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Sins of the Mother
On October 25. 1994, a hysterical Susan Smith told police a tale that would strike terror in the hearts of mothers everywhere. An unidentified gunman had sped off with her two little boys, leaving her screaming on the side of the road.
For more than a week, the people in the tiny town of Union, South Carolina rallied around the young mother. They combed the woods and neighborhood parks for the missing children and prayed for their safe return, while FBI teams launched a massive manhunt.
No one ever suspected that the pretty 23-year-old who tearfully pleaded for her children in front of millions of TV viewers could be capable of such a heartless act...until she led police to the watery graves of her young sons. Now, as a shaken community confronts its outrage and sorrow, a stunned nation asks how is could have happened.
For more than a week, the people in the tiny town of Union, South Carolina rallied around the young mother. They combed the woods and neighborhood parks for the missing children and prayed for their safe return, while FBI teams launched a massive manhunt.
No one ever suspected that the pretty 23-year-old who tearfully pleaded for her children in front of millions of TV viewers could be capable of such a heartless act...until she led police to the watery graves of her young sons. Now, as a shaken community confronts its outrage and sorrow, a stunned nation asks how is could have happened.
264 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
July 15, 2020
Good resource about the crime but nothing after her arrest is included.
January 10, 2017
such a sad book, i was only 15 days old when she killed her boys!
March 12, 2021
An interesting book about Susan and the procedures followed to get her to confess. Completely destroyed by page upon page of bible verses about a god everyone prays to, who if not imaginary and s all powerful is vile for what it allows to happen.
Religion 🤮
Religion 🤮
June 5, 2025
This was a decent true crime read about a mother and her two missing little boys. It held my attention and told a multifaceted story in a cohesive manner. Towards the end, I felt it went off kilter slightly with long paragraphs about the Lord, quotes from the church service and irrelevant opinions from every Tom, Dick and Harry in the town. Almost as though it was rushed. It was only the last 30 pages or so and the rest of the book was very well put together.
What I would have liked to see as a conclusion, would have been a psychological breakdown and insight into the character and mind of someone who could do such a thing. I would have liked to hear more about the fate of the perpetrator and the thoughts of the victim’s father.
Basically, the end of the book felt as though it was letting the perp off the hook, although I didn’t feel this was the tone throughout the rest of the book. The rest of the book kept it very real. Overall it was an interesting case and a well put together account. 280+ pages is often more than sufficient so this felt like a manageable read and I didn’t get fatigue.
What I would have liked to see as a conclusion, would have been a psychological breakdown and insight into the character and mind of someone who could do such a thing. I would have liked to hear more about the fate of the perpetrator and the thoughts of the victim’s father.
Basically, the end of the book felt as though it was letting the perp off the hook, although I didn’t feel this was the tone throughout the rest of the book. The rest of the book kept it very real. Overall it was an interesting case and a well put together account. 280+ pages is often more than sufficient so this felt like a manageable read and I didn’t get fatigue.
January 16, 2021
I remember how the story of Michael and Alex gripped the nation. This book really didn't give any details that aren't available online. However, it's an 25 year old book so that's not really surprising.
August 11, 2023
Well I gave the book 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ The author wrote about the beginning when she made up the story that a stranger took the kids. Then the few weeks of the police looking for the children then when she confessed and went to jail. That’s about it. It didn’t discuss what she said and how she felt about what she did and that’s it. Nonetheless, it was an ok book. I felt that that story deserved more information than what it did.
October 31, 2015
In all fairness, this probably was a "cutting edge" book when it was released but since it was released before the trial, it feels unfinished to someone reading it in 2015.
I kind of felt like this book was a rough draft of a long essay that a mediocre high school student wrote. In addition to the writing being fairly dull, there were actual spelling and grammar mistakes. For example, at one point, John Walsh, whose son Adam Walsh was abducted and killed and who later co-founded what is now the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children was identified as "John Welsh." Additionally, the misuse of apostrophes was very distracting because the mistakes were of the sort I'd expect my students not to make and I teach 5th grade.
The "characters," though real, were developed in a very disjointed way that was jarring to the reader. The author tried to portray Susan Smith as the monster she was but the praise her friends and family heaped on her was only challenged by the occasional story of her getting angry at a high school friend or ex-boyfriend. Her attempts at suicide were glazed over and as the reader, I would've been interested in knowing how her friends and family, the same people who sang her praises, reacted to THAT!
