Review of Sin Eater

[Bertha Jackson]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sin Eater" by Greg Morgan.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Osborn Roche was a peculiar man who stammered and was avoided by the community unless they needed his services as a sin eater. He lived an isolated life in a cabin a short walk away from his wife's grave. He would sit on a log by the grave and secretly watch their son Ishmael, who had been taken away from him by Lou's father. Charlotte Fenn was a weeper for the community and wanted her family to avoid Osborn at all costs. After being reassured that her daughter, Melody, and granddaughter, Dierdre, would not be near Osborn, she agrees to Melody's marriage to Osborn's nephew, Ray. Over the ensuing years, Charlotte softens somewhat until she discovers that Dierdre and Ishmael have been courting while attending college. She insists the couple separates because they are cousins, even though it is not by blood. The forced separation results in a more devastating relationship for Dierdre, bringing all the family secrets and a curse into the open. Why would a weeper hate a sin eater? What has Charlotte been hiding? Why did Ishmael's grandfather take him away from his father?

Sin Eater by Greg Morgan is an adventurous and romantic historical fiction set in the 19th century when superstitions were common and scandals avoided, even if it meant dishonesty, secrets, and betrayal that carried down from one generation to the next. I could empathize with each character and understand their decisions because they were fully developed. My favorite takeaway from this storyline is that our choices can have consequences that we never imagined when we made them. Many other life lessons throughout this storyline teach about courage, second chances, love, good intentions, endurance, shared grief, and much more. Osborn's peculiarities, like his stammering speech, his not wanting to be touched, his eggs having to be cut in perfect squares, and other traits that tie into someone who has an autism disorder in today's world, were tastefully incorporated throughout the storyline.

Although I did not encounter anything that negatively affected my rating for this book, I want to point out to Greg Morgan that the Kindle version has some formatting issues that he may want to look into. My only recommendation for potential readers is to read the series' first two books before this one. I was left with a few unanswered questions that I answered by reading the samples of the first two books, which can be expected when you decide to read the third book in a series first and is not a flaw on the author's part.

This book deserves a perfect rating of 5 out of 5 stars because of the above positive aspects, my reading enjoyment, and its well-written and smooth-flowing plot that was professionally edited. I found no reason that would have justified giving this book a lower rating.

Although the sexual content in this book is not descriptive, I recommend it to mature readers with an open mind who can understand how this type of sex could happen when secrets are kept (to say more would be a spoiler). Sensitive readers may also be offended by the non-borderline profanity within the pages of this book. Although there is some religious content in this book, nothing preaches religion, making it suitable for believers and non-believers.

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Sin Eater
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[Leslie coccia]

This novel seems really interesting, for all of the scandal within the nineteenth century framework. Great review! All of the books in the series together seem like they would be enjoyable.

[Louis Donald]

The complex characters and deep family secrets seem intriguing, but I’m not sure if the supernatural elements and the family drama would be my thing. I might pass on this one, though the exploration of choices and consequences does sound interesting.