Sins of the Father: A Gripping Black Family Saga of Secrets, Romance, Drama, and Redemption

by Angela Benson

The nationally bestselling author of The Amen Sisters and Up Pops the Devil, Angela Benson is one of the most exciting voices in contemporary African-American fiction. Her blistering family saga, Sins of the Father, is another glorious demonstration of her superior storytelling prowess. The tale of a wealthy black entrepreneur with two families and the catastrophic consequences when they both collide, Sins of the Father blends romance, drama, inspiration, and intrigue in an unforgettable tale of redemption and, ultimately, of love.  

Genres: Fiction, Drama, Ebooks, Contemporary, African American

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Though Angela Benson began writing fiction in Miss Milizo's fifth grade English class, her first book was not published until 1994, more than thirty years later! Since then, Angela has published twelve novels, two novellas, and a nonfiction writing book. Her books have appeared on national, regional and local bestseller lists, and she has won several writing awards, including Best Multicultural Romance from Romantic Times magazine, and Best Contemporary Ethnic Romance from Affaire de Coeur magazine. She was a finalist for the 2000 Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award in Multicultural Romance.

After publishing seven contemporary romance novels and one novella with Kensington and Harlequin, Angela made a faith move to Christian fiction in 2000 with the publication of Awakening Mercy, the first book in her Genesis House series from Tyndale House Publishers. Awakening Mercy was a finalist for both the RITA Award given by Romance Writers of America (RWA) and the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction. The second book in the Genesis House series, Abiding Hope, was published in September 2001. Abiding Hope was awarded the Emma Award for Best Inspirational Romance presented by the Romance Slam Jam. The third book and final book of the series, Enduring Love, is not yet scheduled.

BET Books, now Harlequin's Kimani Press purchased the mass market rights to Awakening Mercy and Abiding Hope in 2000 and released mass market editions of the titles in June 2002 and June 2003, respectively.

Angela's first hardcover title, The Amen Sisters, was released in September 2005 by Walk Worthy Press. The Essence bestselling title won the Emma Award for Best Inspirational Romance. The trade paperback edition was released in November 2007.

Up Pops the Devil, published by HarperCollins (Avon A) in August 2008, was Angela's eleventh novel. It was selected the November 2008 African-American Book Club Pick at Books-A-Million and was featured in the September-October 2008 issue of UPSCALE Magazine.

Angela's twelfth novel, Sins of the Father (Avon A), hits bookstores in September 2009. Her second novella, Showers of Blessings, in the A Million Blessings (Dafina) anthology, was published in March 2010.

Angela has a diverse education and work history. She majored in mathematics at Spelman College and Industrial Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), and worked for fifteen years as an engineer in the telecommunications industry. She holds Masters degrees in operations research and human resources development. Her most recent degree is a doctorate in instructional technology from the University of Georgia. Dr. Benson is now an associate professor of educational technology at The University of Alabama.

Reviews

[Heather Berkowitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this quickly, but am pretty ambivalent about it. I think the plot had lots of potential, but the author took the easy way out and avoided pretty much anything that would make for a good "family drama". Glad it was free on my nook - would not recommend!

[Marnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abraham grew up without a father and was raised by his mother alone. It was clear that there were struggles and poverty. When he grows up, he sets out and achieves every promise he made to his mother for a better life for both of them, but forgets along the line that money just can't buy everything and power can even get in the way. After his mother passes she leaves a letter behind telling him that while she loves him so much, but she feels that she has failed him as a mother by not teaching him about love and honesty and encourages him to make the mistakes in his past right. This would entail coming out and publicly introducing and accepting his grown children that he had with a woman while he was dating/married to another. This not only rattle the cage for his wife and grown son from his marriage, but also shakes things up with his other 2 kids and old girlfriend. This book is about healing, forgiveness, love, and even some loss. Many trials and tribulations along the way, but in the end, while his family is together, they still have a long slow way to go.

