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Sins of the Son
An acclaimed true-crime author takes on his toughest project of all-- writing about a murderer who happens to be his son.When a hideous murder makes the headlines, a barrage of questions usually appears in its Why did this happen? Could it have been prevented? What kind of family was the criminal from? Are his parents in some way to blame? Any crime writer worth his salt would attempt to answer these questions-- but how do you address such questions when the killer is your own son?As a single father raising two sons, Carlton Stowers did his best to instill in his boys a healthy sense of right and wrong. But with Anson, his oldest, it would prove to be an ongoing uphill battle. At a young age, Anson began to angrily shun authority, and soon became involved with a number of illicit activities, including drugs, forgery, and theft. After each jail stay, Anson would vow to get clean and start anew. It became a revolving door for both father and son, until Anson, t
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1995
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February 1, 2017Finished this 3 days ago. very well written book which this time was a personal story of the author.
His son was a criminal from when he was a teen and in the end even murdered his abused girlfriend.
Okay I began reading and could not stop. it is such a book with a compelling story. As I was addicted to drugs myself and only when I stopped did I realize how hard it must have been for my parents. Reading the author's story he suffered. But saying that it seems there is more than just addiction to this story.
He had a temper and he abused his own girlfriend.Sorry but that is not something you do because you do drugs. Anyway.
Back to the story.I thought it was a very engaging book but I did miss any input of Aston. If you write a true crime book about someone else you would want to interview all the people involved and get to the real story.
I wanted to know Anson's thoughts and why is there not any information about Anson's mother but most importantly we do not even get to know the victim!
Because of this I find it lacking as a true crime book.
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His son was a criminal from when he was a teen and in the end even murdered his abused girlfriend.
Okay I began reading and could not stop. it is such a book with a compelling story. As I was addicted to drugs myself and only when I stopped did I realize how hard it must have been for my parents. Reading the author's story he suffered. But saying that it seems there is more than just addiction to this story.
He had a temper and he abused his own girlfriend.Sorry but that is not something you do because you do drugs. Anyway.
Back to the story.I thought it was a very engaging book but I did miss any input of Aston. If you write a true crime book about someone else you would want to interview all the people involved and get to the real story.
I wanted to know Anson's thoughts and why is there not any information about Anson's mother but most importantly we do not even get to know the victim!
Because of this I find it lacking as a true crime book.
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September 30, 2015
This book kept me engaged the whole time I was reading it. The book was written by the father of a convicted killer who slipped into a downward spiral of drugs, stealing and petty crimes which eventually to a long prison sentence. Throughout the story, the author wrote about how it personally affected his life which made the story very interesting. I also liked how the father-son relationship developed throughout the story.
December 4, 2008
Very sad story that Carlton Stowers lived and then wrote about. At the Texas Book Festival I had the honor to ask him personally about his emotions and experience writing this book and after he gave me an honest, heartfelt response he thanked me for asking him.
May 21, 2023
This is a personal story of an author with a successful true crime book under his belt whose own son went on to commit murder. I found it completely authentic, honest and unique. This is something no parent could ever envision for their child and it raised a lot of interesting points in the exploration of his son’s life. The author has managed to communicate beautifully a truly difficult and horrific story and his own personal journey towards finding peace in the face of adversity. 5 stars.
August 25, 2023
Don’t read this book if you have any knowledge of traumatic family systems. It will just make you angry. It’s hard to respect the author after reading this account of his troubled first born. He tried his best, though. Queue massive eye roll.
October 24, 2023
This book is written by the father of a man who murders his wife. 98% of the book is about his life as writer, his sons life and earlier crimes and his marriages. The murder isn’t talked about until 35 pages before the book ends and it isn’t spoken about in the detail you would normally expect from a true crime book, likely because the other didn’t want to share exactly how brutal the crime was that his son committed. Something that I found interesting is when his son gets a 15 year prison sentence at 19 years old but his father gets him released on parole after only 3 years. If he had left his son in jail to do the time he was sentenced to do he never would have met or murdered his wife. The father and author clearly has more love for his son than sense because he sticks by him even after the murder, visits him, puts money on his books, etc. i will never understand parents sticking by their children when they murder someone and helping them. It’s ridiculous.
December 26, 2009
Carlton Stowers wrote this nook about his son. It was a very well written book. His son Anson started using drugs at an early age. After that, Anson just never seemed to be able to get it together again. He was in and out of prison, then one day, while strung out on Meth he killed his wife by beating her and forcing an ice pick through her ear.
It tells how frustrating things we have no control over can be. A toubhing story of someone on the "other" side.
It tells how frustrating things we have no control over can be. A toubhing story of someone on the "other" side.
August 3, 2020
This is a very well written book. It is difficult for many to ever understand living a trauma life. That is exactly what this author and his family have done. You see the world from a completely different perspective when you are always waiting for the other shoe to fall, and wondering how you can ever get through it. You do, you forge ahead and you sometimes fool yourself (as in lie to yourself) Carlton Stowers bring this vivid world to light with his very honest written words.
June 20, 2025
The bestseller no crime writer wants to write.
True crime isn’t my genre of choice, so I’m not an expert. But if this book is any indication, Carlton Stowers is an unusually talented writer in that field. He’s won an Edgar and been nominated for a Pulitzer twice, so others must think so, too.
He dropped out of college to marry a pretty teen whom he knew slightly, but well enough to have impregnated. He wanted to be a journalist and figured he could get by without a degree and he was right. His Texas childhood in a working class family wasn’t plush, but he remembers being happy.
Although his new wife refused to finish high school, things seemed to be OK. After a second son was born, she became unhappy. She complained that he kept her short of money and that the frequent moves necessary for his career were a disruption. She turned out to be a chronic liar and financially irresponsible. She’d found a new man (married) and wanted a divorce. He asked about getting custody, but was told it wasn’t possible.
He moved to the Texas Hill Country to a small, pleasant town called Comfort and worked on developing his career as a writer of books and articles. Eventually, his wife sent the sons to live with him. The small town was perfect for raising kids and the boys did well. When his ex tried to reclaim her sons, he fought for custody and things got ugly. Did he make a mistake or was he protecting his children from an irresponsible, immature mother?
More moves were necessary, writing being a profession that fluctuates with the economy. A second marriage went south, causing turmoil for him and his sons. Younger son Ashley did fine, but Anson showed signs of a troubled personality. The father did what all caring parents do when a kid gets into trouble. First he blamed himself. Then he looked for help in the form of counseling and private schools. Nothing worked. Anson’s life went steadily downhill as drugs took over.
Anyone who’s dealt with an addict can guess the rest of the story. Anson resisted all efforts to help him and defied all authority - his father’s, the schools, and the police. He felt entitled to make his own rules and resented any efforts to force him to conform to society’s standards. Arrogance and anger ruled his life.
Fueled by drugs, his crimes became more serious. He was jailed and his father spent time and money trying to get him out. Escapes and more crimes exacerbated his trouble and he ended up being sentenced to a long term in prison.
He was lucky in that 1) Texas prisons were crowded and parole came easily and 2) his father had a friend with influence on the parole board. He was released, married, and seemed to be getting his life together. Being a convicted felon limited his options, but his father continued to supply help in the form of money and emotional support. He had more chances than most ex-cons. He blew them all.
Like all addicts, he became an expert liar and manipulator. He worked on the guilt every parent feels when a child is in trouble. He got as much as possible out of his father without making any effort to help himself. Experienced law enforcement friends tried to tell Stowers that he was fighting a losing battle. He was now happily re-married and his new wife was supportive, but realistic about Anson’s problems. She, too, had raised two sons in a “broken” home and both turned out well. She knew that Anson was using his past to excuse behavior that was his own choice.
Nothing is harder for a loving parent than to let go of a grown child who keeps coming back for help. Finally, Anson committed the ultimate crime and nothing his father could do saved him from facing punishment. Of course, like any parent, the author continues to obsess about the past and what he could have done differently.
The Bible says “Raise up a child in the way he should go and when he is older he will not depart from it.” Cut and dried. Do the right things as a parent, produce a happy, productive adult. Yet all of us know parents who did the best they could to give their child a good start in life and failed. All of us know that in the same family, some kids emerge as happy adults, while others hit the skids. Good parenting is vital, but there’s got to be more to the equation.
Are some kids genetically programmed to destroy themselves, as some are born with obvious physical illnesses? Is it the age at which a child experiences the inevitable traumas of life that determine how those traumas affect him? Even experts who’ve spent decades working with troubled youths have no answers.
The author decided to write his son’s story although he knew he would be accused of exploiting a family tragedy to make money. He remembers the parents of kids who’ve committed horrible crimes and the relief they felt being able to talk about their child to a person who wasn’t assuming that they were bad parents. He hopes his book will comfort parents in pain and help them understand that blaming themselves (unless they HAVE been bad parents) is counter-productive. Destroying your marriage and ignoring your other loved ones in order to wallow in guilt accomplishes nothing. He’s right and I hope this excellent book helps other parents in the same situation.
This is a beautiful, gut-wrenching story that all parents should read. Sadly, shockingly, it COULD happen to you!
True crime isn’t my genre of choice, so I’m not an expert. But if this book is any indication, Carlton Stowers is an unusually talented writer in that field. He’s won an Edgar and been nominated for a Pulitzer twice, so others must think so, too.
He dropped out of college to marry a pretty teen whom he knew slightly, but well enough to have impregnated. He wanted to be a journalist and figured he could get by without a degree and he was right. His Texas childhood in a working class family wasn’t plush, but he remembers being happy.
Although his new wife refused to finish high school, things seemed to be OK. After a second son was born, she became unhappy. She complained that he kept her short of money and that the frequent moves necessary for his career were a disruption. She turned out to be a chronic liar and financially irresponsible. She’d found a new man (married) and wanted a divorce. He asked about getting custody, but was told it wasn’t possible.
He moved to the Texas Hill Country to a small, pleasant town called Comfort and worked on developing his career as a writer of books and articles. Eventually, his wife sent the sons to live with him. The small town was perfect for raising kids and the boys did well. When his ex tried to reclaim her sons, he fought for custody and things got ugly. Did he make a mistake or was he protecting his children from an irresponsible, immature mother?
More moves were necessary, writing being a profession that fluctuates with the economy. A second marriage went south, causing turmoil for him and his sons. Younger son Ashley did fine, but Anson showed signs of a troubled personality. The father did what all caring parents do when a kid gets into trouble. First he blamed himself. Then he looked for help in the form of counseling and private schools. Nothing worked. Anson’s life went steadily downhill as drugs took over.
Anyone who’s dealt with an addict can guess the rest of the story. Anson resisted all efforts to help him and defied all authority - his father’s, the schools, and the police. He felt entitled to make his own rules and resented any efforts to force him to conform to society’s standards. Arrogance and anger ruled his life.
Fueled by drugs, his crimes became more serious. He was jailed and his father spent time and money trying to get him out. Escapes and more crimes exacerbated his trouble and he ended up being sentenced to a long term in prison.
He was lucky in that 1) Texas prisons were crowded and parole came easily and 2) his father had a friend with influence on the parole board. He was released, married, and seemed to be getting his life together. Being a convicted felon limited his options, but his father continued to supply help in the form of money and emotional support. He had more chances than most ex-cons. He blew them all.
Like all addicts, he became an expert liar and manipulator. He worked on the guilt every parent feels when a child is in trouble. He got as much as possible out of his father without making any effort to help himself. Experienced law enforcement friends tried to tell Stowers that he was fighting a losing battle. He was now happily re-married and his new wife was supportive, but realistic about Anson’s problems. She, too, had raised two sons in a “broken” home and both turned out well. She knew that Anson was using his past to excuse behavior that was his own choice.
Nothing is harder for a loving parent than to let go of a grown child who keeps coming back for help. Finally, Anson committed the ultimate crime and nothing his father could do saved him from facing punishment. Of course, like any parent, the author continues to obsess about the past and what he could have done differently.
The Bible says “Raise up a child in the way he should go and when he is older he will not depart from it.” Cut and dried. Do the right things as a parent, produce a happy, productive adult. Yet all of us know parents who did the best they could to give their child a good start in life and failed. All of us know that in the same family, some kids emerge as happy adults, while others hit the skids. Good parenting is vital, but there’s got to be more to the equation.
Are some kids genetically programmed to destroy themselves, as some are born with obvious physical illnesses? Is it the age at which a child experiences the inevitable traumas of life that determine how those traumas affect him? Even experts who’ve spent decades working with troubled youths have no answers.
The author decided to write his son’s story although he knew he would be accused of exploiting a family tragedy to make money. He remembers the parents of kids who’ve committed horrible crimes and the relief they felt being able to talk about their child to a person who wasn’t assuming that they were bad parents. He hopes his book will comfort parents in pain and help them understand that blaming themselves (unless they HAVE been bad parents) is counter-productive. Destroying your marriage and ignoring your other loved ones in order to wallow in guilt accomplishes nothing. He’s right and I hope this excellent book helps other parents in the same situation.
This is a beautiful, gut-wrenching story that all parents should read. Sadly, shockingly, it COULD happen to you!
February 16, 2015
Growing up in Dallas Stowers has always been a familiar person, whether sports writing or his True Crime books. But this is the most impressive work of his I have ever read. I can not imagine how difficult it was for him to relive this episode of his life. I struggled to put it down.
May 9, 2020
This book is a very well written personal account of raising a troubled youth (author’s son). Although this author is known for his true-crime books, this book was more about a father-son relationship with the son’s crimes as the backdrop of the story. 4 solid stars.
November 30, 2020
This book was really one I could relate to more than anything else. A father raising a murderer, but still doing everything he could to be there for him, get him help, raise him into a good man - and still have his son make horrible choices. Relatable and heartbreaking.
September 29, 2013
I admire the author for writing this book. He did so with clarity and honesty. It could not have been easy.
November 29, 2014
An interesting book written by the father of the killer. This book gives an inside view of parents pain and attempts to understand the person their son has become.
July 5, 2020
Meh ...
February 22, 2023
Reading this book just made Carlton Stowers that much more of a credible true crime writer to me. This was my second book of his that I could not put down. He is an incredible writer!
August 7, 2024
“The complexities of such a love-hate relationship defy the understanding of those viewing from an outside vantage point." Carlton Stowers, Sins of the Son
Sins of the Son caught my eye at the little used bookstore in my city last Friday. I work nights, and I like to read when it gets slow. By the end of my shift the next morning, I was more than halfway through. I finished it today. Being the first Stowers book I’ve read, it would be remiss of me not to first praise his writing! His overall stylometry is incredibly rich in prose; word choice, sentence structure, syntax, punctuation – I was so enthralled. So much so, in fact, that his other titles have earned top-priority on my reading list!
I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump these past few months; everything-slump, really. Stowers pulled me out. A tagline on the cover describes this book as “compelling,” but it’s so much more than that. It’s an urgent call-to-action, a reminder of the ongoing miscarriages of justice in our deeply-flawed judicial system. It’s radicalizing.
If you don’t come out of this enraged at these so-called “criminal rehabilitation” systems, you are not only severely misguided, but I find your apathy disgusting. To approach the actions of Stowers’ son, Anson, sympathetically would be to set yourself up for failure; approach empathetically with the grace to understand, not to forgive.
He was failed so often that it became not only familiar, but comfortable. When failure is all you know, a failure is all you'll ever be. Self-destruction is not just your best friend, but your only friend. All sense of self has been completely lost; when you have failed yourself, you will fail others. Certain failures hold more gravity than others – some are forgiven while others aren't, or, can't be.
This would be a "can't" case.
There is no excusing Anson's actions, there is only understanding. It is only when we understand the "why" can a treatment plan be worked out. One which does not guarantee reentry into society, but ensures that the cases that do are successful.
March 22, 2025
This was a very interesting read for me. I am an avid true crime fan, so a true crime writer, writing about the crimes that his son committed was always going to get my attention. I did think there might be more about the author delving with his son into the reasons behind the son’s actions. That was not the case. The story doesn’t suffer because of that. I am a parent of a child with developmental difficulties and I know the guilt he speaks of when he wrote that he wondered where he had gone wrong. Was there the one opportunity that you missed where everything could have turned out differently if only you had seen that moment for what it was? The author, like myself, finally realizes that that is unknowable, and to continue to cling to that hurts everyone, not just yourself. I thought the author was very brave for putting this story out there.
