient was Adolph Hitler.

The two of them have kept in touch, and Hitler has brought Friedrich Richard along on the trail of his political rise to power. I gather that Richard has been less than enthusiastic about some of this, but he seems to have learned over the years that it is best not to let his feelings about it be known.

At the start of the current book, Hitler is the head of the Nazi party and is Chancellor of Germany. He is working hard to orchestrate the launch of World War II, but it hasn’t quite started yet.

Richard now has the rank of Obergruppenführer (some sort of general) and appears to be serving as something resembling a personal assistant to Hitler. In this position, he serves as a kind of fly on the wall inside Hitler’s inner circle for us. His close association with Hitler is a sort of protection for him, but it is also dangerous, as Heydrich, Himmler, Goebbels, and the rest of Hitler’s other close associates find him too close to the Führer for their own purposes and are constantly looking for ways to discredit him.

Friedrich Richard is close enough to Hitler to see how dangerous he is becoming. At about this time, he becomes involved in the plot to remove Hitler from power and serves us as a fly on the wall within that group as well. This is the same group of people who in 1944 finally succeeded in planting a bomb in one of Hitler’s high-level meetings – an act that killed a lot of them but unfortunately failed to kill Hitler. That incident is now common knowledge, but their planning to remove Hitler before the beginning of the war – a plan that was blocked by Chamberlain’s meeting with Hitler that allowed him to invade Czechoslovakia – is much less well known. This book explains all the intricate details of how all these moving pieces came together – or didn’t.

The incidents of Friedrich Richard’s private life are equally interesting (although these are the fictional parts of the book) and are something of a relief from the encroaching terror of the impending war. His new girlfriend, intrigued by the story of his amnesia keeps trying to find ways to jog his memory of who he really is.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance readers’ copy of this book, and to Nicole Maher of Meryl Moss Media Group for notifying me that it was available.

Time's Long Passed For Blaming Dad

What an exciting, fascinating read! Based on true accounts of the goings-on within Adolph Hitler's inner circle, there's plenty here for fans of historical fiction. But Herbert J. Stern and Alan Winter have told the story from the POV of a fictional character, who lends it drama and immediacy.

The parallels to events and figures in our own present time are plain to see in Sins of the Fathers. If you're engrossed by modern politics, reading this book will give you new perspectives to compare issues and personalities to, and perhaps will ring some alarm bells. Just as the first world war left issues unresolved that led inexorably to the second world war, we're seeing some history repeating itself, though the players and stages are different.

But, seen through the eyes of Friedrich Richard, a fellow injured soldier who befriended Hitler as he recovered in a WWI hospital ward, it's a very human story. It doesn't attempt to rehabilitate Hitler's image in any way, but gives a more encompassing picture that shows exactly how Hitler was able to gain and retain power, and how the hopes the German people placed in his hands went so horribly wrong.

I didn't read Wolf, the first volume of this series, but I had no trouble following this second book. I do want to read it though, as well as the coming volumes, because I want to get more insights into the history which the authors have researched so thoroughly -- and I want to know what happens to Friedrich, Carla, and the other characters. Because of the authors' fine writing, I care about them!

I received Sins of the Fathers as a free advanced reader's copy courtesy of Nicole at Meryl Moss Media and NetGalley. This is my honest review and endorsement: it's a really good book. I won't be surprised to see it as a miniseries or a movie, though without Conrad Veidt, they may want to cast Tom Hiddleston as Friedrich!