2023-11-18
A newly minted FBI agent reckons with her demons and faces Trump-era politics and toxic masculinity in the beginnings of a post-Covid world as she tracks down a serial killer who has re-emerged after 30 years.
Not long after the harrowing events of The Fields (2022), former Black Hawk County, Iowa, police sergeant Riley Fisher, now with the FBI, finds herself embroiled once again in a horrific investigation, this time set during a brutally cold winter in Des Moines. After disappearing into the ether for nearly 30 years, a masked man widely known as the Sin Eater has reappeared, leaving images of a snake and an apple near the body of his victim and sending the city into a panic. When the newly elected governor—the first woman in that position—receives a death threat, it falls to Riley to track down the Sin Eater before he can strike again. Big-city politics take center stage as Young attempts to illuminate the struggles and violence faced by so many people, often without justice, and the difficulties women contend with in male-dominated fields. Riley is a complex and compassionate character who grapples with her own trauma, reckoning with how it’s shaped her while also attempting to move on from it. She struggles with the guilt of leaving her young niece back in Black Hawk County while her family is still healing in the wake of the events of The Fields, and she becomes frustrated with a new partner who might not be on the up and up. Her resilience and tenacity as she’s thrown curveball after curveball—in both the case and her personal life—will have readers rooting for her as she puts the pieces of the mystery together. But while Riley’s character contains nuance, the other characters feel two-dimensional and fail to help this installment stand out.
A somewhat predictable and heavy-handed thriller.
A nimble, assured thriller.” —The New York Times
"Young transforms a seemingly rote procedural into a high-octane, ardently feminist thriller with surprising narrative layers and a nightmare-worthy villain. Karin Slaughter fans, take note." —Publishers Weekly
“A meticulously plotted police procedural that absolutely has it all: an icy setting in rural Iowa, a timely political backdrop... and one of the most chilling villains I've read in recent history. This book is perfect for fans of Tana French." —Stacy Willingham, New York Times bestselling author of A Flicker in the Dark
“Intricate plotting, breakneck pacing—and, in FBI agent Riley Fisher, a compelling heroine you’ll not soon forget.” —Wendy Walker, author of What Remains
"This book will chill you to the bone. So atmospheric I feel like I’ve actually been to Des Moines. A complex, tense, dark thriller with a cop to root for and a killer to fear. So good!" —Araminta Hall, author of One of the Good Guys
“Bold, gritty and deeply immersive, the compelling plotline, richly drawn characters and authentic sense of place wrapped up in taut heartfelt prose, drew me in and had me racing through the pages well into the night. A stunning and hugely suspenseful follow up to The Fields.” —A. A. Chaudhuri, author of The Final Party
"The Fields was an assured and thought provoking debut, but with Original Sins Erin Young takes the authenticity and pacing of her story telling to a new level. This book is both meticulously researched and enthralling." —Anthony Riches, author of Nemesis
"Original Sins is compelling from the first page to the last, dealing with important and challenging issues through a propulsive, edge-of-the-seat narrative. A brilliant thriller, and Young's superb writing on every page, along with her engaging cast of characters, lifts the novel into a class of its own." —Marina Palmer, author of The Russian Doll
"A proper cinematic thriller!" —Tariq Ashkanani, author of Follow Me to the Edge
"Incredible. A chilling, terrifyingly plausible and white-knuckle of a thriller. Erin Young's masterful writing makes you not only feel you've been airdropped into Des Moines but that the horrors that unfold are happening around you." —Graham Bartlett, author of City on Fire
"A totally fresh take on the FBI procedural, Original Sins is beautifully written and utterly absorbing—an absolute must-read." —Kevin Wignall, author of A Death in Sweden
"An intoxicating, atmospheric and tense thriller that compels you from the first page." —Nadine Matheson, author of The Jigsaw Man
"Horrifyingly compelling, ingeniously twisted, each character, every plot turn meticulously crafted. Forensic knowledge of middle America and pitch perfect detail. Brilliant." —Sarah Sultoon, author of Death Flight
"Riveting, sophisticated and nail-bitingly tense, Original Sins is hands down the best procedural I’ve read in years. Erin Young has talent to burn." —Anna Downes, author of The Safe Place
"Dark, menacingly atmospheric and characters that vibrate off the page. At times poetic, I loved Original Sins. Riley Fisher just might be my favorite ever detective!" —Rachel Wolf, author of Five Nights
“This fast-paced feminist thriller marks a series hitting its stride; pair it with Joanna Schaffhausen’s Annalisa Vega procedurals.” —Booklist
"Riley Fisher’s resilience and tenacity as she’s thrown curveball after curveball—in both the case and her personal life—will have readers rooting for her as she puts the pieces of the mystery together." —Kirkus