This case certainly lends itself to talking about the issue of race and though the climate of today is different than it was two decades ago, I thought the author really did the topic a disservice. Susan Smith accused, publicly and hysterically, a black man of snatching her from her car at gunpoint in broad daylight and stealing off with her children; days later, she confesses to killing them herself. There wasn't more outrage about that? There wasn't a discussion to be had about the climate of the town that set the tone for her choosing THAT story? I find that hard to believe. The town was described as a bastion for racial harmony but the actions of the people in it paints a different story. Even the words her brother, Scott Vaughn used to issue an apology to the black community were telling. He said, "On behalf of my family, I would like to apologize to the black community. It is really disturbing to think that this would be a racial issue. It is a terrible misfortune that all this happened." First, this is not an apology. Someone can't make an apology to a person or group of people and then say, "I can't believe people are even pissed about this!" Secondly, it's not exactly a "misfortune;" your sister murdered her babies because she felt rejected by a man who, among MANY other misgivings, said he wan't ready for children. Lastly, it's NOT disturbing that "this would be a racial issue," meaning, there were people just making it out to be a race issue when it really wasn't, but it IS disturbing that innocent black men all over the area were picked up and questioned about the kidnapping of these two boys when there was NEVER a black man involved in the beginning! What's the MOST telling? Law enforcement doubled down, even after they had the knowledge that they were harassing black men in their community for no reason, and said they were just doing their jobs. They said they'd do the same thing if they had it to do over and they weren't going to apologize to no one, no WAY, no how because they didn't have it coming to them. Again, that's racist, pure and simple, even when it happens in a town that's supposed to be the promised land of racial harmony.
I did think the author did a nice job with guiding the reader to get the feel for the small town atmosphere where these murders took place.
Certainly, at this point, there are many more up-to-date and relevant books out there on the topic and personally, I don't think this is a book to pick up even to provide a short historical background of the crime.
I kind of felt like this book was a rough draft of a long essay that a mediocre high school student wrote. In addition to the writing being fairly dull, there were actual spelling and grammar mistakes. For example, at one point, John Walsh, whose son Adam Walsh was abducted and killed and who later co-founded what is now the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children was identified as "John Welsh." Additionally, the misuse of apostrophes was very distracting because the mistakes were of the sort I'd expect my students not to make and I teach 5th grade.
The "characters," though real, were developed in a very disjointed way that was jarring to the reader. The author tried to portray Susan Smith as the monster she was but the praise her friends and family heaped on her was only challenged by the occasional story of her getting angry at a high school friend or ex-boyfriend. Her attempts at suicide were glazed over and as the reader, I would've been interested in knowing how her friends and family, the same people who sang her praises, reacted to THAT!
This case certainly lends itself to talking about the issue of race and though the climate of today is different than it was two decades ago, I thought the author really did the topic a disservice. Susan Smith accused, publicly and hysterically, a black man of snatching her from her car at gunpoint in broad daylight and stealing off with her children; days later, she confesses to killing them herself. There wasn't more outrage about that? There wasn't a discussion to be had about the climate of the town that set the tone for her choosing THAT story? I find that hard to believe. The town was described as a bastion for racial harmony but the actions of the people in it paints a different story. Even the words her brother, Scott Vaughn used to issue an apology to the black community were telling. He said, "On behalf of my family, I would like to apologize to the black community. It is really disturbing to think that this would be a racial issue. It is a terrible misfortune that all this happened." First, this is not an apology. Someone can't make an apology to a person or group of people and then say, "I can't believe people are even pissed about this!" Secondly, it's not exactly a "misfortune;" your sister murdered her babies because she felt rejected by a man who, among MANY other misgivings, said he wan't ready for children. Lastly, it's NOT disturbing that "this would be a racial issue," meaning, there were people just making it out to be a race issue when it really wasn't, but it IS disturbing that innocent black men all over the area were picked up and questioned about the kidnapping of these two boys when there was NEVER a black man involved in the beginning! What's the MOST telling? Law enforcement doubled down, even after they had the knowledge that they were harassing black men in their community for no reason, and said they were just doing their jobs. They said they'd do the same thing if they had it to do over and they weren't going to apologize to no one, no WAY, no how because they didn't have it coming to them. Again, that's racist, pure and simple, even when it happens in a town that's supposed to be the promised land of racial harmony.
I did think the author did a nice job with guiding the reader to get the feel for the small town atmosphere where these murders took place.
Certainly, at this point, there are many more up-to-date and relevant books out there on the topic and personally, I don't think this is a book to pick up even to provide a short historical background of the crime.
April 5, 2022
I LOVE true crime books. I don't know what that says about me, but it's true. The Sins of the Mother is a pretty typical example of the genre. Decent writing. Interesting angles.
