I couldn’t really get into the story for the most part, it’s still a good thriller. Unfortunately, I felt mostly indifferent towards the beginning. It finally got my attention towards the very end. Maybe if I had read The Fields before Original Sins my opinion would have been more positive. Riley Fisher, the main character, is interesting, but sometimes I wish we had more information on her than on her family. Overall Original Sins is a good book, but it didn’t work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Really great if you enjoy police procedural serial killer books.
I hadn’t realized this was the second in the series but I didn’t have a hard time catching on.
I will definitely check out the first book in the series now.
I like Riley’s character and the narration was good.

I love the narration. Huge fan! I think I just wasn't in the right headspace for a serial killer novel. It is good and I liked it but I think it would be better if I were in the right mood for it.
My suggestion is to make sure you are in the headspace for this one.

3.5 stars
Normally I’d love this type of thriller, but it didn’t do it for me this time. I had a hard time getting invested in the storyline and actually restarted the audiobook from the 20-40% mark 4 times before finishing it. I didn’t feel a connection with any of the characters and the book just felt over the top in the “men hate women and never want them to succeed” department. Whether it was Riley’s coworkers, the mom in the book, the women dying, or the governor, the theme was strong that men think less of women times 10. I know that had a big part in the plot, but it still just made the book feel lack luster to me.

The narrator was good and presented the audiobook well.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Original Sins is a FBI procedural thriller with the main character of new FBI agent, Riley Fisher. Riley’s current investigations include threats against the Iowa governor and a serial killer known as the Sin Eater. The storyline is dark and full of twists.

If you are like me and you love dark police procedurals, then I highly recommend checking out this book. I really loved this audiobook and look forward to reading more books by Erin Young in the future.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

(This same review was shared on the Barnes & Noble website)

If you enjoy police and FBI procedurals, this is definitely one to add to your list because it was excellent. The procedural aspect was not overdone, but rather it just flowed as a great thriller/mystery with enjoyable characters.

Newly minted FBI agent Riley Fisher’s first assignment is the investigation of threats against the first female governor of Iowa. Simultaneously, the state is dealing with the return of a brutal serial killer who targets women known as the Sin Eater. Is it possible that the Sin Eater is connected in some way to the threats against the governor?

If you are a fan of serial killer fiction, this is not one to miss. It is unique and even as you start to figure out what is going on, I promise, you will not figure it all out until the very end. Our FMC, Riley, is extremely likable. As for our other characters, there is no way to tell who you can trust.

It is the second book in a series. While I did read the first book, it had been about two years and I was foggy on the details, however that didn’t impact how much I enjoyed this book. I think this could easily be read independently of the first book, but both are excellent.

The audiobook was really well done, so if you are a fan of audiobooks, this is a great one to check out on audio.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this book. I leave this review
voluntarily.

I didn't realise this was a sequel when I started reading it-but I tried not to hold that against my review. It stands in its own pretty well aside from some references to the first book. The suspense was VERY good and I definitely plan on reading the first one when I'm able to!
Read this book if: you liked the first one; you like gritty detectives; you like serial killer mysteries

Book Title: Original Sin
Series: Riley Fisher #2
Author: Erin Young
Narrator: Kate Handford
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: February 13, 2024
My Rating: 3.2 Stars
Pages: 368

This is the second book in this series. It is set in Des Moines, Iowa, and Riley Fisher is a recently promoted FBI agent trained in Quantico.
(This is my first read in this series; however I am a big fan of Kay Scarpetta and have followed that
series for many years - my assumption is anyone trained in Quantico must
be great! . . . . Right?)

It is a nasty winter in Des Moines, in addition to the weather the residents are in fear a serial killer known as ‘The Sin Eater’ who attacks women.
Rookie FBI agent Riley Fisher, a former small-town sergeant, is assigned to assist in the thirty year old case of- ‘The Sin Eater’; a serial killer, who is once again attacking single women.

I had a difficult time really getting into this story. Not a fan of Nasty language but I wanted to like Riley so hung in there.

Want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for granting me this early audiobook.
Audiobook Publishing Date scheduled for February 13, 2024.

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

I listened to the audiobook of this novel and thoroughly enjoyed every minute - even though the book was long it went by smoothly, was read well and that’s even before I talk about the story.

Riley Fisher is a fairly new FBI graduate who interviews for and receives a position in a more rural office free. She finds herself working multiple cases - one a serial killer named the Sin Eater who targets women, including threatening the governor of Des Moines and her daughter and husband.

Fisher is an intriguing character- the book is just as much about her trying to gain more experience and grow as an agent as it is learning who to trust, if anyone but herself, to fight for what’s right.

I didn’t read this author’s previous novel, but it is definitely on my list now.

This was a well written FBI thriller. It’s the second book in the Riley Fisher series. I haven’t read the first one but I was able to follow without any confusion. I’m a sucker for “who can I trust” plots, multiple twists/reveals, and a cohesive ending bringing everything together. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys FBI thrillers.

Narrator Kate Handford was great!

Thank you to NetGalley, Erin Young, and Macmillan Audio for providing this audio ARC. This review is being shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Pub Date 13 Feb 2024

First, as a Des Moines transplant myself, I can relate to Riley Fisher in this book! She recently moved to Des Moines, Iowa to take a new position with the FBI. Upon arrival, she is quickly assigned to security detail for the newly appointed female Governor. The governor received a threat as a whole series of violent crimes against women begin occurring around the city. As DMPD and the FBI work together to find the criminal responsible, a whole series of twists and turns and conspiracies are uncovered. The amount of research and detail provided about Des Moines, Iowa was impressive to say the least. This was an absolute gem of a thriller that I could not put down!