[Mary Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a Nook Free Friday selection; I'm glad I didn't pay for it. There is enough of a story that I kept reading, but the characters are one-dimensional; the dialogue is banal, and the resolution predictable.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know why this book was free. I could not finish it. Soap opera material.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

free friday nook book....soap opera overtones

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts out with a letter a mother wrote to her son, read posthumously, urging him to do right by the children he had by a woman not his wife 30 years ago. His efforts are impeded by his wife who wants to keep them out of their lives and the bastard son's hatred for his father and resentment of the legitimate son's privileges. Why the father didn't make some effort to get to know his outside children many years ago is never really explained to my satisfaction.
It's a well constructed book, and I think the relationships are completely realistic.

[BernieMck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be quite entertaining. It was a good, clean, Christian fiction novel by an author that did a really great job. Deborah and her brother Micheal, have a chance to get to know the father that abandoned them. Money and power and greed and his legitimate family kept him from being the father that his two other children deserved. Now that he is willing to step up to the plate, it may be too late. Throughout this read, I was eager to see, what was going to happen next. It was a fast paced, easy read that I recommend.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soapy family melodrama that kept reminding me of a key story line in the Luke Cage television series. Set in Atlanta, it’s about a media mogul who had two out-of-wedlock children and decides after they’ve grown he needs to make thing right with them. We see the reaction of his wife, his legitimate child and the two illegitimate as well as spouses, boyfriends and others. Not a lot of depth, but fun read.

[Marsha Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it!

This is a great read for a book club. I really wanted to discuss it with someone because I had so many mixed emotions. I honestly hate the way it ended with so many unanswered questions.

The author dealt with some serious issues in life.

I hope there is a part two.

[Judyspadoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too neat and clean in the wrap up. I enjoyed reading it but it was nothing earthshaking

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book.

[Katrina Burchett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entrepreneurial genius and entertainment trendsetter, Abraham Martin has a wife, Saralyn, and a son, Isaac. He also has another son, Michael, and a daughter, Deborah, and now, after thirty years of acting like they didn't exist, he's reaching out.

Deborah and Michael grew up without their father. Leah Thomas raised them. She struggled as a single mother and not once did she bad mouth Abraham, who didn't do anywhere near as much as he could have to supply their needs. Not hearing negative comments about Abraham from her mother's lips made all the difference to Deborah, who longed to have a relationship with her father. But Michael didn't want to get to know Abraham and forget about forgiving him for past mistakes. He despised the man who abandoned him and all he wanted was revenge.

Sins of the Father has seventy chapters, but they aren't long and drawn out; I appreciated that. I loved the close brother/sister relationship between Michael and Deborah. Isaac got on my nerves, the way he treated his wife, Rebecca for a choice she had made so long ago. Although it wasn't exactly what I expected, I had a feeling something was going to happen to change his attitude. And Michael was something else! All he could think about was making his father pay for not being there for him when he was growing up and that was understandable. But he was so blinded by hate that he couldn't see how he was affecting the ones closest to him - that was unfortunate. His sarcasm was funny sometimes, though.

Angela Benson is a good storyteller. The first book I read of hers was Up Pops the Devil and it is now one of my favorite reads. I loved that book! This one was pretty good. There was a lot of resentment, anger and pride, which made for good drama, and I knew Benson would have some humor in there. I like when a story can make me laugh. I also like that this story didn't have a happily ever after ending. Because of the personalities of certain characters, that made the epilogue more realistic. Forgiveness is a process that takes longer for some than others. And still, some never forgive. Sad, but true. -- 3.5

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a 3.5 read for me.

In the drama-filled book, Sins of the Father, by Angela Benson, the reader will be engrossed in reading what happens, once Abraham Martin decides to “publically” acknowledge his children by a former girl friend 30 years after he walked out of their lives to marry Saralyn to help advance his business ambitions.

This change-of-heart came about after finding a soul-awaking letter from his deceased mother urging him to do the right thing and form a relationship with daughter, Deborah, and son, Michael, before it is too late. Since business and financial success is all that he knows, Abraham decides to make amends the only way he knows, to give Deborah and Michael ownership in his company. As a man used to making decisions, Abraham puts his plan into action, but a health crisis has him wondering if he waited too late to make amends.

In the meantime, each of the characters will have to decide what Abraham’s decision means to them. Daughter, Deborah who readily accepts her father and his offer to run one of his business units, wonders if her happiness will now cost her relationship with brother Michael. Michael now wonders how this plan will affect his plans for revenge to financially ruin his father. Their mother, Leah, wonders if she is worthy of the love of the new man in her life and can she move on from the abandonment she suffered for so many years. Wife, Saralyn wonders if all of her sacrifices over the years were for nothing and Isaac, the heir now has a personal crisis that he wonders if it is worth resolving.

I enjoyed this story as there was always more than met the eye and it kept me turning the pages as I wondered how this family was to resolve their issues of betrayal, rage and love for each other and to themselves. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy stories with themes of redemption, forgiveness and love within a family.

Reviewed By Beverly
APOOO BookClub
July 12, 2009

[Victorious Cafe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:


Media-mogul Abraham Martin wants to right his wrongs. Three decades ago, Abraham had an on-going affair with Leah Thomas which produced two children, Deborah and Michael. He abandoned Leah and ran to the forgiving arms of his wife, Saralyn, who is manipulative and will not let anyone upset her happiness which includes her promised child, Isaac.

Deborah longs to be her “daddy’s little girl” but her brother, Michael, on the other hand wants revenge and he is determined to make his father pay for his sins and the pain he caused their mother. Will Abraham be able to restore his relationship with all of his children? Will Michael destroy himself in the process of seeking revenge of his father? Will Isaac welcome his brother and sister? Will Deborah become “daddy’s little girl?’ Will Saralyn change her selfish ways? Will Leah forgive herself for her affair?

What I liked/disliked about the book: I absolutely loved that fact that I ‘knew’ each one of the characters. Angela delivers on character creations. They were believable characters and not so far-fetched that I had to on rely my imagination to envision them as they were being written. I did not particularly like the ending but it was not a factor in the overall rating. It was real, but I hoped for a little more love and less tension. I understand. It has become one of my favorite books. In my opinion, this book falls into contemporary fiction more-so than Christian Fiction.

Would I recommend it to read: Definitely! I would recommend this book to read, it is such a fantastic read, and it’s a book well worth picking up.

What to read next: Worth a Thousand Words by Stacy Hawkins Adams

[Janna Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

She has done it again. Angela deals with hard issues, she doesn't back down from anything! In "Up Pops the Devil" her main character is a man just released from prison after serving 2 years for dealing drugs. In "Sins of the Father" we get to meet Abraham, his wife Saralyn and his son Isaac with his wife Rebecca (sound familiar?). Abraham is a VERY successful media mogul that has a secret... or rather HAD a secret. Oh, yes, he has a second family that he has only just acknowledged. That's right, a son and daughter that are adults now and Abraham decides he needs to make everything right.

But can you really do that after a lifetime of neglect? And what about the damage to his wife and son? Can Abraham pull them all together and restore everyone to their rightful places? And what about when something happens to Abraham? What does it take to really forgive?

I said that Angela isn't afraid to ask the tough questions, and she's not. She's also not afraid to answer them. I love Angela's style and her substance. I will read any book that she writes, I am impressed!

[Jessica Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully, inspiring book that I related to at least in part. It was about a father who had two families. A woman he was never married to and they had two children and then his wife and son. The one family he basically cut from his life because he was a super "climb the ladder" type guy and this family didn't help him do that. His second family did. The book takes place after both sets of children are raised. His mother dies and leaves him a letter chastising him for not ever introducing her to his other family and telling him to make it right with that family. So he goes back after all those years to try and make amends. Angela does an amazing job of keeping the story moving, adding depth, and I loved the underlying story of faith. Sins of the Father cannot be erased but it is never to late to try and make a difference in the lives of your children.