I believe that the author grew up in a time and place where people, but men especially, didn’t discuss their feelings. They were just expected to get on with the business of providing for their families. I grew up with a father that gave me zero emotional support, but he supported me financially as part of his family with no debate. My mother was my rock all my life. The author’s son didn’t seem to have that. His mother seemed to be very unstable and immature. I have to think that that contributes to Anson being so lost and angry all the time.
I believe that the author grew up in a time and place where people, but men especially, didn’t discuss their feelings. They were just expected to get on with the business of providing for their families. I grew up with a father that gave me zero emotional support, but he supported me financially as part of his family with no debate. My mother was my rock all my life. The author’s son didn’t seem to have that. His mother seemed to be very unstable and immature. I have to think that that contributes to Anson being so lost and angry all the time.
March 16, 2021
This book tells the true story of crime writer Carlton Stower and his son Anson. After a normal childhood, Anson became involved in drugs and a life of crime. Carlton Stower describes the events from the point of view of a parent helpless to stop his son's downward spiral.
Anson's crimes shape the story and his relationship with his father. Carlton Stowers never finds all the answers he seeks, but the questions he asks and the struggles his family endures show a side of the crime story too often neglected: the impact of the criminal's behavior on the family and friends who love him.
The book is a quick read, and it doesn't dwell on any sensationalized descriptions of the crime. It's not a true crime book in the sense we usually expect; there's no lengthy detective work to find the perpetrator or suspense over what really happened. We know the how, when, and who. This book delves into the why.
Anson's crimes shape the story and his relationship with his father. Carlton Stowers never finds all the answers he seeks, but the questions he asks and the struggles his family endures show a side of the crime story too often neglected: the impact of the criminal's behavior on the family and friends who love him.
The book is a quick read, and it doesn't dwell on any sensationalized descriptions of the crime. It's not a true crime book in the sense we usually expect; there's no lengthy detective work to find the perpetrator or suspense over what really happened. We know the how, when, and who. This book delves into the why.
November 9, 2018
True crime is one of my favorite genres. Carlton Stowers takes the storytelling to a new level of clarity and intimacy in Sins of the Son. The killer is his own son. He works through the troubled youth of his oldest son, Anson, all the while questioning the decisions that he made as a father. From joy riding to ultimately murder, Anson never stopped the downward spiral of his life. The father assesses their lives together and apart with as much honesty as he can. Anson agreed to help with the book when approached about the project as he began serving his term for murder.
October 19, 2022
A Great Author, Sad Story
This father did everything he could to help his son. Great book and well written.
Being a parent I can relate to his multiple attempts to help his son. This book make me thankful not to be in the author’s shoes.
One of the greatest loves, is the love a parent has for their children. Kudos to this author/father!
This father did everything he could to help his son. Great book and well written.
Being a parent I can relate to his multiple attempts to help his son. This book make me thankful not to be in the author’s shoes.
One of the greatest loves, is the love a parent has for their children. Kudos to this author/father!
May 6, 2017
Have always liked Carlton Stowers books but this one is unique because it is a true story about his own son. As usual, Carlton did an excellent job telling this very sad story.
September 5, 2018
Please do yourself a favor and don't get the Audible version. The narration is horrible.
October 4, 2019
Quick read for me. It was okay and kept me interested. Different viewpoint but didn't really scratch my true crime itch.
November 3, 2023
It was okay.
July 26, 2024
A sad story about the author's son who is a sexual predator.
September 20, 2024
So sad!!
The book was both interesting and disturbing! Disturbing in that so many people can relate. I can't imagine a tortured family trying to cope with such a tragedy.
The book was both interesting and disturbing! Disturbing in that so many people can relate. I can't imagine a tortured family trying to cope with such a tragedy.
July 3, 2010
Wow. Books like "Sins Of The Son" show how cheek-by-jowl we all live with murderous violence in the world. And being a good parent, or at least a well-meaning ones, makes one no less vulnerable to monsters that live just without — or within.
Carlton Stowers, already a first-rate true-crime author, had to learn this the hard way. By no means a perfect parent, he nonetheless tried his best to correct the sudden wrong turn his son Anson made in his early teens — and got nowhere with it. Now, Anson is serving a long prison sentence for murder, and as his father, Carlton Stowers would have been entitled to work out the "why" questions inside his own head. That he chose, with Anson's help, to share the story behind those questions with the world is to our critical benefit.
The ultimate answer here is: "I don't know. I don't know why my son insisted on going down this self-destructive path. And he doesn't either." But that has value, because it can help strip the illusion of parents of problem kids who think if they just control the environments of those kids enough, they can control their outcomes.
The tale itself is interesting too, if too brief and possibly too selectively edited. I would have liked to have had the same kind of comprehensive look at the key moments in the breakdown of Stowers' marriage and his relationship with his oldest son that I usually get from his peekings into the world of others in his true-crime books. I'm docking him one star because I simply think Stowers held back too many details in the interest of protecting people from the worst of the truth — a choice I don't think he would have made if he wasn't talking about family. That's his prerogative, but I think we as readers are slightly poorer for it.
But the simple fact that Anson's downward spiral, despite the earnest if somewhat ineffectual efforts of his parents and step-parents, is fascinating. What makes a kid lie and steal and grow hostile in the face of the intractable reality that such misbehavior gets him less than nowhere? The fact that he continues to act out when he knows better, and keeps suffering deeper consequences, makes me shake my head in amazement.
I'm impressed, too, by Stowers' admissions of his less-than-capable parenting in places in the story. Most parents know, I think, that they don't know what they're doing most of the time, and that good intentions and fierce love can't always solve every problem.
In the end, the outlook is both bleak (you just can't stop some people from destroying the lives of themselves and of others) and hopeful (Anson and Carlton finally reconciled — if only on the grounds of a prison during visiting hours). Much like life itself. Which, I firmly believe, is a good thing to reminded of.
Carlton Stowers, already a first-rate true-crime author, had to learn this the hard way. By no means a perfect parent, he nonetheless tried his best to correct the sudden wrong turn his son Anson made in his early teens — and got nowhere with it. Now, Anson is serving a long prison sentence for murder, and as his father, Carlton Stowers would have been entitled to work out the "why" questions inside his own head. That he chose, with Anson's help, to share the story behind those questions with the world is to our critical benefit.
The ultimate answer here is: "I don't know. I don't know why my son insisted on going down this self-destructive path. And he doesn't either." But that has value, because it can help strip the illusion of parents of problem kids who think if they just control the environments of those kids enough, they can control their outcomes.
The tale itself is interesting too, if too brief and possibly too selectively edited. I would have liked to have had the same kind of comprehensive look at the key moments in the breakdown of Stowers' marriage and his relationship with his oldest son that I usually get from his peekings into the world of others in his true-crime books. I'm docking him one star because I simply think Stowers held back too many details in the interest of protecting people from the worst of the truth — a choice I don't think he would have made if he wasn't talking about family. That's his prerogative, but I think we as readers are slightly poorer for it.
But the simple fact that Anson's downward spiral, despite the earnest if somewhat ineffectual efforts of his parents and step-parents, is fascinating. What makes a kid lie and steal and grow hostile in the face of the intractable reality that such misbehavior gets him less than nowhere? The fact that he continues to act out when he knows better, and keeps suffering deeper consequences, makes me shake my head in amazement.
I'm impressed, too, by Stowers' admissions of his less-than-capable parenting in places in the story. Most parents know, I think, that they don't know what they're doing most of the time, and that good intentions and fierce love can't always solve every problem.
In the end, the outlook is both bleak (you just can't stop some people from destroying the lives of themselves and of others) and hopeful (Anson and Carlton finally reconciled — if only on the grounds of a prison during visiting hours). Much like life itself. Which, I firmly believe, is a good thing to reminded of.
September 5, 2013
Wow Carlton. I am sorry you had to live through this and filled with admiration that you had the grace and talent to write such an amazing account. Sometimes it's the writing that spellbinds me. Sometimes it's the story. In a few rare cases (this book, The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule, Papillon by Henri Charriere) it is both.
March 10, 2008
A good book from a celebrated Dallas true-crime author about the true story of his son's addiction to meth and spiral into ever-worsening criminal acts, with trips in and out of the Texas prison system. The book culminates with his son murdering his ex-wife and being imprisoned yet again.
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