SINS OF THE FATHER - Caroline Fardig


Ellie Matthews is a criminologist, teaching at a local college and consulting with the FBI and local police. She has had a very tough early life (which perhaps prompted her interest in criminology) but things have finally started to go well for her. But her comfort is disrupted when, while at the college, she is visited by her stepfather, Marcus. but Marcus isn't supposed to be anywhere near Ellie and she asks her T.A. to call the police while she keeps a wary eye on the man.

Marcus begs for her to listen but Ellie doesn't trust a word he has to say. When she is later called to an apparent overdose death and discovers the victim is Marcus, she has conflicting emotions. A search of his home reveals evidence of murders that Marcus may have committed, including that of Ellie's mother.

Ellie tries to recuse herself from the investigation, but she's one of the best at what she does, and she's local, and is kept on the case. It could be easy to follow the apparent evidence and convict the man, post mortem, but something about the overdose, and the evidence in Marcus' home, doesn't sit right with Ellie. She hopes to get to the truth, but someone doesn't want her digging too deep and the more she learns the more danger she puts herself into.

It has been well over three years since I last read anything in the Ellie Matthews series, so I honestly can't say that I remember anything that's happened before (I did go back to reread a couple of older reviews of mine) but what's nice, here, is that author Caroline Fardig manages to keep the reader informed and caught-up with everything we need to know.  The savvy reader can also make some educated inferences based on what's said, as well.

Fardig has come a long way since I first discovered her with her cozy mystery/romance Java Jive series. Here the romance takes a deep back seat to the mystery (not at all cozy) and the character. And character is where Fardig really shines. 'Character' is what kept me interested in the Java Jive series and it's what makes Ellie Matthews as engaging as it is. It's great to see a woman of integrity and skill using both, being a role model, and not needing to fall back or rely on a man.  Which is not to suggest there are no men in the book ... there is and there is romance - part of the character development, but not integral to the mystery.

As much as I like Ellie, it's the plot here - the mystery - that really engages and keeps me reading. And the personal nature of the victim and the past deaths to Ellie, means that character plays an incredibly tight role in the plot. The methodology (often referred to as 'police procedural') appears to be strong (other than keeping someone so close to the victim on the case). I enjoyed the discovery of evidence and the search for more clues and witnesses. 

After the initial visit by Marcus, I never felt the threats to Ellie as strongly as I probably should have, and this would be the reason for a missing star in my rating.  But even without this threat, I was fully engaged in the story.

Looking for a good book? Sins of the Father by Caroline Fardig is a well-crafted, character-driven police procedural mystery in the Ellie Matthews series.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

* * * * * *

Sins of the Father

author: Caroline Fardig

series: Ellie Matthews #6

publisher: Severn River Publishing

ASIN: B0C9KYT41W

Kindle Edition, 409 pages

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