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Sins of the Fathers: He's out, now innocents suffer
"In David Hidalgo Les Cowan has a unique take on the crime busting religious protagonist and in Sins of the Father he has crafted a clever, twisted game of cat and mouse - where you're never quite sure who is the cat and who is the mouse." Gordon Brown, author of Darkest Thoughts A gripping read in the sensational David Hidalgo series.
David Hidalgo continues to pastor his church. This work includes overseeing an English chat group for young people leaving Spain and looking for work in Edinburgh. At the chat group, David meets Andrea who can't shake her past and a particular priest, Father Ramón, who abused her. Father Ramón is recently released from prison and set on taking out his revenge on Andrea. Can David stop Father Ramón and save Andrea or will there be further casualties?
David Hidalgo continues to pastor his church. This work includes overseeing an English chat group for young people leaving Spain and looking for work in Edinburgh. At the chat group, David meets Andrea who can't shake her past and a particular priest, Father Ramón, who abused her. Father Ramón is recently released from prison and set on taking out his revenge on Andrea. Can David stop Father Ramón and save Andrea or will there be further casualties?
290 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 18, 2019
1 person is currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
Les Cowan
6 books7 followersThe David Hidalgo series is the result of a lifelong desire to write - but having said that life got in the way for about 50 years. So now, the David Hidalgo crime / thriller series is a late career fulfilment.
It’s common advice to write what you know however my approach has been to take not just what I know but in fact almost all I know from a very varied career and pour that into the stories and characters.
Firstly, after an English degree at Edinburgh University, I worked, taught and managed in social work for the next ten or twelve years and that has given me insights into the British criminal justice system (I’ve been many times into all the central Scotland jails!), and into the complexity and unpredictability of human experience and behaviour. In my experience almost all motives are somewhat mixed and the light and dark co-exist in all of us.
Secondly, I have been in and around church my whole life and know its atmosphere and characters very well. So when I was thinking about a character and a genre, it seemed natural to bring these two worlds together.
Next, I started and ran my own software development business for ten years for which I needed skills in software, marketing and selling. More grist to the mill.
Finally, my wife and I spent seven years living and working in Spain from which we were able to gain an understanding of a different and fascinating culture and pick up a huge amount of detail that might be of interest to readers.
So, putting all of these things together - the result was David Hidalgo. David is an anglo-Spanish pastor who has spent most of his life working in drug and alcohol rehab in Spain before being catapulted back to his childhood home in Edinburgh as a result of a personal tragedy directly arising out of his ministry.
Hence, book one of the series - Benefit of the Doubt - deals significantly with David’s personal issues against the plot backdrop of the disappearance of the granddaughter of a church member. As the story unfolds we walk with David through his doubts and grief and initial reluctance to get involved in any more drug related issues after what he has just been through. However, his personality and strong moral compass makes ignoring the problem impossible. The issue then is how to find the missing girl - and face up to a host of personal demons.
Maybe unlike the majority of crime / thriller titles, however, I have also wanted to explore something a bit deeper about human nature. Specifically, I am very interested in how a decent human being with strong moral values behaves and responds to both the best and the worst the world has to offer. While generally wanting nothing more than a quiet life, David finds himself pulled time and again into wrongs that need to be righted and problems that need to be solved which he finds impossible to ignore. In that regard he is more of an “everyman” than a professional investigator which I hope readers will relate to.
So far David has had three major outings in books published by Lion Hudson with book IV due out in Oct 2020. Besides this books V and VI are already in the can, work is starting on book VII and there are a couple of mini-adventures available free to download on www.worldofdavidhidalgo.com
It’s common advice to write what you know however my approach has been to take not just what I know but in fact almost all I know from a very varied career and pour that into the stories and characters.
Firstly, after an English degree at Edinburgh University, I worked, taught and managed in social work for the next ten or twelve years and that has given me insights into the British criminal justice system (I’ve been many times into all the central Scotland jails!), and into the complexity and unpredictability of human experience and behaviour. In my experience almost all motives are somewhat mixed and the light and dark co-exist in all of us.
Secondly, I have been in and around church my whole life and know its atmosphere and characters very well. So when I was thinking about a character and a genre, it seemed natural to bring these two worlds together.
Next, I started and ran my own software development business for ten years for which I needed skills in software, marketing and selling. More grist to the mill.
Finally, my wife and I spent seven years living and working in Spain from which we were able to gain an understanding of a different and fascinating culture and pick up a huge amount of detail that might be of interest to readers.
So, putting all of these things together - the result was David Hidalgo. David is an anglo-Spanish pastor who has spent most of his life working in drug and alcohol rehab in Spain before being catapulted back to his childhood home in Edinburgh as a result of a personal tragedy directly arising out of his ministry.
Hence, book one of the series - Benefit of the Doubt - deals significantly with David’s personal issues against the plot backdrop of the disappearance of the granddaughter of a church member. As the story unfolds we walk with David through his doubts and grief and initial reluctance to get involved in any more drug related issues after what he has just been through. However, his personality and strong moral compass makes ignoring the problem impossible. The issue then is how to find the missing girl - and face up to a host of personal demons.
