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Original Sin (Sally Sin #1)

by Beth McMullen (Goodreads Author)

3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 · rating details · 479 ratings · 189 reviews

“Smart, sassy, sexy Sally Sin is an absolute delight of a heroine whom I predict will be around delighting readers for a very long time. And her first adventure, Original Sin, is pure entertainment gold.”
—John Lescroart, author of the New York Times bestselling Dismas Hardy novels

After falling in love and making a quick exit from her nine-year career in the USAWMD (United...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published July 12th 2011 by Hyperion

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Oct 13, 2011 Jenn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, fiction-who-dunit

Move over... J.D. Robb and Patricia Cornwell. There is a new gal in town ... BETH MCMULLEN!
I was so nose stuck to every word in this book. It was a great read and I loved how she went from her past as a spy and being in the jungle in Cambodia to tending to her three year old son. I didn't get the back and forth dizziness that I usually get. With great characters and this being the first book of the Sally Sin spy series. I can not wait for the next one to come out in May 2012. I highly recommend...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Patrice Hoffman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: giveaways

I received this book through a goodreads giveaway. Once I started this book I could not put it down. I liked reading all the quirky things the main charachter Sally Sin/ Lucy Parks HamiltoN would say. Sally is a spy turned wife, turned mother who is pulled in to do another assignment after a hiatus.

In the time of her hiatus she's married a man and had a child named Theo who is a handfull. She's assigned to bait in a nemesis from her past she thought was dead. The nemesis named Ian Blackford has...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Tatiana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: women-s-fiction

Add Sally Sin to your list of super spies. Or should I say, Lucy Hamilton? Whatever her name is—let’s go with Lucy—was a secret agent for the fictional (as far as we know) United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction, fighting the good fight against weapons dealers and the like, gallivanting around the world, living a life of secrets and seclusion, until she retired from the espionage world for things even more mysterious and unknown: marriage, motherhood, and suburbia.

Like the Kate Conn ...more Add Sally Sin to your list of super spies. Or should I say, Lucy Hamilton? Whatever her name is—let’s go with Lucy—was a secret agent for the fictional (as far as we know) United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction, fighting the good fight against weapons dealers and the like, gallivanting around the world, living a life of secrets and seclusion, until she retired from the espionage world for things even more mysterious and unknown: marriage, motherhood, and suburbia.

Like the Kate Connor – Demon Hunter series, Original Sin explores what happens when frenemies from Lucy’s past come calling, upsetting her sustenance of shuttling her 3-year-old to play dates and preschool, indulging the eco-friendly whims of her husband, and experimenting with editable food preparation. Do old, practiced habits, like any good spy, die hard?

Lucy’s background as a professional liar and thief is revisited with flashbacks, filling in nine years of missions for USAWMD and her relationships with cranky boss, Simon Still, and notorious, ex-Agency, definitely-not-dead nemesis, Ian Blackford. The Sin-Blackford rivalry, which consists of the latter repeatedly kidnapping the former for nebulous reasons, teeters on a blade’s edge between danger and fascination. Why else keep your nemesis alive but to flirt with them? There is more to this pair than just a restrained attraction, and the prospect of seeing their connections flesh out is tantalizing.

On the plus side, Lucy is likable, fallible, and not the best spy or mother ever, with a voice that expresses frustration at her toddler’s ability to evade naptime, drips gall at the antics of gang punks, and breathes lethal threats into the ears of hulking henchmen all with equal conviction. The narrative is conversational, the action fun and punchy, and the pace smooth. On the not-so-plus side, the chapter that referenced 9/11 and religion rang untrue; perhaps it was thrown in to establish the type of new world order of espionage. The direction in which her personal history is pointed is a well-trod path, and will only be interesting if it is carried out with fresh twists and turns in the road. And if I'm being picky, the author could have taken a few more risks, pushed the boundaries, but this is meant to be mainstream entertainment and in that aim, it scored.

The book is at its best when Lucy’s past and present collide. Tension oozes from her attempts to balance visits to the playground and yoga lessons with rendezvous with old colleagues and hand-to-hand combat in IKEA. As she vigilantly monitors her son’s preschool entrance or breaks back into her house to test the reflexes of the nanny, it’s obvious that the paranoia and distrust ingrained by the Agency still flows thick in her bloodstream even years out of the game. Can Lucy—or is that Sally?—juggle the demands of both lives without sacrificing everything?

