Review: Sins of the Mother
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 2, 2011
3.5 stars (I rounded up in this case given how good the second half of this book was).I read DJ Gross's 1st book Stolen Justice and absolutely loved it...5 stars for sure. So there was no question that when I saw Prior Sins was available that I would be buying it.I'll admit I started this book a couple of weeks ago and less than half way thru I kind of lost interest. It may have been because I was reading it solely at the gym and couldn't get into the story in small amounts.The story was interesting enough with a deranged madman with a love of blond hair which he takes as a trophy form his victims and a Hercules fixation. I'm not really into Greek mythology and a large part of  the killer's actions and motivations have a link to Hercules and his twelve labours...I think that was when I lost some interest. This dude also does some serious conversing with the voices in his head.Englishman Hayden Prior, Psychologist and Oxford University Professor visiting the Michigan University campus in Ann Arbor did not expect to get involved in the grisly case as the madman ratchets up the attacks on women, but his insight and knowledge come in handy as the local police call on him to aid in their investigation. He is somewhat famous in his home country for some of his previous work but he certainly was hoping for a quiet stay while on sabbatical in Michigan. It was not to be.Sarah Roth is a classics professor at the University. She loves her job, has a great rapport with her students and has no idea that the madman carrying out all the heinous crimes on campus is obsessed with her. She's also got a few of her own deep seeded issues like a fixation with blood and her dear dead mom's voice replaying the same refrain over and over again in her head..."Don`t tell." Mmmmmm? Her own issues seriously inhibit her ability to act on her growing attraction to the dashing Englishman.Once I picked this book up again and really got into the meat of the story - the action really caught my attention.  As in Gross's previous book, there was a particular twist I did not see coming and it was a shocker. It also really helped explain a lot of Sarah's hang-ups. I really do love when an author can surprise me with a plot device.I read the second half of this book in record time. I think if I had initially stuck with this book I would have finished it within a couple days and I'm super glad I picked it up again. It's a testament to Gross's storytelling that she was able to pull me back into the story after some time away.The first half of Prior Sins mainly focuses on the perp carrying out his crimes and the ensuing police investigation. The romance between Hayden and Sarah doesn't really ramp up til much later in the story.