[Myesha-Tiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite Quote: "All you learned from me was that a man provided for his family. You didnt learn that a man also cherished his family."~Iris

A father's sins will always come back to bite them. Reading this book was a world wind. I was raised in the church and to see how it was able to be woven into a book that makes sense is amazing. The story was believable, however I do wish it could have been longer. I would have liked to see more relationship bulding with Leah and her significant other and in general I feel the book could have been a little longer. Something just seemed to be missing at the end.

[Beth Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book. Held my interest until the family infighting started. No big mystery here. Felt the main charcter was a bit of a coward for not standing up tohis wife about his illegtamite children.
The wife was pver possessive of her son with the main charcter. The main charcter's younger really had a chip on his shoulder by being negelected by his father all of his life and until a medical emergency occured he was unwilling or unable to forgive the treatment he suffered at the hands of his father.

[Andrea Stoeckel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever want to strangke one or more characters in a book? How about all of them in this train wreck of a diva driven soap ipera. Alluded by ithers as a rewrite of the biblical saga of Abraham, this book reads more liike a cat scratching, boundaries broken, anticipating a hurrivcane, can you belive she/he did THAT kind of story. Not great, passibly "fun" unless it echos your life. I did read it, but I'm neutral on it

[Mahoghani 23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book and could not stop reading it. The characters are so well blended and the storyline is truly believable. Families are torn apart and put back together through the grace of God. Abraham and his selfish ways decided to make amends to what wrong he did 30 years before only to go through the struggle of pulling together a dysfunctional family. A must read.....even though you believe in God, there are some things that will test your beliefs.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book. explored the consequences of neglecting the children born from an affair. Author did a good job of exploring both sides from how the wife and son felt to the guilt of the mistress and anger of the son and daughter born from the affair. This book turned out to be better than I thought.

[Desiree Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The father in this book had an illegitimate son that he never let his family know about. When he did decide to let his family know about his son, the wife refused to accept the son or her husband's infidelities. A lesson to be learned about cheating and how it can destroy a family. I read this book in 2010.

[Joi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was great. I enjoyed it so much. I loved all of the characters and what they represented. It was hard for me to pick a favorite character, because I could sympathize with all of them. The plot was one that wasn't too far-fetched and I appreciated that. I recommend this book to others because it was great.

[Lamarr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Although a bit dramatized...the book clearly had undeniable truth about the power of forgiveness through love. I loved the voice of the author bringing the characters to life and enjoyed the subliminal connections of truths of the heart. I feel like I need to await another episode :)

[Dawn Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talk about a broken family. The Martins and Thomas' certainly need a session with Dr. Phil or Dr. Sherry in order to repair the damage of the past. Sins of the Father illustrates what can happen if you hold grudges, don't learn to forgive and set out for revenge. Are you really ready to suffer the consequences of such actions? Is the price really worth it?

[Ron Sutton · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like the show Empire, you may think that this book is interesting. There are a lot of similarities. It was a quick read, and I liked the subtle similarity to the story of Abraham and Sarah in the Bible. Wasn't one of my favorite books I've ever read but it was decent. By the end of the book I wanted more... or maybe I'm just ready for the next season of Empire hahahaha.

[Sandra Menefee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. Family secrets, family lies. Do you really think your family secrets are hidden forever? This is a must read. Amazing. Jealously, abandonment, doubt and forgivenss. What a combination. A must read.

[Debra Odom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good story about love and forgiveness. Michael's character was a big much. I wanted to jump into the book and smack him. He was the most selfish and vindictive character in this book besides his stepmom.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed getting to know the people in this book and was invested in the story right up until the events beginning in chapter 55. As an RN I absolutely could not accept the ***SPOILER ALERT*** illness and it completely distracted me.

[Marilyn Tafro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story of a man who had a wife & a son (Issaic) and also a mistress & 2 more children, Deborah & Michael. He doesn't try to meet them until they are in their 30's. I didn't find the writing to be too good.