For fans of TV shows like Burn Notice or the incomparable Alias, the Sally Sin Adventures is a series that mingles toddlers and assassins, warfare and temper tantrums, and proves that being a spy is almost as treacherous as being a mother.
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Jul 02, 2011 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is hilarious. Through Lucy/Sally/Elizabeth or whoever she really is, I have developed a girl crush on Beth McMullen. She completely encapsulates the idea of sarcastic sense of humor. Although in ARC form, I will provide a quote that had me laughing out loud.

"The bridge is old and wooden. It sways precariously in the wind. There is enough space between the railing slates for a small child to slip through. Probably not a great destination for Theo, I think, although he'd think it was coo...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Paula Phillips rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lucy Parker has what she always wished for : a husband, a child and a white picket fence. After escaping the Spy business as Agent 26 : Sally Sin, nine years ago. She has done everything in her power to wipe clean the slate and support her wealthy husband in his grand scheme to help stop the world of pollution and wasting our natural resources and now Lucy is a stay-at-home mother with a three year old son Theo , who is in the potty training stage at the moment and slowly easing out of the terri...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Liviania rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lucy Hamilton lives in San Francisco with her husband Will and son Theo. She's a stay-at-home mother who just got a call from her old job. When she quit, she knew that she could be called back at anytime. That's because Lucy Hamilton is actually a spy known by the codename Sally Sin. Her old nemesis Ian Blackford has been making trouble, despite being dead, and her boss needs her help. (At least he's willing to help with finding a baby-sitter.)

ORIGINAL SIN is no gritty, realistic spy story. It's...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

What do super spies do when they retire? Buy a beach house on a little island in the South Pacific? Spend their days squirreled away in basement offices in D.C., drinking bad coffee and filing reports no one will read? Maybe they don’t get to retire — maybe they just keep on working until they blow their cover one last time.

In Original Sin: A Sally Sin Adventure, Lucy Hamilton appears to be a run-of-the-mill suburban mom. She has playdates. She gets manicures. She has a handsome husband with an...more What do super spies do when they retire? Buy a beach house on a little island in the South Pacific? Spend their days squirreled away in basement offices in D.C., drinking bad coffee and filing reports no one will read? Maybe they don’t get to retire — maybe they just keep on working until they blow their cover one last time.

In Original Sin: A Sally Sin Adventure, Lucy Hamilton appears to be a run-of-the-mill suburban mom. She has playdates. She gets manicures. She has a handsome husband with an important job and an adorable toddler named Theo. But Lucy Hamilton barely exists. She has no paper trail. But she has plenty of secrets.

Sally Sin, Lucy’s alter-ego, once attracted the attention of Ian Blackford. He was once the pride of the USAWMD but he turned his back on the agency and went rogue — and how do you hunt down your best agent, once he’s on your Most Wanted list? He seeks out Sally, over and over, but she thought she was free of all that. Now Blackford is back and dragging Sally into a very dangerous game. Can Sally stop the bad guys, save the world and still make it to yoga on time?

This book was so much fun! I must admit, I rolled my eyes a little when I got it. It seemed like pretty silly stuff. (I still can’t imagine walking away from an exciting career — even something as dangerous as espionage — to change diapers and drive the carpool. Different strokes, I guess.) But that’s all part of the fun. Lucy is a little torn as well. She misses the excitement of her old job, bringing down terrorists and international criminals for the USAWMD, but she doesn’t miss the danger and she loves her husband and her son very much. Luckily, her husband is the forgiving sort — he knows she’s got secrets and he hopes one day she’ll share them, but he doesn’t push too hard.

Original Sin: A Sally Sin Adventure would be a great beach read. It’s light and funny, with plenty of excitement, and once I got past my eye-rolling, I really enjoyed it. (less)

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Sep 26, 2011 Barbara rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Call me a cynic but it was just meh. Took only the last 1/16 of the book that finally picked up for me. She is spy. She got out of college, took a battery of tests to see how she would do in life and the spy people wanted her. Seems she scored the second highest. There's Ian Blackford who scored highest.

