Quick Synopsis

In a brilliant and addictive thriller for fans of Tana French and Liz Moore, FBI rookie Riley Fisher must navigate a brutal serial killer as well as a kidnapping plot against the governor

Publisher’s Synopsis

It’s a brutal winter in Des Moines, Iowa, and the city is gripped by fear. A serial attacker known as the Sin Eater is stalking women and has just struck again. It’s a tough time and a tough place for Riley Fisher, a former small-town sergeant, to be reporting for duty as an FBI agent on her first assignment.

Teamed with a man she’s not sure she can trust and struggling to prove herself―while fighting the pull of her old life and family dramas―Riley is tasked with investigating a vicious death threat against the newly elected female state governor. Gradually, she traces a disturbing connection between this case and the hunt for the Sin Eater. Through snow, ice, violence and lies, Riley Fisher is drawn towards a terrifying revelation.

Erin Young follows up her acclaimed crime debut, The Fields, which has drawn comparisons with Mare of Easttown, Silence of the Lambs, and True Detective, with another stunning thriller full of dark menace, surprise and suspense.

Book Review

Original Sins picks up 2 years after The Fields. Riley Fisher is no longer Director of Investigations for the Black Hawk Country Sheriff’s Department. Instead, she is beginning her first day at the Des Moines FBI office when the new female governor receives a viable threat.

Like Young’s debut novel, Original Sins offers a refreshingly unique plot. Since this is the second Riley Fisher novel, the character and her backstory have largely been fleshed out, allowing this story to really focus on the criminal plot. That being said, it could still be read as a standalone.

I think there are two reasons why Original Sins is considered crime fiction rather than a mystery or thriller. The first is pacing. It is apparent that Young did not set out to make this story out to be super fast paced. Instead, Young crafts the book as a police procedural following Riley Fisher. The second is Young’s writing, which is lush and descriptive. Although I am typically not a huge fan of more verbose prose, I think Young strikes the perfect cord of being specific and building the setting without boring readers with too much illustrative prose.

As I believe I mentioned when I reviewed The Fields, I still want more character development. I have now read two books about Riley Fisher and still do not have a grasp of her as a person nor her wants and motivations. If she is a protagonist I am going to follow for multiple books, I want to know Riley enough to root for her and be excited to solve a case alongside her.

My other small qualm about Original Sins is that there is one thing that is repeated far too many times. It is hard to describe without giving away a plot point of the first book. How it was discussed and the fact you are beat over the head with it made me uncomfortable.

Overall, I enjoyed Original Sins and plan on continuing the series. I love that it takes place in Iowa and mentions places I am familiar with. If you are looking for a mystery or crime fiction with a super original plot, I recommend The Fields and Original Sins.

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Character Development