
Small Town Sins
A Novel
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $14.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Chris Ciulla
-
Jennifer Blom
-
John Pirhalla
-
By:
-
Ken Jaworowski
About this listen
This program features multicast narration.
Ken Jaworowski’s Small Town Sins is a gripping Rust Belt thriller that captures the characters of a down-and-out Pennsylvania town, revealing their troubled pasts and the crimes that could cost them their lives.
In Locksburg, Pennsylvania, a former coal and steel town whose best days seem long past, five thousand residents have toughed it out, and have reasons for both worry and hope as this neglected place teeters between decay and renewal. For some of them, their biggest troubles have just arrived.
After years of just scraping by, three restless souls have their lives upended: Nathan, a volunteer fireman who uncovers a secret stash of money in a burning building and takes it; Callie, a nurse whose tender patient may not have long to live, despite the girl’s fundamentalist parents’ ardent beliefs; and Andy, a recovering heroin addict who undertakes a nightmare mission to hunt down and stop a serial predator.
Before long, Nathan’s stolen riches threaten to destroy everyone around him as he tries to cover his haphazard trail of lies. Callie risks her career to grant her young patient a final, and likely illegal, wish. And Andy’s hunger for vigilante justice becomes a fierce obsession that may end in violence.
As their stories barrel toward unexpected ends, Nathan, Callie, and Andy struggle to endure—or escape. They each face their pasts and gamble on their futures, and confront the underside of their rough Rust Belt town. Riveting, evocative, and unforgettable, Small Town Sins is a debut novel that marks the arrival of a major new talent.
A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.
©2023 Ken Jaworowski (P)2023 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
- A Novel
- By: James McBride
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.
-
-
Multiple Stories Obfuscate Narrative
- By Stephnsea on 08-12-23
By: James McBride
-
Deep as the Marrow
- By: F. Paul Wilson
- Narrated by: Henry Leyva
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Like millions of Americans, Dr. John VanDuyne is stunned to watch President Tom Winston announce his plans to legalize narcotics in a radical bid to destroy the power of the drug cartels. Especially since, as Winston’s personal physician and a government health spokesman, VanDuyne might have expected some prior warning. And now he’s going to be right in the firing line when the uproar begins. For President Winston, his daring plan could turn out to be political suicide. For VanDuvne, it’s going to be much worse than that.
-
-
Betrayal in All Directions
- By Kaycee on 12-21-20
By: F. Paul Wilson
-
None of This Is True
- A Novel
- By: Lisa Jewell
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton, Ayesha Antoine, Louise Brealey, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins. A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.
-
-
Victim shaming a teen girl?
- By Lisa & Travis on 08-11-23
By: Lisa Jewell
-
An Honest Man
- A Novel
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After discovering seven men murdered aboard their yacht–including two Senate rivals–Israel Pike is regarded as a prime suspect. A troubled man infamous on Salvation Point Island for killing his own father a decade before, Israel has few options, no friends, and a life-threatening secret. Elsewhere on the island, 12-year-old Lyman Rankin seeks shelter from his alcoholic father in an abandoned house only to discover that he is not alone. A mysterious woman greets him with a hatchet and a promise: “Make a sound and I’ll kill you.”
-
-
Electrifying and entertaining
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 07-26-23
By: Michael Koryta
-
The Lincoln Lawyer
- By: Michael Connelly
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense pro who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, to defend clients at the bottom of the legal food chain. It's no wonder that he is despised by cops, prosecutors, and even some of his own clients. But an investigator is murdered for getting too close to the truth and Haller quickly discovers that his search for innocence has taken him face to face with a kind of evil as pure as a flame.
-
-
Great Narration
- By Vishruth on 06-18-08
By: Michael Connelly
-
Happiness Falls (Good Morning America Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Angie Kim
- Narrated by: Shannon Tyo, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Thomas Pruyn, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything—which is why she isn’t initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don’t return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia’s brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak.
-
-
A mixed review, but recommend
- By Andrea B. on 09-07-23
By: Angie Kim
-
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
- A Novel
- By: James McBride
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.
-
-
Multiple Stories Obfuscate Narrative
- By Stephnsea on 08-12-23
By: James McBride
-
Deep as the Marrow
- By: F. Paul Wilson
- Narrated by: Henry Leyva
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Like millions of Americans, Dr. John VanDuyne is stunned to watch President Tom Winston announce his plans to legalize narcotics in a radical bid to destroy the power of the drug cartels. Especially since, as Winston’s personal physician and a government health spokesman, VanDuyne might have expected some prior warning. And now he’s going to be right in the firing line when the uproar begins. For President Winston, his daring plan could turn out to be political suicide. For VanDuvne, it’s going to be much worse than that.
-
-
Betrayal in All Directions
- By Kaycee on 12-21-20
By: F. Paul Wilson
-
None of This Is True
- A Novel
- By: Lisa Jewell
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton, Ayesha Antoine, Louise Brealey, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins. A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.
-
-
Victim shaming a teen girl?
- By Lisa & Travis on 08-11-23
By: Lisa Jewell
-
An Honest Man
- A Novel
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After discovering seven men murdered aboard their yacht–including two Senate rivals–Israel Pike is regarded as a prime suspect. A troubled man infamous on Salvation Point Island for killing his own father a decade before, Israel has few options, no friends, and a life-threatening secret. Elsewhere on the island, 12-year-old Lyman Rankin seeks shelter from his alcoholic father in an abandoned house only to discover that he is not alone. A mysterious woman greets him with a hatchet and a promise: “Make a sound and I’ll kill you.”
-
-
Electrifying and entertaining
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 07-26-23
By: Michael Koryta
-
The Lincoln Lawyer
- By: Michael Connelly
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense pro who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, to defend clients at the bottom of the legal food chain. It's no wonder that he is despised by cops, prosecutors, and even some of his own clients. But an investigator is murdered for getting too close to the truth and Haller quickly discovers that his search for innocence has taken him face to face with a kind of evil as pure as a flame.
-
-
Great Narration
- By Vishruth on 06-18-08
By: Michael Connelly
-
Happiness Falls (Good Morning America Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Angie Kim
- Narrated by: Shannon Tyo, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Thomas Pruyn, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything—which is why she isn’t initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don’t return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia’s brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak.
-
-
A mixed review, but recommend
- By Andrea B. on 09-07-23
By: Angie Kim
-
Tom Lake
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Meryl Streep
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.
-
-
So incredibly boring
- By Rhonda Morrison on 08-05-23
By: Ann Patchett
-
The River We Remember
- A Novel
- By: William Kent Krueger
- Narrated by: CJ Wilson
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Memorial Day in Jewel, Minnesota, the body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. The investigation falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife.
-
-
This book makes me believe that there are good books written by good authors.
- By Va on 09-15-23
-
My Darkest Prayer
- A Novel
- By: S. A. Cosby
- Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Whether it's working at his cousin's funeral home or tossing around the local riffraff at his favorite bar, Nathan Waymaker is a man who knows how to handle the bodies. A former marine and sheriff's deputy, Nathan has built a reputation in his small Southern town as a man who can help when all other avenues have been exhausted. When a beloved local minister is found dead, his parishioners ask Nathan to make sure the death isn’t swept under the rug.
-
-
Amazing First Novel
- By Tod M. Clark on 12-12-22
By: S. A. Cosby
-
Gone Tonight
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Pekkanen
- Narrated by: Kate Mara
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Catherine Sterling thinks she knows her mother. Ruth Sterling is quiet, hardworking, and lives for her daughter. All her life, it's been just the two of them against the world. But now, Catherine is ready to spread her wings, move from home, and begin a new career. And Ruth Sterling will do anything to prevent that from happening.
-
-
Just so so
- By Susan Phillips on 08-09-23
By: Sarah Pekkanen
-
A Thread of Violence
- A Story of Truth, Invention, and Murder
- By: Mark O'Connell
- Narrated by: Mark O'Connell
- Length: 7 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Malcolm Macarthur was a well-known Dublin socialite. Suave and urbane, he passed his days mingling with artists and aristocrats, reading philosophy, living a life of the mind. But by 1982, his inheritance had dwindled to almost nothing, a desperate threat to his lifestyle. Macarthur hastily conceived a plan: He would commit bank robbery, of the kind that had become frightfully common in Dublin at the time. But his plan spun swiftly out of control, and he needlessly killed two innocent civilians.
-
-
A meandering waste of time
- By Kate on 01-06-24
By: Mark O'Connell
-
Small Mercies
- A Novel
- By: Dennis Lehane
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 1974 a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessey is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. Mary Pat has lived her entire life in the projects of “Southie,” the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to tradition and stands proudly apart. One night Mary Pat’s teenage daughter Jules stays out late and doesn’t come home. That same evening, a young Black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances. Mary Pat, propelled by a desperate search for her daughter, begins turning over stones best left untouched.
-
-
Sadly these streets are my home…
- By shipyardjay on 05-10-23
By: Dennis Lehane
-
All the Sinners Bleed
- A Novel
- By: S. A. Cosby
- Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface. Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes.
-
-
Visceral, gripping, thrilling and entertaining
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 06-26-23
By: S. A. Cosby
-
Kala
- A Novel
- By: Colin Walsh
- Narrated by: Frank Blake, Moe Dunford, Seána Kerslake
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the seaside town of Kinlough, on Ireland’s west coast, three old friends are thrown together for the first time in years. They—Helen, Joe, and Mush—were part of an original group of six inseparable teenagers in the summer of 2003, with motherless, reckless Kala Lanann as their group’s white-hot center. Soon after that summer’s peak, Kala disappeared without a trace. Now it’s fifteen years later.
-
-
Great writing, deeply depressing story
- By Amazon Customer on 01-14-24
By: Colin Walsh
-
The Trap
- By: Catherine Ryan Howard
- Narrated by: John Keating, Alana Kerr Collins
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One year ago, Lucy’s sister, Nicki, left to meet friends at a pub in Dublin and never came home. The third Irish woman to vanish inexplicably in as many years, the agony of not knowing what happened that night has turned Lucy’s life into a waking nightmare. So, she’s going to take matters into her own hands. Angela works as a paper-pusher in the Missing Persons Unit, but wants nothing more than to be a fully fledged member of An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force. With the investigation into the missing women stalled, she begins pulling on a thread that could break the case wide open.
-
-
Not Her Best
- By Avid series reader on 08-05-23
-
Billy Summers
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Paul Sparks
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Billy Summers is a man in a room with a gun. He’s a killer for hire and the best in the business. But he’ll do the job only if the target is a truly bad guy. And now Billy wants out. But first there is one last hit. Billy is among the best snipers in the world, a decorated Iraq war vet, a Houdini when it comes to vanishing after the job is done. So what could possibly go wrong?
-
-
Absolutely amazing
- By Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com on 08-03-21
By: Stephen King
-
The Institute
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis' parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there's no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents - telekinesis and telepathy - who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and 10-year-old Avery Dixon.
-
-
I really wanted to like this novel.. but..
- By Wendi on 09-21-19
By: Stephen King
-
Those We Thought We Knew
- By: David Joy
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Toya Gardner, a young Black artist from Atlanta, has returned to her ancestral home in the North Carolina mountains to trace her family history and complete her graduate thesis. But when she encounters a still-standing Confederate monument in the heart of town, she sets her sights on something bigger.
-
-
Best work yet.
- By Phillip and Taylor on 08-04-23
By: David Joy
Critic reviews
“A deeply evocative thriller that lives at the intersection of bad decisions and bad luck, Small Town Sins is an extraordinary debut, which will have you riveted from page one.” —Laura Dave, author of The Last Thing He Told Me
“Jaworowski is a brilliant storyteller…and a merciless one. His three main characters draw bad card after bad card. It would be a daunting world to visit if it weren’t so redeemed by the startling generosity and warmth of Jaworowski’s writing: he pulls your heartstrings till they snap. And he’s written a gripping, poignant book.” —Scott Smith, author of A Simple Plan
“Imagine my delight at this wonderful little book, this riotous cross-section of John Irving and Jim Thompson. These characters breathe the same air other people breathe, they work jobs like real people do. An addictive read from its first page, Small Town Sins pays the reader’s attention back with love. A crime book that kept surprising me with its warmth and vigor page after page—it’s a delight, well-told and deeply felt.” —John Darnielle, author of Devil House
What listeners say about Small Town Sins
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Redbird57
- 11-19-24
A bit disjointed
This is a novel that revolves around three people in a small town. They are very complicated characters and it's hard to follow at times. Their stories basically come together at the end, but in a gritty sort of way that I didn't think played well. I think the writer was going for a realistic and dramatic conclusion but in my view, missed the mark. However, I do think Mr. Jaworowski is a talented story teller/author.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Fletcher Chambers Jr.
- 08-04-23
Brutal, dark but filled with hope - highly recommend!
Fantastic character development! The 3 main characters each face extreme morally challenging dilemmas & have to make difficult decisions regarding the complex & unusual situations they find themselves in. There is a ton of heartbreak with some optimistic hope, humor & karma thrown in. I finished this book fairly quickly since it sucked me right in & I was consumed with what will happen next? This would be an excellent novel for book clubs for “what work you do?” types of discussions. The heroin addict is the unlikely hero in this novel - I felt much compassion for him & was rooting for him through out.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 09-11-23
Easy read
Bought this strictly to support the author because the author is family of a good friend (Bier if the author reads this) but quickly realized this was actually a good book! character development and structure kept me interested front to back and because it's just under 8hrs I listened straight through.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- RueRue
- 11-13-24
Sad but redemptive
Well written gritty story about small town life, focused on three separate characters each facing a major decision. These characters have had sad lives; the ending gives each of them a chance for redemption. All the narrators were excellent.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- James Colitsas
- 08-15-23
Hooked from beginning to end
Loved it, Chapter format perfectly framed the story. Had a Tennessee Williams vibe. Would love to see this on stage.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Agnes McFadden
- 12-12-23
Exciting!
Loved the expressions the the readers expressed in their voices. Also enjoyed the various descriptions of the areas and people in the book. Can’t wait to read his next book and hope it is exciting as this one was.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- KDEF
- 10-26-23
2 of the 3
Loved this book. Really liked 2 of the three characters … the third he was hard to care for but he was well written.
I really want a sequel. I felt like at the end I was like what the heck!?!?
Solid 4 stars
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- David Kells
- 01-23-24
Loved the 3 different stories
Wow. Loved it. The end with Harvey was Stunning!! Love love love Andy. Callie is the sweetest soul.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 09-13-23
Relentlessly dark
This is one of the bleakest listens I have endured. I found it difficult to care for the self destructive characters and their despair. It was very painful. Instead of hope, I came away feeling depressed.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chippy
- 02-08-24
The truth to real life hidden sins. Hidden thoughts even if never carried out by many.
This is a well written novel. The audiobook is VERY GOOD. Easy to keep up with characters.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!