Long story short, she's married to a guy name Will. Ian Blackford is now a bad guy and he was in the co-hoots with The Blind Man (who we all thought was his adversary..ok, the book stated, TBM wa...more Call me a cynic but it was just meh. Took only the last 1/16 of the book that finally picked up for me. She is spy. She got out of college, took a battery of tests to see how she would do in life and the spy people wanted her. Seems she scored the second highest. There's Ian Blackford who scored highest.

Long story short, she's married to a guy name Will. Ian Blackford is now a bad guy and he was in the co-hoots with The Blind Man (who we all thought was his adversary..ok, the book stated, TBM was IB's sworn enemy. Seems Ian kidnapped Sally Sin, oh wait, she's called Lucy now, several times and later fell in love with her. So much that when she had her baby and everyone in the spy business all thought IB was dead, he sent her nestling dolls. Sally naturally gave them to her son, Theo. An adorable blond boy who rules the house with whines and love of cars. Inside the smallest doll contains the Death Lilly that everyone including Sally's old time boss, Sam Still (Hey, I couldn't make this up) thinking it is a myth. This delicate but rare flower has the power of mind control. IB wants it back after so many, many years. You would have thought why now? Turns out the professor who is soooo brilliant and can synthize the in the lab (Albert Malcolm)is actually IB's father who decided once upon a long time ago, he carefully took all his lab books, computers, clothes, closed up house, left an innocent boy (Ian) out in the cold and dirty and starving. IB decided to join hte agency and find his dad and hope they can have a warm fuzzy reunion and AM can make amends and be a family and fill Ian's void in his heart. AM is selfish and blind to only his research. Hence at the very end when AM couldn't synthize the lily in his lab, IB no longer felt AM was useful in any way.

Turns out IB and SS have something in common. Her true parents that she can't remember are Russian. The man she saw visiting her "parents" later on turns out to be the Director of her agency. His name is Director Gray. Her "Parents" were forced to give her up after their identities were compromised somehow, as per Gray. Hence, there was an accident where they were killed and Sally went to live with her distant aunt and uncle. It was odd how when she was a spy, and went to Russia on an assignment, she finally understood her dreams...they were in Russian.

IB later hands her a picture of her real parents and then to add salt to a very tender open wound, calls her by her real name. The end...or at least until the next book.

Kid is bratty, Sally, or Lucy as she is now called has no life, friends are superfical and her closet "friend" suspects her husband is having an affair and it turns out he is...with another man. Needs to pick up the pace if Beth McMullen, the author wants it to be a hit.
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Sep 21, 2011 Christine Jensen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fire-and-ice-reviews

You know, I really do love a good mystery, and Original Sin has many of the characteristics of a good mystery: a strong lead, interesting characters, plenty of action and a well unraveled plot. Sally (or Lucy) looks to the world like every other paranoid, first time mother; with her purse filled to the brim with sippy cups and crackers, watching her 3 year old son's every move. What everyone around her doesn't realize is that her paranoia comes from experience, she has seen the worst the world c...more You know, I really do love a good mystery, and Original Sin has many of the characteristics of a good mystery: a strong lead, interesting characters, plenty of action and a well unraveled plot. Sally (or Lucy) looks to the world like every other paranoid, first time mother; with her purse filled to the brim with sippy cups and crackers, watching her 3 year old son's every move. What everyone around her doesn't realize is that her paranoia comes from experience, she has seen the worst the world can do and isn't about to let it reach her precocious little boy (he is very clearly and only child).

I enjoyed the back and forth between current day and Sally's past adventures with the USAWMD. You really get a picture of the whole Sally when you see both aspects of her life. Past and present begin to mingle and help you understand more of what is going one. The author does a great job of unraveling a little bit of the mystery at a time, building your knowledge of the big picture bit by bit. Even by the end of the book, you aren't quite sure how everything fits together, leaving you to anticipate the next book in the series.

So, why if I enjoyed the mystery, do I only give this book a three star rating? This comes into content. I admit, I am a bit of a prude when it comes to the books that I read. To be honest, if I hadn't been sent this book on review, I would likely have quit reading it after the 5th dropping of the "F-bomb" (about 2 chapters into the book). What I find curious about it's use is that it appears to be the author's swear word of choice, because we see very little other swearing (a few other incidents here and there). There is also very limited sexual content (mostly all innuendo or a quick mention of what occurred, without much description). This leads me to ask, why include the aforementioned "F-bomb" so often if you kept the book fairly clean of anything else? I honestly really enjoyed the story-line and had it left out the swearing or limited it more I would easily have given this book a 4.5 star rating.

Content: quite a bit of the "F-bomb" and other minor swear words, mention of sex between adults and other somewhat sexual content (but fairly minor). See the paragraph above for more on the book's content.

I received a copy of this book for review purposes. No other compensation was received. (less)

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Sep 19, 2011 Alison rated it 3 of 5 stars

Great fun!

Stay-at-home mom, Lucy Parks Hamilton, spends her days reading to her son, Theo, taking him to pre-school, and taking him to the park. She keeps a very close eye on him, never taking her eyes off the front door of her son's school, because you never know when an International weapons smuggler is going to try and kidnap him. Excessive parenting? Not for Lucy, whose code name was Sally Sin in her previous life as a spy for the United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction. Her pas...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Bob rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was very disappointed in this book. Sorely tempted to only give it two stars, but gave it three for creative characterization. I did enjoy it, but there were a few problems. First, for a supposedly stellar spy, Sally is incredibly inept. Vague references to her amazing exploits, but every detailed bit of history shows her as clumsy and ineffectual. Second, the constant shift in tense gets old. Seems as if it should have been two books, or one book in two parts. Next, the language also got old....more

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Aug 23, 2011 Jackie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: 3 stars isn't really what I think about this book. 2 stars aren't enough and 4 stars are way too many, so three stars = compromise.

What I hated about this book: The language. Seriously? Does this kind of constant "f-ing" and "sh-ing" add anything to the plot, the characters or the enjoyment of the book? Absolutely not. And for that reason alone I was tempted to rate this book much lower. And I nearly tossed the book aside, returned it to the library and gave it a "Do Not Read" review...more

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Aug 18, 2011 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

The timing is good for author Beth McMullen's new book-Original Sin- A Sally Sin Adventure. The story of a "wife. mother. spy", the first of a planned series, has plenty of company in popular culture. Angelina Jolie's movie Salt was an action-packed thriller, and USA Network has two popular spy TV shows- Burn Notice and Covert Affairs.

I read Original Sin on my IPad when I was down with the flu and it was the perfect one-sitting book. We first see Lucy Hamilton, loving mom to her toddler son Theo...more The timing is good for author Beth McMullen's new book-Original Sin- A Sally Sin Adventure. The story of a "wife. mother. spy", the first of a planned series, has plenty of company in popular culture. Angelina Jolie's movie Salt was an action-packed thriller, and USA Network has two popular spy TV shows- Burn Notice and Covert Affairs.

I read Original Sin on my IPad when I was down with the flu and it was the perfect one-sitting book. We first see Lucy Hamilton, loving mom to her toddler son Theo. She is married to Will, who loves his wife, son and the planet, and owns a company that develops green energy.

All seems normal, except for the fact that while Theo is in preschool, Lucy sits across the street in a coffee shop watching the school to make sure that "no one goes into Theo's school who doesn't belong there." And the fact that Lucy can "still kill an adult male twice my weight with one precisely placed punch in the chest. This is not something I tell the other moms at the playground. It simply doesn't come up that often".

So Will knows that Lucy did work for USAWMD- United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction. But she wasn't a nuclear analyst, as she told him. She was a spy- named Sally Sin.

Her suburban life is turned upside down when her old handler, Simon, contacts her for a "simple chat". Simon tells her that her nemesis, Ian Blackford, who frequently kidnapped her back in the old days and whom was believed dead, actually is not. And so Lucy/Sally is dragged unwillingly back into the spy fold to protect her family, and the world.

The novel has excellent pacing, and the frequent flashbacks to Sally's spy days and her early relationship with Will keep the story moving along. Sally and Simon's banter is terrific, and the book just keeps you turning the pages to see what happens next.

Original Sin has the possibility of becoming as successful as Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. It is not as humorous, it's more action-oriented, but I think it will appeal to the same reader. And the cover is adorable- it reminded me of my old favorite, "Girl from U.N.C.L.E" with Stephanie Powers. I wanted to be The Girl from U.N.C.L.E when I was a little girl; now I think I want to be Sally Sin!
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Jul 12, 2011 Skye rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think the premise of Original Sin is really cool, and somehow the packaging feels like an ABC television show. You know the guy who does the voice-overs for the Castle previews? Well I can totally hear him saying, "Sin.Is.In."

Suburban housewife Lucy Parks Hamilton has a huge secret. She once was Agent 26, a.k.a Sally Sin for a covert government agency shooting this and hiding that. She was a big deal, and that’s why her former boss Simon wants her to come out of retirement to lure her former n...more I think the premise of Original Sin is really cool, and somehow the packaging feels like an ABC television show. You know the guy who does the voice-overs for the Castle previews? Well I can totally hear him saying, "Sin.Is.In."

Suburban housewife Lucy Parks Hamilton has a huge secret. She once was Agent 26, a.k.a Sally Sin for a covert government agency shooting this and hiding that. She was a big deal, and that’s why her former boss Simon wants her to come out of retirement to lure her former nemesis Ian Blackford out of hiding. He isn’t just another good-looking guy with fancy gadgets either. Problem is she retired for a reason…she got married and has a kid. She doesn’t want to fight the world she just wants to keep her son from biting the cat’s tail. But apparently Blackford knows where Lucy is and now fearing for her family she comes out of retirement to catch the guy.

Flashbacks were my big issue about this book. I get easily confused when there's an abundance of flashbacks. Seeing flashbacks in a movie can be annoying, but reading flashbacks can be downright irritating. Sometimes I couldn't tell whether Lucy was talking about the past or present. Also, if the purpose of these flashbacks were to establish how badass she was, we don’t really see it we just hear about it from others so that wasn't much fun. She was much cooler in the present. I guess the flashbacks were also there to establish the past relationship she had with Blackford so I won't harp on that too much.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked some things too. I enjoyed the subtle humor throughout. Like where Lucy basically tests the durability of a bed for her son by breaking her enemy on it, or when she sneaks up on her nanny to see if she is prepared for a break in. The relationships in her life are neat, like the tension between her and Ian, and the funny relationship and understanding she has with the baristas at her local coffee shop. I also enjoyed hating her boss Simon Still. Besides Lucy, it seems like the other characters all have some sort of hidden agenda and it’s not easy to decipher who’s good.

To me the book premise was like Alias meets Mr. & Mrs.Smith, minus her fighting her husband, and not that exciting.Once I got used to the constant flashbacks, I liked the book for what it was. It was a bit hokey, but you’re not supposed to take the book seriously. I think many people can relate to the protectiveness that Lucy feels for her family. Also I like how the ending was a surprise and leaves off for a second book. I would keep reading just so that I could hear about Ian Blackford again. I still think he’s a good guy on the run.
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Jul 08, 2011 cecilia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: pink-covers, standing-covers, unique-covers, silhouette-covers

I hesitate to label Original Sin as "chick lit" in fear that it might turn people off, but I didn't know how else to categorize it to fully encompass its awesomeness. Because awesome it truly is - and I'm not saying that because its main character can flip me over her shoulder and slam me onto an bystanding IKEA bed with a shattering crack! No, dear Readers, I say Original Sin will surely tempt you to stay up all night and devour it whole because it is truth.

Right from the start, I fell in love...more I hesitate to label Original Sin as "chick lit" in fear that it might turn people off, but I didn't know how else to categorize it to fully encompass its awesomeness. Because awesome it truly is - and I'm not saying that because its main character can flip me over her shoulder and slam me onto an bystanding IKEA bed with a shattering crack! No, dear Readers, I say Original Sin will surely tempt you to stay up all night and devour it whole because it is truth.

Right from the start, I fell in love with Lucy. I mean, here is a woman who matter-of-factly defends her sanity even though we first come across her crawling around the lawn in search of an intruder during daylight hours. She even wonders if she is truly sane sometimes, but as they say, the truth is sometimes too crazy to even believe. A San Francisco stay-at-home mom who speaks several languages like a native, knows her way around with gun, and chased after evil arms dealers across the world? After three years of a normal life, even Lucy remains a little skeptical about her past as Agent 26, otherwise known as Sally Sin.

Lucy is irresistibly charming - although she'd probably scoff at that. Slightly bordering on neurotic, she still has the ability to poke fun at herself and at the life-or-death situations that she somehow stumbles into. Quite endearing. She is no femme fatale like Jane Smith or Sydney Bristow but a woman who honestly just wanted a life where she have to worry about Death breathing down her neck.

Original Sin was an amazing adventure that I would gladly go through again! At times, it got a little confusing when Sally would bounce back and forth from past to present - but for the most part, it worked well to introduce the other characters and then bring everything together to the grand finale. The writing definitely showcases the fun that Beth McMullen had with this story - and I am eager to see if there is a Book 2.

Wrapped up in all the good spy stuff and tied in a neat hilarious bow, Original Sin will win over those of us who love Alias, James Bond, Get Smart, and the Gallagher Girls series and wish we had more spies in our lives!
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Jun 04, 2011 Min rated it 4 of 5 stars

Meet Lucy Hamilton. She's just your average San Francisco stay-at-home mom. Except, you know, that she was a spy for the United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction (USAWMD). She was recruited right out of college, and she spent time travelling the world doing various jobs, as assigned by her supervisor Simon. And then she met the love of her life. She left the USAWMD and set out to discover normalcy -- whatever THAT is.

Although her husband, Will, is convinced that he has yet to uncover...more

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May 25, 2011 Jenny Brandon rated it 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed Original Sin. Getting to know Lucy Hamilton is a pleasure. She is also know as Sally Sin. Her roles of wife and mother are definitely out of the ordinary when invaded by her former life as a spy. Sally traveled the world at a moment's notice chasing bad guys doing dastardly things. Lucy takes son Theo to the park and daycare (never letting him out of her sight). She tries to do the "mommy thing" while not getting too intimate with any of the park patrons. Her husband Will kn...more

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May 10, 2011 Aaron Lewis rated it 3 of 5 stars

As the back cover suggests Original Sin has a very unique cast of characters and when it comes to character development Beth does her due diligence and then some. Although, Lucy is the focus all of the supporting characters are equally as well formed through Lucy’s observations of them. She describes each with an elephant’s memory and a spy’s eye for detail. Not only do we get Lucy’s commentary on each person who passes through her life, but in many cases we also get to travel back in time to Lu...more

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Apr 20, 2011 Carrie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, 52-books-in-52-weeks

From the outside, it would appear that Lucy Hamilton is just your typical stay-at-home mom living a relatively normal life. She takes her toddler son to the playground and cleans applesauce off the floor. But what others don't know is that she used to be Sally Sin, a spy for the United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction. When her former nemesis, Ian Blackford, returns, Lucy is forced to come out of hiding to protect herself and her family.

This is not a literary masterpiece, but defini...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Original Sin

Overall Rating – 5.0 out of 5.0

On the surface, Lucy Hamilton is like any other stay at home mom. She looks after her three year old son, Theo; she takes him to the beach, folds laundry and makes dinner. She even drives a nice, safe car. But what no one knows is that Lucy used to be Sally Sin – a spy for the United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction (USAWMD). Not even her husband knows about her past and that’s the way she wants it to stay.

Her life runs relatively smoothly,...more

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Feb 25, 2011 Andrea Love rated it 5 of 5 stars

What an exciting debut novel! The storyline in fun, the heroine is quirky and strong, and the complexity of the storyline will allow for an entire series! I simply cannot wait for more. This fun book will make you wonder about that neighbor of yours, you know, the one who had mad judo skills and perfectly manicured nails, who seems really well versed on obscure third world governments and their access to yellow cake uranium. Yeah, that one. Sally Sin, ex-spy must protect her new family from her...more

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Jan 24, 2011 melydia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lucy Parks is a stay-at-home mom, simultaneously raising her three-year-old son and trying to hide the fact that she used to be James Bond. Well, that's only sort of true: in her former life she was known as Sally Sin, a spy for the US Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction, an action-packed thrill ride of a career that allowed for exactly no social life whatsoever. When Lucy met her soon-to-be husband Will, she quit the Agency and dedicated herself to full-time normalcy. The story is an enterta...more

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Jan 13, 2011 Cinnamon rated it 4 of 5 stars

When we meet Lucy Hamilton, she is a paranoid stay at home mom crawling through her shrubbery in the early morning hours looking for evidence of an intruder. We quickly discover the reason behind her paranoia-- Lucy used to be super spy Sally Sin. She left the agency, married a crunchy-granola environmental activist guy and started a family that now includes a high maintenance 3 year old named Theo. In the midst of all this suburban bliss, Lucy’s former handler calls her back into action to temp...more

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Aug 16, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Old habits die hard for former super spy-turned housewife/mother Lucy Hamilton aka Sally Sin. She is smart, tough, beautiful and retired, happily married to Will and raising their three year old son Theo in suburban San Francisco. She loves her new life and has left her old life behind, or so she thinks. She cannot, however, forget her training. She doesn't mean to be, but is on high alert and reacts with lightening speed to even mundane situations. When her yoga teacher adjusts her pose in a bl...more

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Mar 24, 2011 Matty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Got the book as an ARC (I'm accumulating quite a bit of those recently!) and I've got to say, it's totally out of the realm of anything I normally read. It looked decent and since I've requested the ARC I'm required to write a small review.

On the outside, Lucy is a normal suburban mother but deep down inside, she's a ruthless killer, a spy for the US government, or was... Until she decided to leave the Agency. Throughout this book, Lucy reminisces about her former life as a spy telling of her ti...more

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Aug 14, 2012 Heidi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sally Sin is a Ex-USAWMD (United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction) aka Spy for the United States. Sally is now Lucy Hamilton, a stay-at-home mom in San Francisco and no one knows her past no even her husband.

Lucy used to be a trained spy and killer but now she is a stay-at-home mom to Theo and instead of tracking terrorist though the jungle or desert she is chasing around a 3 year old who is a toilet tourist. Lucy's old boss Simon has decided he needs Lucy to stand around doing momm...more Sally Sin is a Ex-USAWMD (United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction) aka Spy for the United States. Sally is now Lucy Hamilton, a stay-at-home mom in San Francisco and no one knows her past no even her husband.

Lucy used to be a trained spy and killer but now she is a stay-at-home mom to Theo and instead of tracking terrorist though the jungle or desert she is chasing around a 3 year old who is a toilet tourist. Lucy's old boss Simon has decided he needs Lucy to stand around doing mommy things hoping she get kidnapped by the worlds deadly terrorist In Blackford so the USAWMD can take him alive or dead and find out his plans for the world.
Lucy is married to a save the world green husband who is from a wealthy family. They kind of flushed out her husband but not enough leaving the only part of this story flat. I hope in the next book the author flushes out her husband a bit more so the reader can care about the family as much as the reader cares about Lucy.
I do not want to give away any spoilers but the reader only figures things out when Lucy does.

Beth McMullen had me laughing so hard because I am a stay-at-home mom and I could totally see myself in the story with getting down and dirty playing with kids, not take a shower for three days and the best of all wearing the same jeans for days in a row without realizing it. The story is fast pace and making the reader unable to put the book down until the wee hours of he morning. Original Sin is so much fun that putting the book down to make dinner was such a chore that dinner ended up being chicken nuggets and leftovers.

There is quite a lot of language in the book but sometimes it make for humor when her 3 year old son repeats a swear word in front of her neighbor a retired British journalist.
Beth McMullen was able to mix the adventures of a stay-at-home mom with her past adventures creating a character that most women will be able to identify with and care about. I truly laughed out loud so many times I had people staring at me and my kids contestant asking me what was so funny. I am so excited to read the next book in the series Spy Mom: The Adventures of Sally Sin. It is so hard to find an author who can mix adventure with the real world and Beth McMullen did it in a amazing way. Original sin is a laugh out loud book for Stay-At-Home moms who love adventure but only get to play at the park, on the floor of their house or sitting in line picking up their kids at school.(less)

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Nov 01, 2011 Jessica at Book Sake rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book fell a little flat for me. Sally Sin (a.k.a. Lucy Hamilton) is a spy turned mother who’s being lured back into a life of mystery. I found this book to be very James Bondesque throughout most of the story, but much more humorous and with the addition of a child. I loved the action portions of the book as well as Lucy’s interactions with her three-year-old son. The end of the book was definitely a letdown, though. I felt like the author was just looking for an ending to build off of, rat...more

