Name of Book: Small Town Sins
Author: Ken Jaworowshi
Narrators: Chris Ciulla, Jennifer Blom, and John Pirhall
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Pub Date: August 1, 2023
My Rating: 3 .7 rounded up!
Pages: 320

This story got my attention as I grew up in a small ‘blue collar’ town in West Virginia; where the men worked either in the cold mines or steel mills. Although the area where we lived was lush West Virginia green but I remember visiting relatives living in an area that had many steel mills. . At that time women would hang the laundry outside to dry. I remember the clothes especially the white sheets all having a hint of red. Yes! Many days the air looked very much like the cover of this novel.

Story starts in Lockesburg, Pennsylvania, once a thriving coal town, now is struggling; three-quarters of its population have moved.
Story features three main characters ~ Nathan, Callie, and Andy.
~Nathan, a metal shop worker and volunteer firefighter, and as a firefighter he wasn’t sure what to do with a find that happened during a fire rescue;
~Callie is a nurse who connects with a terminally ill young woman whose dad is very religious and believes in God’s help and not modern medicine.
~Andy and his wife are both drug addicts but their lives change when they have a special needs child.
Characters and their stories kept me curious. The characters definitely had a hold on me;
Callie granting Gabriella’s dying wish was very emotional.

Want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audiobook.
Publishing Release Day scheduled for: August 1, 2023.

This book hooked me with complex and sympathetic characters right away. However, there was a point where so many awful things were happening to them, like a nightmarish avalanche of bad stuff, I had to quit, walk away for a day, and then continue after disconnecting a bit. The tension and heartbreak were too much to bear. I just figured the entire book would be like that and had to reevaluate if I wanted to experience it. I'm glad I returned because it started working out better. When all was said and done, the characters I started off liking most and least were reversed and I was kind of amazed by that. Well done, but man, the middle was brutal.

A lot of pain from the start so it really captures you to see what will happen with the characters. I loved how each story tied together. I liked the God controversy that’s incorporated because it makes you really think about your own beliefs. If you have triggers regarding children, be advised that comes up.
It just gets worse for each person as the story goes on. I gasped at certain parts! It all flows so well though, written incredibly well! I just couldn’t believe everything that was happening!
It’s a messed up book but it is incredible! Right up my alley. The ending was insane! I would give this 10/5 stars!!!

A remarkable debut novel! Jaworowski’s characters continually provide surprises as the story unfolds as each one deals with their strengths and weaknesses. The author’s wonderfully developed characters that you will love or otherwise love to hate make this a riveting read. This is a well-written, suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will leave you breathless at times in anticipation of the next twist in the plot. Don’t start reading this book if you are not prepared to stay up all night. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio who provided me with a copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

SMALL TOWN SIN by Ken Jaworowski publishes august 2023. There are so many stories in a small town. Each story never really has an ending

I really enjoyed the narration from multiple people to really weave these stories together showing the complexities of what can really go on in a small town

95% of this book was gripping and kept me engaged but the ending fell really flat for me. I had to rewind to confirm I didn't actually miss chapters that would give us the complete stories.

In a small town called Locksburg, PA. There is few things that one can always count on and one is that everyone knows everything. Not much you can hide the truth always comes out.
.
The author does talk about several people throughout the book almost like little stories within one book. I gather it is the thought that all these events happening in this small town, but it makes for hard to follow story lines. I appreciated the stories on their own but to put them into one book all together I was not a true fan of. The narration was good and I feel it fit the characters. You have Nathan and Paula trying to decide what to do with 2Million dollars, Andie, Kate are fighting addiction and have a daughter who has down syndrome, Cali & Gabrielle who are set on seeing the ocean , A priest who is nothing hurting children and Leelee who has lied her way to gain $ and pays the ultimate price years later.
.
It was a good listen but sadly not one I think I would recommend to others as a much read/listen. Some sensitive subject matters for those that are sensitive.
.
Thank you for the opportunity to review this ALC of Call Town Sins @netgalley @ MacmillanAudio @kenjaworowski

So we have a really small town in Pennsylvania with 5,000 residents. It used to be a coal mining town and a steel town as well. This town is so small that the local hospital has 10 patients in it. Imagine that! This story follows three of its residents: Nathan, Callie, and Andy.

Nathan is a middle-aged man who volunteers as a firefighter. His wife works at the local hospital. They've never been able to have kids.

Callie is a registered nurse at the local hospital. She was born with a deformity. A cleft palate/lip. Because of this, she has never experienced romance. She's a very dedicated nurse, and forms a bond with one of her patients.

Andy is a recovering heroin addict. He has a young daughter with Down syndrome and his wife is a fellow recovering addict. He's a very dedicated, father and husband.

Unfortunately, life happens. Nathan receives a big temptation. He enters a burning building and find an extremely large amount of cash. What he decides to do has a big impact on the rest of his life as well as his wife's. Callie has a dying patient and wants to honor her wishes but risks her job doing so. And Andy suffers a horrible loss that tempts him to start using again and presents him with an opportunity to become a vigilante of sorts.

This was a very compelling story, and I really felt vested in all of the characters. It really drew me in. The narrator was excellent. I just wish there was a little bit more of the resolved ending. I wanted it a little bit more of an ending to tidy things up a bit.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ about 6%

I probably could have gotten farther with this one, but I was just really turned off by the repeated fatphobic descriptions of a woman very early on in the book. I already wasn’t totally sold on the idea of this story, and that kind of cemented it for me. I’m not going to push myself to read something I’m not enjoying when I have lots of other stories I do want to explore.

This book left me very conflicted. Although the storytelling was great, I was left feeling....heavy. I found most of the characters unlikable, and I'm struggling to understand the overall point of the story.

It was enthralling and I did enjoy listening to the audio narration. But the ending made me feel quite dissatisfied.

I appreciate the opportunity to review this book and I look forward to reading other works by Ken Jaworowski.

I just finished Small Town Sins and it was very good, written by an author I had never head of before. The author had me hooked in the first few pages and I couldn't put it down until I finished it.

It follows three different people Nathan, Callie and Andy that have their own demons affecting their lives. Each of the three have a different story, money found and kept, nurse who feels she needs to help a young dying girl and drug addict who searches out a serial predator.

The struggles that each of them face in their stories are heartbreaking and disturbing.

I listened to the audio book and the narrators were great. Each chapter switched between Nathan, Callie and Andy with their own narrator for each character.

I would highly recommend the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the chance to do an early review.

I wanted to love Small Town Sins by Ken Jaworowski however; I couldn't attach myself to the setting or characters. I feel that this genre isn't the right one for me at this moment but do think this book will hit the right audiences!

Thank you to Ken Jaworowski and Macmillan for this ARC!

i am speechless. this is a stunning and powerful debut, the complexities and nuances of everyday life helped me connect with the characters and see their perspective. i loved how i didn’t know what was going to happen next and i was truly stunned multiple times while listening! this was amazing on audio.

i will def be on the lookout for future books from Ken!

Wow! This book is amazing. I don’t think I have encountered a book that has such a crazy mix of feel-good and messed up. This book is intense! There are three main storylines and that can be hit or miss with me, but Jaworowski pulls it off well. I was invested in all three storylines. The audio narration was also excellent. I don’t know if I would classify this as a thriller - I mean it definitely had elements of a thriller but it’s more of a book about the thin line that holds back chaos. All the characters feel like real people and you can see how they come to their decisions. I wish that this book was the beginning of a series because I went on a wild ride with all the characters and now I want to know what happens next. I am really impressed that this is a debut novel and I look forward to more by this author.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

This is a fantastic debut, and I am hopeful that readers get to engage with many more of Jaworowski's well drawn characters in future novels.

Three characters - Nathan, Callie, and Andy - take center stage in this quick and well-paced read. Though each character's experiences, struggles, and storylines diverge, they all share a connection to their geographic location, the unusual features of small-town living, and the difficult decisions with which they are faced. There is a lot happening here, but the characters do not suffer as a result. Jaworowski manages to make them feel round and help readers invest in their outcomes, and this is even true for the secondary characters. An added bonus is that the narration and plots never blur, which is something most readers of multi-perspective fiction experience regularly. There's a lot of attention to balance and development in all aspects, and that's particularly noteworthy for a debut.

I recommend this one to anyone looking to try a new author with a guaranteed positive outcome, those who appreciate good storytelling, and readers wanting a well-paced and carefully plotted thriller. Choose the audiobook version when and where accessible. Do be aware that there are mentions of motifs that may be challenging for some readers, including rape, sexual assault, suicide, suicidal ideation, and child abuse.

Wow, what an amazing debut this was! This is a gripping, emotional and thought-provoking slow-burn suspenseful read set in rural small town Pennsylvania with flawed characters just like you and me. The plot is compelling, the writing is lyrical and captivating, and the audiobook multicast narration is beyond excellent. I definitely look forward to reading more from Jaworowski. A huge thank you to the author, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is such a remarkable book, and undoubtedly memorable. In illustrating humanity at some of its worst, we also find hope. We are also reminded of our own insignificance in the grand scheme of things, right or wrong, large or small. The author shows the pure and simple human-ness in his characters, some bad and some good. As I finished reading Small Town Sins, I couldn’t help but think that most of us, each in our own way, just try to do our best each day.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio & NetGalley for allowing me to read this book

Wow, I was not expecting to love this audiobook as much as I did!

It takes place in a small town in Pennsylvania, and follow the stories of three people. Callie is a nurse on a mission to grant a dying wish to a young patient. Nathan is a volunteer firefighter, who stumbles on a large amount of money while rescuing a man from a burning building. Andy is a recovering drug addict with a wife and a special needs child, who is trying to take down a predator.

I loved each of the narrators, and found myself getting sucked into each character’s story. I flew through this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the kind of review I hate to write especially for books that I know I could have loved. This one hooked me instantly and I can tell that Ken is an incredible writer and story teller, but unfortunately I can't recommend to others based on some of the content. Just because it wasn't for me doesn't mean it won't be for others as I had very personal reasons why I wouldn't recommend.

A couple of those issues were the intense vulgar language especially directed towards God as well as the talk of the crimes against children. Those are certain things that cross the line for me morally and I don't feel comfortable reading about.

I would still be interested in reading more by this author as I can tell his character building was top notch and so was his ability to draw a reader in.

I won't be leaving a review in public forums since my issues are personal.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the ALC- the narration was absolute perfection!

While I wanted a more concrete ending, I loved this audiobook! I was immediately sucked into the different character's storylines but wish they had intertwined a bit more. I will be on the lookout for more books written by Jaworowski in the future!