Whilst I appreciate being given the opportunity to read the book, I'm afraid to say that I didn't enjoy it very much. Michael does not come across as a very likeable person.

I am usually a fan of biographies and the synopsis of this one sounded quite intriguing. However, once you started reading I couldn't quite make up my mind whether it was a fiction or non-fiction book I was reading as it seemed to lurch from being truthful to living in a fantasy land!

Sins Of The Fathers is former career criminal Michael Emmett's life story, and it's certainly a roller-coaster ride. Emmett's Dad was an associate of many well-known members of London's underworld and despite their rocky relationship father and son engaged in criminal enterprises that eventually led to both serving time. It was during this jail time that Michael found Christianity and ,eventually at least,a new outlook on life. That's his story anyway but from my point of view he still ,until recently,lead a self-centred life that adversely affected that of others while largely avoiding any blame himself, I've know many criminals and that's a very common mindset.

As a fan of true crime books I mostly enjoyed this book but it does need far better editing, events are thrown in quite randomly and it can get quite confusing. While Michael finding religion is a big part of his story it doesn't ever turn into a sermon and as an atheist I didn't find myself skimming through several pages of sermonising as I'd expected.

As with most of this type of book there is the usual guff about "top gangsters" and the criminal code when both in this country are largely mythical,there is nothing honourable about crime , people only stay at the top by being more vicious and ruthless than' the people they prey on and more crimes are solved through informants than detective work. In that respect it's a bit like Chris Lambrianou's recent book that claims to be ashamed of his criminal past after several chapters of bragging about it.

This is a very honest book but I'm not sure if Michael realises quite how bad it makes him look,not so much his criminal activities as his cavalier attitude to women and relationships, the "criminal code" doesn't appear to apply below the waist, he blames this on the abuse he suffered as a child but makes no apologies. What I really would have liked to see as confirmation of his "new leaf" is an apology to those whose lives he's disrupted over the years. Admitting your faults is admirable,apologising proof of your sincerity.
That's my take on Michael,the book itself is a quick and easy read.....albeit one that could do with better editing.I felt I knew Michael after finishing it,as previously stated I've known plenty of people like him in my life and being a similar age and being from a similar background parts of his childhood echoed mine.
If Christianity isn't your thing don't worry,it's not "preachy" and the book is worth reading even if that part of Michael's' life isn't of interest to you. Michael does seem to have realised the truly important things in life and is now giving back to a society he once plagued and I wish him well.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped. The story was interesting and had potential but I found the writing style simplistic especially in the first half. The word naughty was used several times to describe crimes which felt wrong and under playing the real situation. Still, I finished it and was pleased the author found peace after a traumatic life.

Sins of Fathers is an interesting read about a man who was brought up around organised crime syndicates. Associated with the Kray Twins. It's a book that will appeal to those who enjoy reading about gangsters.

They say everyone has at least one book in them. A story to tell. Michael Emmett for sure has one. And an almighty one at that. This is a book about a broken child, growing up within a criminal family. It’s about living with the ripple effects of learnt behaviours living with the brokenness of abuse, addiction, grief and low self worth having to masking your way through it and all its ugliness.

This was a quick read for me and I enjoyed it immensely.

I can see how some readers may struggle with what might appear to be a glamourisation of his criminal past and the empire he grew. The trappings of criminal wealth, a boasting of what a criminal career can yield you. For him, this was his life. It is his story after all. It was did not bother me to read it. I actually had a little chuckle to myself about his criminal escapades. He was as bold as brass! And no doubt countless other criminals have been and will be for generations to come. But really at the heart of this boldness, Michael was wearing a mask throughout this dark time in his life.

Anchored by sexual abuse as a child. Having a very low self worth. Being surrounded by his father's criminal empire he had only way to go...wear the mask proudly and head into the abyss of the criminal underworld himself. Diving head fast as deep as he could. Criminals have a reputation to uphold, a presence and menacing one at that. That is part of what makes them that way. However the redemption came from behind the gates of HMP. The redemption itself is where the beauty is in this story.

With an insightful look into the world of organised crime, the family life around that and for a hope filled redemptional conclusion where someone has its stripped away and has turned their life around for better then look no further than this book.

Thank you NetGalley and @harperinspire for my ARC.

Okay let me by starting that I'm not a huge fan of 'this is my life ' type of books.
Yes I like a criminal and gangster read so I thought I should give it a go.
To my amazement i really enjoyed this book even if it was a little bit dry in places.
I dont believe in the whole God will save me bit but I did enjoy reading that for some people there is hope at the end of the tunnel whichever way they see it.

Michael's story is one that has to be read to be believed. He's got a gritty past with plenty of pain, vulnerability and experiences that he generously shared with readers.

The writing style isn't conventional, as it's written very much in the way Michael talks which adds a level of authenticity, although it takes some adjusting to.

I would recommend this for anyone interested in stories of redemption from organised crime, drug use and addiction. His testimony is powerful.

I enjoy biographies & the “blurb” suggested that this would be an interesting read. Unfortunately the writing style is choppy & there is little substance to much of it. In many ways it seems to glorify crime and the criminal lifestyle. We do see a young man who fell into a life of petty crime as an easy route to cash, but this soon escalated into serious crimes. Throughout, it is obvious from his relationships with his family that he has a heart that is capable of gentleness/love, but he does seem to understate the seriousness of his crimes. What he did is far beyond the petty crime/’naughty boy’ impression that he seems to convey.
This book is described as “A Spectacular Break from a Dark Criminal Past” so I expected some sort of ‘Road to Damascus’ moment where he turned from crime to a Christian life, when in fact it didn’t happen like that. I am somewhat familiar with HTB/Alpha/Nicky Gumbel and it was nice to see this story from the other side - in some ways it was refreshing to read a book that wasn’t quite so spectacular in terms of a Christian conversion, yet I did feel a bit let down that there was actually no spectacular break from the criminal past - whilst working for the church or giving talks about for religious organisations, Michael is still drawn back to his old lifestyle of drugs, drink & money.
Overall, I was disappointed by the book – it could be a good story, but it needs a thorough rewrite and a different “blurb”.

Disclosure: I received an advance reader copy of this book free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.
#SinsofFathers #NetGalley #BookReview

I looked forward to reading this biography of conversion from criminal to Christ but found the focus and detail of the criminal beginnings of the author and his father before him in poor taste. The writing is done in a way that it glorifies crime and boasts of fraternising with some pretty unpleasant and violent criminals. There is much talk about male criminals being well groomed and dressed which seems to be more important than integrity in the eyes of the author.

The use of the word ‘naughty’ many times for some very nasty behaviour got me close to putting this book down once and for all on each use. The first is when talking about two of his father’s gangster friends. One stabbed the other to death with a Bowie knife. “It was naughty” says the author. 'Naughty' is used in so many unsuitable places – to describe Wandsworth prison in the same sentence as saying it was a place where people got stabbed in the yard or hot water thrown over them and also to describe acts of adultery.

The are several points of subtle boasting about things best ignored such as the Kray Brothers and the Great Train Robber attending his brother’s funeral and that his father was the first person to import Ecstasy to the UK in the 1980s. The author met Prince Charles at one pint and greeted him with “All right, Charlie”. Even his criminal father’s funeral is a cause for boasting that there ‘were real gangsters’ present and that he did the funeral with humility by showing a video of ‘You’ve got to pick a pocket of two’ from Oliver.

About halfway through the book he becomes a Christian but then is straight back into 'naughty' behaviour. This cycle continues for the last half of the book. It’s not always easy to understand the timescale of what is being described as the writing is terrible with little input by an editor seemingly. The poorest book I have read this year in terms of both writing and content.

I only finished the book as I had received a free copy in exchange for an honest review for which I thank NetGalley and HarperCollins and regret I cannot give a positive review for all the reasons above.

Michael Emmett was born into a life a crime and grew up enjoying an often lavish lifestyle funded by crime. He idolised his career criminal father and from an early age, did all he could to follow in his footsteps and make his father “proud”. He had a troubled childhood and was often witness to scenes of violence at the hands of his father.

In 1993, Michael and his father were arrested and sentenced to twelve years in prison. It was during this time that Michael experienced the mighty power of the Holy Spirit through Alpha in Prisons which, as he describes it, is a “non-pressure course for the broken” and he began to understand how God loves the least, the last, and the lost.

What interested me the most about this writing is that it wasn’t like any “criminal to Christian” biography I’ve read before – and I’ve read quite a few. Previous writings tend to follow the format of living a dishonest lifestyle, finding God, and changing almost overnight into a Jesus lifestyle. Whilst I’m certain this does happen, what I found interesting with Michael's story is that he continued to live a dishonest lifestyle, even though he knew it was wrong. It took him some time to fully understand that he was good enough to receive God's love and forgiveness. He’d spent so much of his life believing that he wasn’t good enough to be anything other than a criminal – he suffered from ancestral sin, believing he had inherited the sins of his father, grandfather, etc.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Michael’s story, and highly recommend this title to anyone who enjoys biographies of this theme.

Firstly, thank you to Michael Emmett for sharing his story, and to HarperCollins UK, HarperInsipre, and NetGalley UK for the review copy.

*Disclaimer I read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review on through the NetGalley website*

I’m not sure what attracted me to this book and I will be perfectly honest I had never heard of Michael Emmett prior to reading this book. In fact when I read the description of this book I believed it to be a work of fiction.

However I was genuinely surprised to discover it is an autobiography by one of Britain’s most prolific small time (never murder, usually only assault or money charges) criminals.

Michael had a difficult upbringing and as a result was very much like his father and turned to crime. During one of his longer stints in prison he found god. But not in a mushy over the top way. He then went on to do work for religious organisations. But the lure of drugs, alcohol, money and a pretty woman were never far away.

He was a man who had everything, businesses, properties, rubbed shoulders with some of the most well known and richest people in the world including royalty. But then he lost it all and was forced to share with family members etc

But your still left with the feeling that maybe had he not had the upbringing and had he not experienced sexual abuse at such a young age by a babysitter he would of been an all round nice guy, one you’d be proud if your child brought home to meet you.

There’s definitely a nice guy there his relationships with ex wives and long term girlfriends as well as the relationships he has with his children and grandchildren show that.

After all, who would of thought that a man who once never wanted for anything, had plenty of money, lived the high life and ran in similar circles to that of the Kray twins would now be truly happy when he is spending time with his grandchildren colouring in.

The book was definitely not what I was expecting but I am glad I read it.

I have to say unfortunately I’m finding this difficult to review, the subject matter sounded right up my street and was really looking forward to reading it but was hugely disappointed, it didn’t hold my interest but as I requested this as an advanced copy I felt obliged to finish it and give an honest review. From the start I felt it wasn’t very well written and jumped from topic to topic, with the bit of information given only being snippets of a line or two, it read like there was no real in-depth story to follow, there was plenty of name dropping, and the use of referring to most things as “naughty” a prison for “naughty people” people doing “naughty things” I think most people would look upon some of the antics that were got up to as more than naughty and sorry but most of the people housed in prisons are criminals, in there for doing something more than “being naughty”. Overall a disappointing read I’m afraid.

Thank you for providing me with a review copy of this book. Enjoyed reading, interesting story - would recommend....

This wasn't my typical type of book but I was interested in it.
Not sure it was really what I was expecting but i'm glad I tried it. It was an interesting read.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was very intrigued by this book, and went into it not knowing all that much about it, other than that Michael Emmett was a criminal who had changed his ways due to his finding of religion.

Michaels childhood and relationships, and I found the first few chapters quite slow going. I was much more interested in the crimes sections however I would liked there to have been much more detail on these. It seems to be thin on the ground and you feel like there is an awful lot more that could have been said.

I found the book quite disjointed, it seemed to jump from one thing to another without warning. It didn't flow easily I'm afraid.