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May 04, 2011 Tricia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Original Sin by Beth McMullen

I was thrilled to get this book to review as I loved the premise and haven't read anything like this before.
Lucy Parks Hamilton used to be Agent 26, code named Sally Sin, working for the United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction. Now, she is a stay at home mom enjoying her three-year-old son Theo and her husband Will Hamilton.
One of the rules for leaving “The Agency” is that they may call you and you must answer the call.
So after a blissful few years, Lucy...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Giovanni Gelati rated it 5 of 5 stars

I can’t say enough good stuff about this fun, entertaining read. The cover has a bit of peep, the inside is turbo. Did I love the read, YES! Hey one other thing before we get serious, check out the link, I had the pleasure and privilege of interviewing the author earlier in the week and we had a blast, click the link and listen in:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gelatiss...
Here is the synopsis of the novel:
“On the surface, Lucy Hamilton looks just like all the other stay-at-home San Francisco moms...more I can’t say enough good stuff about this fun, entertaining read. The cover has a bit of peep, the inside is turbo. Did I love the read, YES! Hey one other thing before we get serious, check out the link, I had the pleasure and privilege of interviewing the author earlier in the week and we had a blast, click the link and listen in:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gelatiss...
Here is the synopsis of the novel:
“On the surface, Lucy Hamilton looks just like all the other stay-at-home San Francisco moms. She takes her three-year-old son, Theo, to the beach, to the playground and to the zoo. She feeds him organic applesauce and free-range chicken. She folds laundry and plays on the floor with Matchbox cars until her knees ache. What no one knows about Lucy, not even her adoring husband, is that for nine years Lucy was Sally Sin, a spy for the United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction. And that's just the way she wants to keep it - a secret. But when Lucy's nemesis Ian Blackford, a notorious illegal arms dealer, hits the USAWMD's radar, the Agency calls Sally Sin back to action to lure Blackford out into the open. Racing against time, Lucy must fight to save herself, her loving family - and, oh right - the world. Hilarious and resonant, ORIGINAL SIN is the story of one woman’s quest to find that most elusive work-life balance in the face of danger, intrigue, and proper recycling habits.”

I am not a freak for flashbacks in a story but here it worked for me. I liked the foil that both sides of our heroine showed throughout the novel. The interesting tidbits that Beth McMullin threw at me during the interview allowed me to enjoy the ending much more had I not spoken to her prior to completion. The characters are fun, the action moves everything right along, and the humor is just enough to make one chuckle and smile. Have you read this yet? Are you a parent? Have you seen a little of yourself in any of the characters in Sally Sin’s neighborhood? I think unless you are so vain that you can’t admit that, and then you can. This origin story rules! My suggestion, if you haven’t read this yet, jump on it, sit by the pool, the terrace, get some sand under your feet at the beach, and just sit back, chill, chuckle and smile a whole lot. There is no sin in enjoying this original.

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Jul 24, 2012 Marla rated it 2 of 5 stars

I had mixed feeling after finishing the book, I really wanted to like it, and before reading it had already planned on passing it onto the other two members of my "work bookclub", especially since I haven't offered any books and so far had just read what they had brought me, but it fell slightly short for me. Perhaps I had too high of expectations going in, or maybe it's because I've never been a spy or a mother. *lol*

The bouncing back and forth between her life now and her life as a spy kind of...more

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About Beth McMullen

Beth McMullen used to have a normal life. Until she had kids. Then, everything changed. She has channeled her often hilarious and sometimes distressing experience with parenting into two novels that tell the tale of a life she is definitely not leading. The title of her upcoming release (Hyperion, June 12, 2012) says it all: Spy Mom, the story of a stay at home mom who used to be a spy.

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A Little Bit of Sin: A Sneak Peek of Original Sin

Spy Mom: The Adventures of Sally Sin, Two-Book Set

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“In fact, I don’t understand religion at all and as far as I can see the only thing it does is hasten the slaughter of people who generally seem to be minding their own business.” — 4 people liked it

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Original Sin (Sally Sin #1)

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