Rating: 
Summary: Oh, please.
Review: "Mortal Sins" is intolerably bad writing. Williamson heaps cliche upon cliche, and the result is a predictable bore of a novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Stunning.
Review: A masterpiece. I loved the book from the first sentence. It was geat and I think every home should have it. The twist of the book was great and I can not wait for the next one to come out.
Rating: 
Summary: Tortured Souls
Review: Although this was a good murder mystery, I found this book hard to read because the characters were all so depressing. Everyone had such gut wretching pasts and secrets. No one was happy and everyone was either guilt ridden or angry. I have read every book Penelope Williamson has written, but something in her personal life must be going on. Each new book seems to get darker. I will seriously consider buying her next book.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyed it....
Review: Another James Lee Burke/Dave Robicheau similarity: detective has never met a goon he likes; occasionally boils over and slams goons' heads onto bar tops, making bloody mush of goons' faces in bargain. One criticism: too many "curling smiles" that turn cold or deep or hurt or angry or anxious or bored or empty or sad or mad or...you get the picture. Where are the editors out there?!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Is Poor Writing a Sin?
Review: Cheers to Penn Williamson for recreating in "Mortal Sins" the urban landscape of a 1920s New Orleans, the city's complex social stratification, and its ugly racial politics. But jeers to a novel that focuses on two self-absorped and unsympathetic characters, the violence-prone Damon Rourke and the manipulative Remy Lelourie. Nor are unattractive characters the novel's only transgression. More jeers to the gory and unconvincing plot of "Mortal Sins." When the mystery is finally solved, the resolution is so unconvincing that readers might wonder why they bothered. The book's writing itself, however, is its worst feature. Williamson' characters speak some of the most egregious and convoluted purple prose since Bulwer-Lytton was a best seller. As an example: here's Damon's analysis of Remy's allure: "He knew what lived inside of her, and it was dark. She could run a race with a train, and put a loaded gun to both her head and yours. She could make you so crazy with lust-desire that you'd strip yourself down to guts and bones to have her." Yikes! Did people ever think like that? If you ever commit a real mortal sin, an appropriate penance might be to have to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Can you say Kate Chopin?
Review: Class and racial mixtures, open infidelity and hidden affairs are the underplot of what is not really a murder mystery. This is a sociological investigation of the fluctuating web of old families, political power, inheritance -of property and personality- and passions. Of course these themes were touched upon in Chopin's story about racial identity a hundred years ago.with much less wordiness. If you have the time, it is a tour of dusty mansions, cities of the dead, and places outsiders do not go, but it is a long read. And languid.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: I finished this book in about 3 days. I absolutely couldn't put it down. It practically had me sitting on the edge of my chair. It's not often that a book such as MORTAL SINS really grabs me and keeps me enthralled for 3 to 4 days. I look forward to reading Penn Williamson's THE WAGES OF SIN.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: I finished this book in about 3 days. I absolutely couldn't put it down. It practically had me sitting on the edge of my chair. It's not often that a book such as MORTAL SINS really grabs me and keeps me enthralled for 3 to 4 days. I look forward to reading Penn Williamson's THE WAGES OF SIN.
Rating:
Summary: Rich atmosphere, dark, sexy.
Review: I found this a marvelous read. It has an old-fashioned lushness of characterization and setting, while keeping excellent pacing. The interweaving stories worked wonderfully - easy to follow because of the clear characterizations. It's tone is darkly romantic, which fits the fascinating historic New Orleans setting, but has plenty of grit and fury. Great touches of period detail. I hope the author does more with this world. I like variety but prefer a dark mood like Mortal Sins. I read George, LeCarre, Perry, Rendell, Harris, Sandford and Connelly. Hiaasen for laughs.
Rating:
Summary: Penelope: I hardly knew you!!!
Review: I knew something was up in the publishing world when Penelope Williamson's name was changed to "Penn." That was their first mistake. Ms. Williamson had made quite a name for herself in Women's Fiction, writing sweeping family sagas with an almost lyrical prose, filled with real characters who touched your heart. I was disappointed to find almost none of those qualities in MORTAL SINS. The book suffered from too many characters, whose lives became so convoluted that it was difficult to follow who was where doing what with whom. On top of that, Ms. Williamson proceeded to describe the eyes of every character she introduced, in detail. What was that all about? Also, portions of the book dragged along under the weight of detail, which almost did away with any sense of suspense. All in all, a great disappointment from a very talented writer. I've followed Ms. Williamson's career from the very beginning, and cheered when she "made it" into hardcover. In fact, she's one of only two Women's Fiction authors for whom I will spend the money for their hardcovers. Please, Penelope, don't write for the publishers; write for yourself, as you always did. You deserve the recognition that you've worked so hard for...the genre to which you brought so much class and talent is waiting for your return.
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