One of my biggest frustrations was the use of the word "Naughty." It was written so many times, and each time I would get more and more irate. Committing big crimes, or adultery isn't "Naughty", it's far worse than that. It made me feel like he was trying to portray himself as a child who wasn't bad really when obvisouly this is far from the truth. I'm not sure how much this had to do with finding religion, or whether he would have always used this type of unsuitable word for the crimes.

There was a lot of religion as you would expect, and how it is God that has made all the things he has done since finding religion happen, it's mentioned a lot with reference to his relationships with family and partners. For me it was too much, but someone religious would probably enjoy this and find happiness in it.

I don't usually write reviews that aren't good but I'm afraid tat this book fell short for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the chance to read an advance copy in return for an honest review.

This book is interesting, for someone to lay themselves bare and talk so openly about their love, life, religion and crimes is powerful and brave.

I have to say that I found the book somewhat disappointing, the writing felt rushed. Michael’s voice was clear but I often felt that an incident was mentioned and dropped far too quickly.

The chapters did not show up on my kindle which did not help this. However I think it was also part of the style of writing.

An interesting book but could have been better. This will obviously be many times more powerful for people who have a connection to Michael emmett.

This is a book that may well score 2, 3 and 4 stars as it will appeal to most who read this autobiography. However, some will find Michael’s words and experiences speaking directly to their situation and moving their hearts. For them 5 stars will not be enough to register the impact this book makes on them.

The difficulty for me is that it is a random collection of events, while in some chronological order, but not always coherent or logical. That said the stories themselves are riveting and provide an unique insight into the bad and notoriously bad.

What impressed me most was Emmett’s honesty although I accept that he cannot tell all as his life of crime was so dark and linked with some serious villains. While he might have had to alter some things or hold back total involvement of all parties he never draws back from his own responsibility and the damage it had on his families’ lives and those he loved.

The miracle of his story is that while he deserved the full measure of the criminal justice system he never appreciated the unconditional love of God through Jesus Christ he needed.

This then is how his upbringing and heritage impacted on him as a young man and how he drifted into his “father’s business”. His life of deceit, criminal enterprise and time in prison. Even the most hardened of criminal’s hearts can be responsive to the Holy Spirit’s work is the message here a well.

This is Michael’s story, told his way. It is no less truthful or an incomplete act of repentance. It shows the importance of people praying for you; the need for a church based ministry and God’s ultimate love.

I enjoyed the dark tales of a life where Michael’s ego, addition and brokenness controlled his actions, formed his motivation a need for more and more. Yet even then there were signs of a empathetic spirit, and I was grateful he shared his special relationship with his damaged Uncle.
The trouble when you have received so much counselling and support I believe it can be hard to have personal insight; but he has been blessed by God’s patient dealing on his relationships.
I feel he talks about issues like abuse and addiction in his life that others have pointed out rather than personal discernment and fully in the light of God’s Grace.
But this is not a criticism. I remember in my teenage years reading a mighty powerful book, I think called From Witchcraft to Christ. Her experiences of forgiveness and becoming filled with holiness was progressive and over a period time. Perhaps, as with Michael time is needed to become fully like Christ where one has been oppressed by so many my dark things. I loved that he closes with his need to run the race to it’s very end. That he now is about His Father’s Divine Business.
This book will resonate with those who are victims of abuse, addiction, deceit, materialism and the poverty of debt.

I know you will be inspired by a life story that may reflect in part, some of our struggles. Few of us will have been a low as this man but it is a beautiful thing, whenever God transforms a person’s life. Michael is a blessing in this autobiography and through his ministry I pray that you will find in these pages, a full and bright 5 star read and a life changing book.

Not a book I would normally choose, however I'm glad that I did. I really enjoyed it. Would reccomend

This is interesting and inspiring read. Michael has been brave to write about his life. He has written with emotion and truth. It is amazing how faith can change a person so much. I was really interested in the life Michael led and how he found faith and where that has taken him. I liked the down to earth writing style and the honesty.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.