Sins of Our Fathers

Starred review from September 1, 2014
This stylish novel from film and TV writer/producer Otto (author of the nonfiction book Fool Me Twice) concerns J.W., a smalltown bank president whose gambling addiction causes his life to spiral out of control. One year after his son Chris’s dies in an auto crash while driving stoned, J.W. abandons his harried wife, Carol, and his teenaged daughter, Julie. When J.W.’s embezzlement of bank funds to cover his betting losses is uncovered, his boss fires him and then coerces him into spying on the local competition. J.W. relocates to live in a trailer and spies on Johnny Eagle, who is establishing a new tribal bank on the Ojibwe reservation. J.W. befriends Johnny’s surly teenaged son, Jacob, takes a menial job bagging rice, and begins a romance with Johnny’s alcoholic sister-in-law, Mona. J.W.’s situation resolves in a rousing and satisfying climax. Otto’s wonderfully vivid debut narrative is reminiscent of well-known crime novelist William Kent Krueger.

October 15, 2014
A white banker tries to thwart a Native American entrepreneur while handling his midlife crisis in this first novel set in rural Minnesota.When John "JW" White met upper-crust Carol Ingersoll, he was a teenage horse trainer; after they married, he worked his way up to head the local bank. They had a good marriage until their son died in a car accident. As the novel opens, a year after the family's tragedy, JW is advising a group of bankers on how to secure Native Americans' deposits while denying them loans. After his slick presentation, he stops at an Indian-owned casino but finds that he can't leave: He's addicted to gambling. The unraveling that began with his son's death has led JW to a temporary separation from Carol and their daughter, Julie, and now his gambling losses lead him to be evicted from his apartment. Can things get worse? You bet. His ruthless boss, Frank Jorgenson, fears a charismatic young Ojibwe, Johnny Eagle, is building his own bank, threatening the collapse of theirs. Jorgenson's instruction is terse: Stop him. He's discovered that JW embezzled money from the bank and is suspending him until he delivers. JW isn't used to playing rough, but he'll do anything to reunite his family, so he rents a trailer across from Eagle's house on the reservation, which he bugs. Soon he's working for Eagle's wild rice operation and teaching his troubled teenage son horsemanship. These naturalistic scenes anchor the story. But will the fundamentally decent JW switch his allegiance to the virtuous Eagle? Here Otto is much less sure-footed. Unable to convey the bland JW's spiritual struggle, which should have been the heart of the matter, he serves up instead a creaky plot involving safe-cracking, two shootings and two cases of arson. Ethnic animosities make for an awkward fit with standard-issue midlife floundering.

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November 1, 2014

In a small town in Minnesota, bank president JW excels at teaching interested business administrators about risk management accounts funded by Indian reservation casinos. Following the accidental death of his son, JW withdraws from his wife and daughter, spending all of his free time at casinos. Consequently, he and his wife separate, and he and his daughter grow apart. In addition, JW's boss, Mr. Jorgensen, catches him embezzling funds from the bank to pay his gambling debts. Offering an alternative to pressing charges, Mr. Jorgensen asks JW to derail a competitor's plans to start a new bank on the reservation. As JW plots his next move, he must choose between self-preservation and justice. VERDICT The writer and coproducer of the Oscar-nominated film House of Sand and Fog delivers an excellent debut literary thriller. Fans of Larry Watson and Louise Erdrich will enjoy the intricate plot, well-developed characters, and social commentary about Native American culture. Moreover, readers who are interested in mysteries with a Minnesota setting will want to try this edgy page-turner. [See "Famously Firsts," Fall/Winter 2014/15 First Novels, LJ 10/1/14.]--Russell Michalak, Goldey-Beacom Coll. Lib., Wilmington, DE

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October 15, 2014
When his son is killed in a car crash, JW White goes into a tailspin. His marriage falls apart, and to support his too-frequent trips to the casino, he embezzles money from the North Lake, Minnesota, bank of which he is president. His boss, Frank Jorgenson, offers him a deal: no prosecution if JW will find out what Ojibwe Indian Johnny Eagle is up to. There are hints that Eagle might be planning to set up a tribal bank, which would draw casino deposits. JW moves to the reservation, rents a trailer across from Eagle's house, and plants a bug in a drawer in Eagle's desk. But a bond soon develops between Eagle's son, Jacob, who has a horse he can't handle, and JW, who trained horses in his youth. At the same time, the wary relationship between JW and Eagle starts to grow into something like friendship. How can JW avoid betraying Eagle and Jacob while reclaiming his own family and his professional identity? Believable characters and a strong sense of place mark this tale of risk and redemption.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)