Maybe unlike the majority of crime / thriller titles, however, I have also wanted to explore something a bit deeper about human nature. Specifically, I am very interested in how a decent human being with strong moral values behaves and responds to both the best and the worst the world has to offer. While generally wanting nothing more than a quiet life, David finds himself pulled time and again into wrongs that need to be righted and problems that need to be solved which he finds impossible to ignore. In that regard he is more of an “everyman” than a professional investigator which I hope readers will relate to.
So far David has had three major outings in books published by Lion Hudson with book IV due out in Oct 2020. Besides this books V and VI are already in the can, work is starting on book VII and there are a couple of mini-adventures available free to download on www.worldofdavidhidalgo.com
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 5, 2019
3 in the David Hidalgo series, but can be read as a stand-alone too.
As a former priest convicted and imprisoned for sexual offences, Ramon has served his time and if now being released.
He has plans!
He wants revenge on those he feels are responsible for his incarceration.
David Hidalgo and his fiancé, Gillian Lockhart are running the Southside Church in Edinburgh and planning their wedding. They also help the local Spanish community with language skills.
When Andrea reads of murders in Spain, she believes she knows who is responsible and that she may be in danger. Who can she tell? David gets involved, but can he stop the killer before anyone else dies?
This is a crime thriller with faith and the church at its heart. It tells of how some abused a position of trust and innocents were hurt. Overall, an intriguing murder mystery with some thought provoking moments.
Thank you to Amber at Midas PR for the opportunity to take part in this blog tour, for the promotional materials and a free copy of the book. This is my honest and unbiased review.
As a former priest convicted and imprisoned for sexual offences, Ramon has served his time and if now being released.
He has plans!
He wants revenge on those he feels are responsible for his incarceration.
David Hidalgo and his fiancé, Gillian Lockhart are running the Southside Church in Edinburgh and planning their wedding. They also help the local Spanish community with language skills.
When Andrea reads of murders in Spain, she believes she knows who is responsible and that she may be in danger. Who can she tell? David gets involved, but can he stop the killer before anyone else dies?
This is a crime thriller with faith and the church at its heart. It tells of how some abused a position of trust and innocents were hurt. Overall, an intriguing murder mystery with some thought provoking moments.
Thank you to Amber at Midas PR for the opportunity to take part in this blog tour, for the promotional materials and a free copy of the book. This is my honest and unbiased review.
July 16, 2023
Great book, really Gripping story, couldn't wait to pick it back up to find out what happens.
October 22, 2019
Actual Rating: 3.5
The characters are really well developed and I could definitely relate to them, I enjoyed the diversity among the group of friends who came together when they needed each other.
I really enjoyed being able to travel to both Edinburgh and Spain, they are beautiful settings and definitely add to the book, I’ve never been to those places yet the author managed to make me feel like I was there.
Sins of the Fathers covers a relevant but taboo topic of child abuse being committed by priests, I believe that this was handled really well, there are no graphic scenes or descriptions thankfully. Following this plot we found ourselves in the mind of Ramon who was convicted 7 years ago and has recently been released ready to take his revenge. Which was actually my favourite part of the story.
Read my full review here: https://feedthecrime.wordpress.com/20...
The characters are really well developed and I could definitely relate to them, I enjoyed the diversity among the group of friends who came together when they needed each other.
I really enjoyed being able to travel to both Edinburgh and Spain, they are beautiful settings and definitely add to the book, I’ve never been to those places yet the author managed to make me feel like I was there.
Sins of the Fathers covers a relevant but taboo topic of child abuse being committed by priests, I believe that this was handled really well, there are no graphic scenes or descriptions thankfully. Following this plot we found ourselves in the mind of Ramon who was convicted 7 years ago and has recently been released ready to take his revenge. Which was actually my favourite part of the story.
Read my full review here: https://feedthecrime.wordpress.com/20...
February 5, 2020
I really enjoyed this and read it very quickly. It's the latest in the Hidalgo series and the best one yet. A difficult topic is being dealt with, but it is sympathetically handled, although it could still be a difficult read for those of a fragile disposition. Hidalgo is developing into a very likeable character and it will be interesting to see where his story leads. As much as I loathed the main antagonist for his deeds, at one point I did briefly find myself feeling sorry for him as he struggles with his inner demons. Which I think is the mark of good writing.
November 8, 2019
Mixed views from me , clunky dialogue perhaps on purpose to convey the complexity of learning English, perhaps not. The characters were largely forgettable and I really could not warm to them.
The author clearly knows Edinburgh well and moves around the city in a way which makes sense and I am sure that there is a Spanish community in Edinburgh (didn’t know this) . Little in the way of suspense as you know who and why from the beginning.
Let’s just say not a favourite of mine
The author clearly knows Edinburgh well and moves around the city in a way which makes sense and I am sure that there is a Spanish community in Edinburgh (didn’t know this) . Little in the way of suspense as you know who and why from the beginning.
Let’s just say not a favourite of mine
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews