Sins of the Son [Hardcover]

Carlton Stowers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1995

The Edgar Award-winning author of Careless Whispers and Innocence Lost presents the dramatic and personally devastating true account of how his son committed and was found guilty of murdering his ex-wife. 15,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This astounding autobiography is a true-crime tale with a difference: Stowers, honored by the Mystery Writers of America for Careless Whispers and nominated for a Pulitzer for Innocence Lost, here writes of his older son, Anson, whose youth was devoted to drugs and crime and who is now serving time for murdering his ex-wife in a fit of rage in Dallas. What is astounding is the author's myopia: an effective communicator with his readers, he could barely get through to those closest to him. His first two marriages ended in divorce; his elder son was estranged early and, on the one occasion when the father was asked to avow his faith in Anson, he did so only with reservations. In his introduction, Kellerman terms parenthood "punishment for the crime of loving," and Stowers has suffered punishment aplenty. Photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

It sounds like some far-fetched mystery novel, but this story is true. Stowers, whose Careless Whispers won an Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime Book of 1986, was left reeling when his son was accused of murder. Here he offers an account of his daughter-in-law's murder and his own role in a family situation that led to tragedy.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 233 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Books; 1st edition (July 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078686091X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786860913
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,172,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do not waste your time, December 4, 2002

By 

Rob (Brockton, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sins of the Son (Mass Market Paperback)

In his book Carlton Stowers tells us of his son, an irresponsible, self-centered sociopathic monster who would ultimately end up killing his wife in a vicious, drug-induced rage.

What I consider most compelling about Sins of the Son is the writer, Carlton Stowers himself. Carlton's son, Anson, began showing signs of anti-social behavior from a very early age. Gradually, Anson's criminal behavior escalated to more serious crimes as his drug addiction and aggression grew. And every step of the way, dear old Dad is there at the ready, to bail him out, fostering in Anson the belief that personal accountability was something other people had to worry about, not Anson.

For example, when Anson steals Carlton's car, and takes it out to Louisiana and uses it in an armed robbery, what does Carlton do? He flies out and hires him a lawyer. When the boy escapes the Louisiana prison and returns to Texas, Carlton expresses in his book the hope he felt that Anson might be able work out a deal with Texas authorities to serve out his Louisiana time at home in Texas, where Anson might be more comfortable. To his relief, that's just what happened.

After doing just a few years in Texas for the armed robbery charge, Carlton writes in his book of the frustration he felt when his miscreant son did not make parole the very first time up. He even contacts a well-connected Dallas businessman who ends up somehow securing the boy's release. Hello? Your son stole your car and used it when he stuck a loaded shotgun in a woman's face while he robbed her!

Out on parole, Carlton tells us about how he opens his home to Anson, and, ironically, pays for a car for him to use so he can get back and forth to his parole officer's weekly visits. Shortly after that, Anson begins using drugs again. He then ends up moving out and into his girlfriend's apartment. After this point, Carlton makes only the slightest reference in his book to the fact that his drug-addicted son had become physically abusive to his girlfriend, who, against her better judgment, marries him anyway.

The entire book is filled with, "Dad, I'm in a jam, I need some money," or "Dad, can you help me out," or "Dad, I really need a hand, can you spare a few bucks?" Each and every time, the writer maddens his reader by telling of his caving in to his wife-beating son's requests for money, even though the writer confesses he knows much of the money he is handing out is going to pay for drugs!

But nowhere is Carlton's compulsive obsession with his son more evident than when he discusses Anson's wife, whose photo does not appear in the book and whose family is never mentioned even once. He knows his son is physically abusive, beating up his wife, and yet he does nothing. When the inevitable happens and his son finally murders Annette, Daddy Carlton faithfully visits the prison and pays no homage in his book, nothing, to the family of the young woman whose life was snuffed out by his son. Carlton rues the fact that his son was sentenced to sixty years and laments that he won't be eligible for parole until the age of 45. Perhaps the writer ought to be reminded how fortunate it is that he has the opportunity to even reach that age at all. It sure is more than what one can say for his son's victim.

The interesting thing is, this book has been heralded as some kind of "courageous" piece, an "inspiring," and "brave" work. Nonsense. This is the work of cowardly and frankly self-absorbed individual who lacked the courage to admit that his own flesh and blood was a sociopath, a homicidal drug addict whose only rightful place is on death row. Because of the writer's shameless pattern of bailing his son out no matter what he's done, facilitating his freedom to commit the ultimate crime, murder, it's an exceedingly maddening book to read, and an unbalanced and poorly written one at that. I would not recommend this book.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Like father like son, December 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sins of the Son (Mass Market Paperback)

I found the author's lack of insight into his son very troubling. One would think that a true crime writer would have more of a grasp of the human psyche. Like his son the author ran away from problems and saw himself above other people, including his first two wives and his son's wife. How could you not express condolences to the family of a woman who who was part of your family for several years. How could you not protect her, because she was a stripper! I couldn't help but wonder if white privledge wasn't part of the picture but never mentioned.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Disheartening..., September 17, 2003

By 

C. Lopez (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sins of the Son (Mass Market Paperback)

I've just finished reading this book, and although I found it hard at times to put it down, what struck me when I finished the book was that there is little to no mention of the other family that was affected by the author's son. I understand that the purpose of the book could have been to find out where the father went wrong, but what about some sort of consolation for the family of the murdered victim? Aside from that, the writing was engaging and I look forward to reading more of Carlton Stower's books.