1994
TSotM is about Susan Smith from Union, SC who *allegedly* wanted to commit suicide and take her children with her, but decided at the last minute, to save herself and drowned her babies by letting her car roll into the lake off a boat ramp. It's also about her family and the babies' father. It's about the trouble she stirred up by claiming to be carjacked by a black man. It's how a community and a nation pulled together to find those children. Polly Klaas (an abductee murdered in CA before this)'s father, people from the Adam Walsh foundation, the FBI, a renowned sketch artist, the media, and hundreds of local people joined with Susan and her estranged husband to do all they could to help. It's all about the deception she maintained, even as her story began to break apart.
After a nine day manhunt, search of the lake, and incredible stress, Susan finally confessed. With the information she provided, divers were finally able to find the children. The book ends before Susan's trial for murder, but a quick search confirmed her conviction of murder and a life sentence. She's eligible for parole in 2025.
This was probably not the best book to read after my father's recent accidental drowning in a river and the four days we waited for him to be found, but it is what it is.
1994
TSotM is about Susan Smith from Union, SC who *allegedly* wanted to commit suicide and take her children with her, but decided at the last minute, to save herself and drowned her babies by letting her car roll into the lake off a boat ramp. It's also about her family and the babies' father. It's about the trouble she stirred up by claiming to be carjacked by a black man. It's how a community and a nation pulled together to find those children. Polly Klaas (an abductee murdered in CA before this)'s father, people from the Adam Walsh foundation, the FBI, a renowned sketch artist, the media, and hundreds of local people joined with Susan and her estranged husband to do all they could to help. It's all about the deception she maintained, even as her story began to break apart.
After a nine day manhunt, search of the lake, and incredible stress, Susan finally confessed. With the information she provided, divers were finally able to find the children. The book ends before Susan's trial for murder, but a quick search confirmed her conviction of murder and a life sentence. She's eligible for parole in 2025.
This was probably not the best book to read after my father's recent accidental drowning in a river and the four days we waited for him to be found, but it is what it is.
November 6, 2024
The Susan Smith case shocked the nation in 1994, and continues to break the hearts of millions of people thirty years later.
While I was vaguely familiar with Susan's story, I was not fully aware of the extreme horror that took place in Union, South Carolina. I do have empathy for the woman---her traumatic upbringing, various suicide attempts, potential postpartum depression. But my mind still can't comprehend how someone---a mother, could do this to her own flesh and blood.
This crime book, for the most part, was well-written, with the exception of several grammatical and spelling errors. Its publication did seem fueled by the press, as the audience is left with many unanswered questions by the end. The trial hadn't even begun yet.
I thought after reading it, I would have a clearer sense of my views on Susan, but I don't. This month, she's up for parole following her incarceration of nearly thirty years. Do I believe she should be released? I genuinely don't know. If she is, I hope she's remorseful of her crimes. That she works at becoming a better human being.
While I was vaguely familiar with Susan's story, I was not fully aware of the extreme horror that took place in Union, South Carolina. I do have empathy for the woman---her traumatic upbringing, various suicide attempts, potential postpartum depression. But my mind still can't comprehend how someone---a mother, could do this to her own flesh and blood.
This crime book, for the most part, was well-written, with the exception of several grammatical and spelling errors. Its publication did seem fueled by the press, as the audience is left with many unanswered questions by the end. The trial hadn't even begun yet.
I thought after reading it, I would have a clearer sense of my views on Susan, but I don't. This month, she's up for parole following her incarceration of nearly thirty years. Do I believe she should be released? I genuinely don't know. If she is, I hope she's remorseful of her crimes. That she works at becoming a better human being.
June 4, 2020
I watched this story all unfold as a young, soon to be first time parent. I had just graduated high school that previous May and was pregnant with my firstborn. My son was born 4 days after this woman confessed to drowning her own two babies by rolling her car into the lake while they were asleep in their car seats. Why didn’t she just let the boys’ father have them? She claimed that a black man carjacked her taking off with her boys when her own brother in law was a man of color. For 9 days she led the nation on, wondering who would do such a thing, until she confessed to being the monster and liar. After losing his two young sons, the boys father still said not to talk bad about Susan because she was the boys mother. Would you be able to forgive something like that?
