Customer Reviews

Mortal Sins

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I read this book on the recommendation of a bookseller and I absolutely could not put it down. It has one of the best mysteries I've ever read, and I've read hundreds. But the complexity of the characters and their relationships make it so much more. It reminded me of the movie LA Confidential. It you like well-crafted suspense that will keep you reading into the night, this is the book.

I found this a marvelous read. It has an old-fashioned lushness of characterization and setting, while keeping excellent pacing. The interweaving stories worked wonderfully - easy to follow because of the clear characterizations. It's tone is darkly romantic, which fits the fascinating historic New Orleans setting, but has plenty of grit and fury. Great touches of period detail. I hope the author does more with this world.

I like variety but prefer a dark mood like Mortal Sins. I read George, LeCarre, Perry, Rendell, Harris, Sandford and Connelly. Hiaasen for laughs.

I knew something was up in the publishing world when Penelope Williamson's name was changed to "Penn." That was their first mistake. Ms. Williamson had made quite a name for herself in Women's Fiction, writing sweeping family sagas with an almost lyrical prose, filled with real characters who touched your heart. I was disappointed to find almost none of those qualities in MORTAL SINS. The book suffered from too many characters, whose lives became so convoluted that it was difficult to follow who was where doing what with whom. On top of that, Ms. Williamson proceeded to describe the eyes of every character she introduced, in detail. What was that all about? Also, portions of the book dragged along under the weight of detail, which almost did away with any sense of suspense. All in all, a great disappointment from a very talented writer. I've followed Ms. Williamson's career from the very beginning, and cheered when she "made it" into hardcover. In fact, she's one of only two Women's Fiction authors for whom I will spend the money for their hardcovers. Please, Penelope, don't write for the publishers; write for yourself, as you always did. You deserve the recognition that you've worked so hard for...the genre to which you brought so much class and talent is waiting for your return.

Very juicily-written swamp-saga, with yummy, Faulknerian characters and a detective who should be played by Russell Crowe if it's made into a movie. Loved it, but had to ask, throughout: is Ms. Williamson a fan of James Lee Burke? Check it out: Burke's detective is Dave Robicheau, hers is Damon Rourke; Burke's detective's wife is dead and he's the father of a small girl (so is Rourke); Robicheau's partner disappeared, was believed dead - Rourke's, too. Remi LeLourie is the most beautiful, sexiest woman in the world - so is every woman Robicheau has ever wedded or bedded. Oh. That's a standard guy-thing. But it's MS. Williamson, n'est-ce pas?

Anyway, even if she has copied Burke's plot-and-character-lines, it's still a fab story I didn't want to stop reading, and of course it takes place in the whoring twenties, with lots of history about New Orleans so it's well worth the ride.

Penn Williamson, a.k.a., Penelope Williamson, is one of the unique writers that not only tells a superb story, but actually timewarps the reader into the narrative with her well-crafted characters. Scandal, secrets, love & hate abound in 1920s New Orleans...as does murder. And with Ms. Williamson's guiding hand, our senses taste everything sultry, wicked & deliciously Southern style.

The author lets us "see" the evolving story through several points-of-view, with Det. Daman Rourke as the dominate guide. Switching focus was necessary to the plot, & with clever handling the author doesn't confuse the reader. The clues are subtle & well-paced throughout the interlocking stories, but I was still surprised by the ending & revelations. In other words, it was perfect!

Every time I read this author, I am profoundly moved by her genius with words; the rhythm, the fraility, the provocative phrasing that reveals our humanity. This is not the first romance author to cross over to suspense, but in my opinion this is the best work produced so far. Mortal Sins belongs on the "keeper shelf" along with the more well-known favorites of the suspense genre.

This is the new name for former romance writer Penelope Williamson who has joined the ranks of writers looking for legitimacy and validation by moving their romance novels into the mystery genre. None of them get rid of the romance; they just toss a mystery into the hopper to get the novel over onto the mystery aisle of your local bookstore. Williamson succeeds better than virtually all other romance writers, excepting J.D. Robb, who are attempting this genre switch, however, to date. The only mistake she made was in having too many characters. Specifically, the hero's whole Irish contingent of friends from childhood, especially Maguire who has become a bootlegger and cohort of Al Capone's, need to be dropped or minimized. I think Williamson thought she could lead us off the trail of the real murderer by exploring this Irish contingent but, instead, it just interfered with the otherwise perfect, direct, narrative thrust of her novel, involving everyone who intersects with the bloodlines of the Rourkes and the LeLourlies of New Orleans. The hero's mother is a Rourke and the heroine's father was a LeLourlie and that couple lived in sin together for 16 years after leaving their families, including their children, behind them. Williamson would have earned a perfect 5 from me if she had just stuck with these two bloodlines. I thought the cover was primarily atmospheric of the 1927 New Orleans setting but, by the time I closed the book, I realized the cover depiction of the New Orleans cemetery was at the very essence of the underlying mystery. If you want to read perfect Williamson, try her "The Passions Of Emma" which was her novel before this one. I am willing to try her second mixed-genre blend novel, shelved on the more "respectable" mystery aisle, based on the strong points of this first novel to be found there.

Sharply defined characters, a plot within a plot, and a story as hot as New Orleans in August! Absolute page turner. If you're looking for perfect characters, then forget this book. Damon Rourke is twisted and focused on fighting his own insecurities and demons, while Remy Lelourie is self-absorbed, manipulative, and as screwed up as Damon. No one ever said fictional characters should be likable.

Penelope Williamson spins a lush story, complete with sharply drawn characters and a plot within a plot. As a native of Louisiana, I found little to fault with Williamson's portrayal of culture and race relations. Read every word and rushed out and bought the sequel, The Wages Of Sin (which I thought was even better). Crack for the thriller fan.

This book was outstanding. I don't say that lightly either, as I can usually find something wrong with everything. Not so, in this case. The story takes place during the flapper era in New Orleans. Ms. Williamson has a deep atmospheric style of writing that is perfect for this setting. Her characters are real and completely three dimensional, with both good and bad characteristics. Sometimes you want to hate them, but other times they're heroic. In other words, they're very real people you'd like to know. It's a great mystery with a surprise ending. I highly recommend it for a hot summer day.

What a N'alans full book. 1927, two Mickey Spilane type detectives, full of hoodoo, Voodoo, chicken bones and eyes of knutes on and on. Found it a little hard to keep abreast of everything at times, but the total concept of the book was good. The ending was probably better than the whole reading, but again, that is what counts and brings you back again.