Book Review: Sins of Two Fathers

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Sins of Two Fathers     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Denis Hamill
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Atria, Oct 2003, $25.00, 372 pp.

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Hank Tobin knows what it is like to be at the top of the mountain before crashing to hell. He once was highly acclaimed, wealthy and happily married to Julie. Now he is a drunk, divorced, and estranged from his family. Julie warned him years ago that Hank Tobin the journalist wore a mask to hide Hank Tobin the loving human from even his family.

Hank’s son Henry, a budding reporter, is the prime suspect in a firebombing of a Brooklyn mosque. Hank had ignored the anonymous phone tip from someone calling himself LL, but Henry had not. Now Hank searches for this LL who is stalking him and his family. Meanwhile, LL keeps referring back to a report written by Hank about an incident from ten years ago involving a hate crime allegedly done by LL’s own son.

SINS OF TWO FATHERS is an exciting suspense thriller that provides tremendous insight into post 9/11 security-minded New York City. Hank is a strong protagonist whose weakness in women, booze, and apathy cost him his family; saving his son is the first step towards redemption, which he knows will not be complete until he earns Julie’s respect. Though the cat and mouse game is exhilarating and will hook the reader with its action-packed confrontational appeal, the audience will question the credibility of how LL a janitor could turn into a super villain (unless he has the winnings of the Collector).

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner