Sins of the Father

Description

190 pages
$5.99
ISBN 0-590-12488-9
DDC jC813'.54

Publisher

Year

1998

Contributor

Reviewed by Darleen R. Golke

Darleen R. Golke is a high-school teacher-librarian in Winnipeg,
Manitoba.

Review

Dan Standish needs to leave town quickly. He packs his son, Mick, into
the car and they set off on a wild and reckless drive to a farm near
Haverstock, the place where Dan’s legal problems began 15 years
earlier. He leaves Mick with an unenthusiastic grandfather who promptly
sends him to Uncle Jim. Mick discovers relatives—two uncles with
families and a maternal grandmother—he knew nothing about.

Everyone comments on how much Mick looks like his father. He quickly
realizes it is not a compliment. Sandi, an old friend of Dan’s,
explains the circumstances that earned Dan a 10-year prison sentence for
manslaughter and the status of a persona non grata in Haverstock. Dan
has been in and out of prison for the last 15 years, but since his
release four months before, he and Mick have lived peacefully.

In flashbacks Mick recalls promising his dying mother that he would
believe in his father’s goodness and be proud of him. Now, however,
the more Mick learns of the past, the more he fears Dan may actually be
guilty of murder, not manslaughter. With the assistance of Jessie, the
victim’s granddaughter, Mick attempts to unravel the truth. Only Sandi
and Jessie appear willing to help him discover what really happened.
More questions than answers emerge until Mick finally sorts through the
confusion and learns what really happened 15 years earlier. His
mother’s faith in Dan, Mick discovers, was not misplaced.

McClintock provides a plot laced with past greed, deception, and
betrayal as Mick’s investigation progresses. Mick’s own confusion
and doubt about his father are juxtaposed with the hostility and lies
that he encounters in his search. While young mystery fans should find
Mick’s quest for the truth engaging, some may wonder how in little
more than a week a 15-year-old manages to uncover such long-buried
family secrets. Recommended.

Citation

McClintock, Norah., “Sins of the Father,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed November 8, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/19432.