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC of Original Sins by Erin Young. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#fbi #procedural #psychologicalthriller #midwest #iowa #desmoines

'Original Sins' by Erin Young is the 2nd book in the Riley Fisher series. As soon as I started it, I realized it was not the first book so I decided to come back and first listen to 'The Fields' and I really enjoyed it. I am glad I did it as it made the 2nd book even better as it made more sense to me.

It's a very nice police procedural about a serial killer with a strong female lead. So if you like those, you'll enjoy this book as well! Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this audiobook.

Original Sins is an excellent audiobook, I loved it! For fans of Hannah Morrisey, Tana French, and for me classic 90s procedurals/serial killer books such as Silence of the Lambs.

Erin Young offers a solid, if not better, follow up to The Fields and is perfect for fans of in depth, dark and winding, propulsive police procedural. This is a procedural that never felt slow or bogged down in details despite the high level of detail, the description, and the many layers to how the plot came together. All of the plot points converge in an effective and believable way and the narration and style of the audiobook kept me engaged on a long road trip.

Now just let me rave a bit... I got the details of why this is a good story but heck this is all 100% just my kind of mystery. Serial killers, a strong messy female lead, a complicated mystery, solid plot development that never felt overly twisty or hard to follow, themes on problematic self righteous use of interpretations of religious texts, it all worked for me. I loved this book.

content notes: it's a serial killer police procedural so well themes on violence against women and as noted problematic "use" of religious texts to justify said violence. themes on stalking, misogyny, abuse are part of the mystery as well.

Although this is book 2, you can dive right in. Riley Fisher is now an FBI agent living a distance from friends and family as a rookie in Des Moines. She is placed on a case that involved the Governor - a woman who has received threats and tends to not trust the FBI. Simultaneously, the "Sin Eater" serial killer reappears. A man, it seems, who prays on young woman and leave biblical representations in his wake.

The writing is steller. I could listen to the Governor speak all day! The audio is fantastic and places you right inside the story. Kate Handford does an excellent job of creating a real "Riley." Riley is a character I look forward to following and Erin Young is a superb plot crafter and dialogue writer!
#MacMillanaudio #originalsins #erinyoung

3.5 stars
Riley is a new FBI agent in Des Moines, Iowa. Her first case is to find out who is threatening the governor. The threats on the governor may be connected to a two decades old serial killer coined “the Sin Eater.”

The book sounded like something I would really enjoy. The book covers a couple of issues that are important but felt off in the story were, the pandemic, equal pay for women, and domestic violence. It seemed like the author wanted readers to know about them but the problem is that these issues didn’t seem to flow well into the story without it seeming “preachy.”

I haven’t read the first book so I’m not clear on Riley’s family dynamics. I would like to have known a little more about Riley but some of that information may be in the first book. I understood more about the Adam guys (I can’t remember if they had a name or not because every time one of them was mentioned I would think “that’s an Adam guy”) than I did about Riley and some of her thought processes.

The narrator was good and clear, listened at 2.5 speed.

A newly elected female state governor receives viscous threats against herself and her family, and FBI agent Riley Fisher must keep them safe while hunting down a possible serial killer on the loose.

I wanted to like this book, and I requested it because it sounded really cool. The biggest complaint I have is that the writing about domestic violence, wage gap, and legislation on equal pay was so clunky and heavy handed. Such important issues need to be handled in such a way that it doesn’t seem just dropped in. The story itself was cool, bust definitely lacked nuance. Riley is an ok character, and I will probably read another book of hers. Oh well!

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

Thank you to NetGalley, Erin Young & MacMillan Audio for an audio ARC of Original Sins.

The Fields was one of my favorite thrillers from last year so I was thrilled to continue on with Riley's story in Original Sins.

While I did like The Fields a teensy bit better (4.5 Stars), I did enjoy Original Sins very much (4 stars).

As with The Fields, Young gave us a strong cast of supporting characters - the good, the bad & the ugly. Enough to make the reader continually question literally everyone & keep our minds spinning until the very end.

The pacing was quick and the story was compelling, keeping the reader hooked. I binge-listened to this over Christmas and can't wait for the next one!

REALLY hoping there IS a next one, because this particular reader NEEDS a little romance between Riley & Luke!

Bravo, to Ms. Young, for another job well-done! I also think her novels are written perfectly for move adaptations (hint hint!)

ORIGINAL SINS takes you on wild ride, as Riley tries to solve her first case as an FBI agent. I was hooked from the start. I liked Riley's character, I thought she was resilient. I don't want to give much away but I will say that when got to the conclusion, I was more than satisfied. I definitely plan to go back and read this author's previous book, THE FIELDS. Overall, ORIGINAL SINS had a great twist! I couldn't stop thinking about this one. I can easily recommend it, if you enjoy police procedurals as much as I do.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for my gifted ALC.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

Original Sins
Riley Fisher #2
Erin Young
Riley Fisher is a FBI Rookie in Des Moines, Iowa. The weather is brutally cold as the city is clutched in a state of fear. A serial killer is on the loose, stalking women and brutally killing them. He has been nicknamed Sin Eater. This is Riley’s first assignment. She his partnered with a man she isn’t sure she can trust. Riley is struggling to prove herself as she investigates a vicious death threat against the governor. There seems to be a connection between the threat and Sin Eater.
This is a dark thriller than will keep the reader engrossed throughout the entire book, afraid to put it down until they have read the last page.
Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book for review.