March 12, 2019
Heart wrenching story
Creatively told of a tragedy that should only happen in fiction books. A story of a young mother that does the unbelievable by killing her two babies. A town and a nation that rallies behind her to help find her babies until the bottom falls out and leaves millions feeling betrayed and heartbroken. I highly recommend you read this story and please bring your Kleenex. God bless these poor babies
Creatively told of a tragedy that should only happen in fiction books. A story of a young mother that does the unbelievable by killing her two babies. A town and a nation that rallies behind her to help find her babies until the bottom falls out and leaves millions feeling betrayed and heartbroken. I highly recommend you read this story and please bring your Kleenex. God bless these poor babies
October 31, 2022
Another book that I got from my local library they were having a sale 10 books for a dollar and this is one of the ones I got and I can honestly say that this one was hard to read I can't believe what this woman did it's heartbreaking I don't know if I would recommend this one or not it's really hard to read because of what she did
July 3, 2023
Thorough Book
This book was a pre trial narrative of the Susan Smith murder case. The author did an excellent job of not only covering the narrative of the case, but also describing the effects it had on law enforcement, the families and the community at large.
It was clearly written and a compelling and easy read.
This book was a pre trial narrative of the Susan Smith murder case. The author did an excellent job of not only covering the narrative of the case, but also describing the effects it had on law enforcement, the families and the community at large.
It was clearly written and a compelling and easy read.
May 8, 2017
Really good book the investigation was so calm and cool got the job down. Hands down to the lawmen. I certainly wish if Susan Smith was so sad and wanted out of her life she would have reached out to the many people that loved her and the children.
October 11, 2022
Not as good as anything by Anne Rule.
This book is a good example of why a writer needs to wait til AFTER the trial to get all the info.
A lot came out in this trial that wasn't in this book which was clearly written in a rush to get it to press.
This book is a good example of why a writer needs to wait til AFTER the trial to get all the info.
A lot came out in this trial that wasn't in this book which was clearly written in a rush to get it to press.
January 15, 2025
I watched Susan’s parole hearing the other day and I agree with the boards decision of denial. Keep her ass in there!
The book itself wasn’t anything spectacular but it got the job done by telling the story.
The book itself wasn’t anything spectacular but it got the job done by telling the story.
July 18, 2025
Listened to the audio book. We all know the story and my mother swears it started the epidemic of women killing their children. It was interesting to hear the facts and the personal life of the family. It’s a very quick read or listen.
June 13, 2018
Good read
I was a teenager when this happened and I remember how tragic it was then. The author did a excellent job informing the reader of what occurred that dark October night.
I was a teenager when this happened and I remember how tragic it was then. The author did a excellent job informing the reader of what occurred that dark October night.
July 30, 2019
Good read. There is no mystery to the story, yet the author keeps the reader hooked as he or she wonders how the truth will be revealed.
July 23, 2020
Not the most comprehensive but this was early following the case.
June 13, 2021
Absolutely heartbreaking. The question everyone wants answered, I imagine can and never will be answered. I feel for the family left behind.
January 14, 2022
A decent look into the Susan Smith case, but one that I didn't feel like contributed anything that I haven't found online in other research. Three stars for it being solid, but nothing memorable.
November 7, 2022
Factual. Written without bias.
March 29, 2023
Sort of summary of the case with a lot of church sermons towards the end. Could have been better (like how did they get her to confess?) but still an interesting read.
April 25, 2023
This case was one I followed back in the day. Being a young parent I couldn't understand how anyone could do such a thing to those boys. It did bring things into more perspective.
June 10, 2024
Good read! This book gave some insight into a national tragedy that really hit home for me in the 90s because I had two young children close in age to the Smith children.
August 16, 2024
Quick listen on a long drive out of town. I’m
Always fascinated with true crime. I will never understand why or how a mother could do this to her own children. Heartbreaking. 💔
Always fascinated with true crime. I will never understand why or how a mother could do this to her own children. Heartbreaking. 💔
April 29, 2025
Heartbreaking
Heart breaking read couldn’t put it down.Sadly a true story and how it affected a close knit town of family and residents.
Heart breaking read couldn’t put it down.Sadly a true story and how it affected a close knit town of family and residents.
March 2, 2021
This book is about Susan Smith, who murdered her children by strapping them into their car seats and sending them into the water to drown. She made up a bizarre story, which nobody believed for very long. It is always shocking when a parent murders their child, and this was no exception. I felt terrible for the father of these boys. The facts of this case were presented and well written. It was easy to follow and certainly kept my interest.
November 8, 2020
This was a decent primer on Susan Smith, but a lot of the information seemed irrelevant. I'm not really interested in the opinions of everyone in the town, and I'm not sure why there were pages upon pages of Bible verses and verbatim sermons from the boys' funeral.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews