This is the second installment in the Riley Fisher series set in Iowa. Riley is a newly minted FBI agent who is responsible for ensuring the safety of the governor and her family. At the same time, a serial killer is wreaking havoc. Riley investigates to see if there are any connections. This was disturbing at times and highly suspenseful. Erin Young pulls off an outstanding twist. This is definitely a series to watch. For fans of Karin Slaughter and Joanna Schaffhausen.

I really liked this book. It is the sequel to The Fields which I loved!! .

The Sin Eater is brutally attacking and humiliating women for being unholy. Riley is set to solve the case with the FBI.

This one kept me guessing until the very end. I did not see the twist coming. I loved it and I feel like those who enjoy detective/police procedurals would love it too. Even though it is the sequel it could be read as a stand alone!

Thank you to Flatiron Books & Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book!!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

This is the second book in the Riley Fisher series but it can most definitely be read as a standalone. I did not read the first one and didn't feel lost at any point.

I was able to get my hands on both the book and the audiobook (audio was amazing). Kate Handford did an incredible job bringing Riley to life. I swear that her voice made this whole story feel so real; I was so invested. This was the perfect book to get me out my reading slump.

In this book, we find that Riley has worked herself up from police to federal agent. Now as an FBI Agent, Riley is thrown into a deep search to find a serial killer, "The Sin Eater", who has been terrorizing and killing women all over the city.

This book had me in a chokehold; I couldn’t put it down. I would switch to audio often just to keep going. I loved that although it was a police procedural type of book, it was not complicated at all. I am not a fan of books that fixate too much on technicalities.

I didn't rate it 5 stars simply because I was left wanting more from the ending, but it also somewhat hinted towards the possibility of another book. Still, very much worth the read!

Read this if you like:
- mysteries
- crime shows
- books about women who taking back their power

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, and the author for this ARC/ALC.
Pub date: Available now!

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This is the second installment in the Riley Fisher series but can be read as a standalone. Riley transitioned from being the sergeant of her small-town police force into a new position as a rookie FBI agent. In her new post, she is tasked with investigating a threat made against a female governor. She discovers disturbing connections between her first case and the hunt for the Sin Eater, a serial killer terrorizing the Midwest. At its core, Original Sins is an exciting and gruesome serial killer thriller and FBI procedural, but it is also more than that. Written during the pandemic, Young also wrote nuanced and thoughtful commentary on very real issues. Overall, I enjoyed Original Sins, and I will keep following along as Riley Fisher finds her footing in the Bureau.

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC!

I enjoyed this book, and was also a fan of the first book featuring Riley Fisher, THE FIELDS.

A serial attacked dubbed The Sin Eater is brutally attacking and humiliating women that he believes to be "unholy." Riley is out to crack her first FBI case.

This one kept me engaged all the way through, and I did not see the twist at the end. Compared to the first book, this one started out a little slower, but quickly picked up.

Overall, I would recommend it to those who enjoy police procedurals.

This mystery is the second book in the Riley Fisher series follows Riley as she starts her new position as an FBI agent in Des Moines, Iowa. In Des Moines, a serial attacker known as the Sin Eater has struck again - putting more pressure on the investigators to catch the perpetrator. Riley hits the ground in her new position running after being tasked with investigating threats against the city's newly elected female governor. But when the Sin Eater investigation, the governor threats, and Riley's own partner all converge, there might be more to this new position than Riley expected.

As usual with police procedural series, it isn't strictly necessary to read the books in order as the main investigation plots are self-contained. I did read the first book in the series - The Fields - and really enjoyed it (review linked here) - however, I think this would work very well as a stand alone. There is a pretty large gap of time between books 1 and 2, so even the personal life details we get in book 1 have changed significantly by book 2.

Young writes in the acknowledgements section at the end that this was her quarantine book and the inspiration certainly comes through. We get a good amount of the political climate of the time coming into play and I liked the political suspense/thriller aspect which was also an aspect I enjoyed in the first book in the series. I think Young does a good job of balancing the political threads in with the more standard police procedural plot lines. I would not be one to pick up a straight up political thriller, but I enjoy the parts we get in this read.

Along with the political aspect, we also societal tensions around women and their 'place' in society. There is a lot of language around women knowing their place, and being punished if they step out of that very restrictive role that some men think they should be in. Also, we do see a number of Sin Eater attacks on page, and the viciousness of these attacks is not held back. For me, these parts were a pretty visceral reading experience, but I could see someone with personal experience in these types of situations having a hard time reading them.

I loved the Sin Eater investigation and was very invested in that plot line. I found it the perfect amount of twisty and it had a lot of areas for Riley and the team to look into. Riley - and thus the narrative - bounces between the Sin Eater investigation and the governor protection plot but I found myself much more invested in the Sin Eater side of things. I found the narrative style to feel a little disjointed at times when switching between the two plots. I think this was probably done on purpose as Riley finds herself equally torn between these areas of her job, but it did take me out of the reading experience just a bit.

We get multiple POVs and I think Young does a fantastic job at using the different POVs to deepen the story. We get Riley, the governor, and a character close to the Sin Eater plot. At first, I wasn't sure if the multiple POVs were necessary since Riley was investigating both other plots, but by the end I think each POV helped bring all the moving pieces together. The ending resolution is a little complex, but I think it would feel very messy and out of left field if we were only following Riley. Having the other POVs help give the reader some background information to give context to some of Riley's investigation threads which helped me feel like the ending reveal was more grounded than it might have otherwise felt.

Overall, this was another good procedural/mystery/political thriller read from Young and I look forward to reading on in the Riley Fisher series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC. Expected publication date is February 13, 2024.

I really enjoyed reading Original Sins. I wasn't aware this was a continuation of a previous book but it didn't keep me from liking it nor did I feel lost or like I couldn't enjoy it on it's own. The story line was unusual and very interesting. I really liked Riley Fisher and look forward to reading more about her in the next book of the series.

Riley Fisher, a former Iowa Police Sargent ( and the main character in Erin Young's The Fields), is now a FBI agent and is on her fast case with the Bureau.

It has been 30 years since The Sin Eater has brutally attacked a woman, after 18 victims he stopped. Now, it appears that he has started up again and has threatened the new female governor. She has received a letter with the Sin Eater’s signature serpent markings. Additionally a new victim has been killed and his signature snake and an apple images are left with the body. A task force is assembled with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations and the FBI. Riley is assigned to this task force.

Riley is struggling with her past, family issues and she is wondering about her new partner. Could he be up to something? There is alot going on, her co-workers wonder about her, and she knows she needs to prove herself. The supporting characters are well developed. I especially liked Detective Julius “Fogg” Verne of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations.

This is a very good procedural with compelling characters, a very bad villain and some twists you don't see coming.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Flatiron Books, for an ARC. The review is my own.

THE FIELDS was an excellent debut novel so I was excited to get an early copy of the sequel. I think I enjoyed this one even more! Riley continues to a fantastic MC - strong, resilient and a quick on her feet. I really enjoyed the two mysteries throughout this one and was so interested to see how they were connected. There are some spoilers from THE FIELDS. It wouldn’t kill your reading experience if you read this as a standalone but I do recommend reading THE FIELDS first.

I really enjoyed this crime thriller from Erin Young!!! This is her second novel that follows detective Riley Fisher through her first case as a government agent. I especially enjoyed that you didn’t have to read the first book to know how different aspects of her past impacted her!!!

I finished this book very quickly. The premise sounded good but just did not grip me and it fell a bit flat for me. If you enjoy police procedural stories give this a try. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an opportunity to read this. 2.5 stars

This one just fell flat for me. The characters were unlikable and just didn't keep me interested

Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read and review

Unfortunately DNFing this one. A huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity. The plot felt a bit flat, and I just couldn’t get invested in the story. Seems to follow the typical route of police procedurals.

Just was not for me. Fell flat and I could not stay interested.. I had to dnf. I am sure others will enjoy, just not for me.

This one was a DNF for me, but I am so thankful to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital access to this one before it hits shelves on February 13, 2024.

I thought the premise of this one was really interesting. Serial killer, political unrest, cult vibes and police procedural with the FBI. There was quite a bit that I didn’t see coming and I am really glad I had it on audio. I think hearing it told to me made it more of a podcast type story which is how I like my crime stories. I really enjoyed the characters of Riley and the other officers she worked with. It was very complex but well thought out.

While this book didn’t take me very long to read, it was sort of meh. “Original Sins” is a sequel in which our main character, a former police officer, joins the FBI and is put on detail to watch the state’s governor, as she has been threatened recently. At the same time, a serial killer is running rampant, killing women and leaving creepy bible verses near their bodies. The premise was okay, not super different from many other police procedural books I’ve read, and the ending was predictable. All in all, not a bad book but if police procedurals are your thing, you’re probably not going to like this one too much.

Reading Original Sins was an exciting journey of suspense and misdirection.

An avid reader of mystery thrillers will always be looking for clues throughout the story. Any minor detail that seems inconsequential can later be revealed as the pivotal twist that changes everything. In Original Sins, readers will be treading cautiously throughout the various characters, shifting POV's, and seemingly innocent conversations. Just when you think you know who's pulling the evil strings, you're blown away by yet another puppet master.

Original Sins is Erin Young's second book, and a continuation of Riley's story. Riley is our main character throughout, but the story does occasionally shift into the POV of main and side characters. I found this to be a little challenging at first, but soon realized this was key to understanding the full plot, and moves the story along very well. I didn't read Young's debut Novel "The Fields" but that doesn't detract too much from this book. There are references to previous moments amongst characters from The Fields, but ultimately Original Sins can be read as a standalone.

Original Sins reaches deeper than just another murder thriller.

Young wrote this story during the pandemic and it mirrors some of what many Americans will remember quite clearly during that time. Civil unrest, masks in public, and a female politician receiving very public threats. I found the parallels between truth and fiction to be a vivid reminder of our not so distant past. It was a little chilling to be honest. Riley's struggles as a female rookie in the FBI, women trapped in dangerous relationships, misogynistic men in power, it's all a little non-fiction to a fictional story.

Original Sins by Erin Young keeps you hooked. When Riley solves one piece of the puzzle, another piece gets shifted. It is a thriller that will continue to surprise you as the story builds, and you don't want to miss out!

This wasn't actively bad, but was just very generic. The protagonist is your run-of-the-mill female cop whose traumatic past motivates her to do all kinds of extreme and ill-advised gambits to Catch the Killer. The Killer is your run-of-the-mill cult leader/serial killer weirdo. I did think the men's group/MLM/murder club was an interesting element although I really didn't think the imagery of dragging a fake tree into an abandoned wave pool every time they met was very effective. I also think the role of the internet in the lives of men like those in this group should have been more explored in the novel.