Thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for a review copy in exchange of an honest review!

When I saw Father Sweet in Netgalley, I was first intrigued by its cover. And when I read the description, I knew I want to read it.

(Content Warning for Sexual Abuse and Pedophilia)

This story is about Jake who is a part of Catholic Community whose life is shattered after being sexual abuse by a Priest named Father Sweet. It was such a harrowing book to read. The writing was really impressive to me. Layered and effortless. I would recommend this book but please be aware of the trigger warnings before reading it.

A book that consumed me and my thoughts, so much so that I ran a red light. A deeply affecting story.

Right up front- this is a difficult read. It's a topical and important novel about clerical abuse of children and the abuse of First Nations people, especially children. The first half of the novel shows us Jake as a young man who is first taken in by and the assaulted by Father Sweet, a predator if ever there was one. His discovery after his father's death that his father was complicit in crimes affairs the First Nations only makes things worse for him. The second half is Jake's road to reconciliation and recovery. Keep in mind that this is meant to be from Jake's POV so the early pages might feel less mature or polished but that changes as Jake matures. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This is difficult subject matter but J.J. Martin manages it with great skill. Sexual abuse within the Church is an issue around the world and this story tells the story of an abusive Priest who has managed to convince himself that what he's doing isn't wrong. While this is common in the minds of predators, it's difficult to read. Martin has done a good job of being sensitive while unraveling the story.

This is a gripping story with a slow build up. It's difficult to read but very important.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. This was a hard read due to the content and situations , but it was a well told, heart-rendering tale. The author wrote with immense feeling and brought to the surface what many wish they could push under the rug or ignore. I enjoyed this book and hope to read more by this author.

Trigger warning for the subjects of clerical child abuse and pedophilia.

This is a book in two very distinct parts. The first part unpacks itself slowly, the world seen through a young boy’s eyes, the beautiful descriptions of nature threatened by a very ugly evil that finally bares its face, becoming a secret that is held inside for decades. The second part takes on a more rapid pace, where our protagonist Jake finds a way to start his own healing process and to make a difference. It’s a fictional story, and many of the elements relate to Canada but it is also a story that resonates worldwide.

Father Sweet is the story of an abusive priest who has convinced himself that his sexual abuse of young boys is godly and pure, and one of the children he abuses. Jake loves nature, he loves his small home town, and he loves being a Scout. All of this changes when his parents push him to go on a camping trip with the town’s revered Catholic priest, Father Sweet. Years later, after Jake’s father dies, he discovers boxes of files in his childhood home, the legacy of his father’s hand, as well as the Catholic Church’s, in the abuse and death of many native children. Father Sweet takes us on a sordid journey of a network of abuse, where abusers never face the law, and survivors are left in pieces, some following in their abusers footprints, some abandoning all hope. It also lays open Canada’s terrible history of abuse, racism, kidnapping, and murder of First Nations.

This story was a tough read in terms of subject matter. I appreciated the author’s sensitive approach in their descriptions of events, and their use of metaphors rather than unnecessary details. It made it easier for me to read the darkest parts. At first I had a bit of a hard time getting into the book, as the narration felt a little childlike, which was purposefully so as we are looking at the world through a young boy’s eyes. Once I set my mind to that I enjoyed the tone, and it helped me understand the chain of events better, and ultimately why Jake reacts in the way he does.

The author does a great job of tying in several very tough topics, and laying them out in the open. There is no happy red bow at the end, but a mission towards truth, with a wide view on how deep, and dark the network and covering up of clerical abuse is. I would have liked to see a more detailed approach on how the authorities are tackling the abuse, as there is quite a lot of detail on how the priests cover it up, but not enough on how it is being broken down. That is the only part I think that was slightly lacking in the story itself.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dundurn for the advance copy of this novel!

Book review: Father Sweet

Let me start off by saying that I really wanted to like this book. As a fallen-away Catholic who is OUTRAGED at the newly-uncovered crimes perpetrated by priests, I was hoping for a novel that would give a sense of catharsis: The main character who finally faces his demons, confronts the nasty priest in a bid for justice, and goes on to heal....

Unfortunately, this novel falls short on catharsis. While the beginning of the book is charming and well-written (the main character’s childhood, his ingenuity and good character, and his 70s style upbringing), when the novel switches to present day, there was always a sense of having fallen just short of the mark. I kept waiting for a good, clear dialogue that would lead to some character development and revelations. However, the novel got bogged down in psycho-babble about how certain priests like to wrap their crime in “love” or “religion”, and how some of their victims go on to perpetuate the cycle of crimes against children.

The author also tied in the horrors of First Nations being torn from their parents, but there too, the emotion falls short of the mark, and the final resolution is just too low-key.

So, although I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the book, and really fell in love with the brave 12-year-old on his horrible camping trip, the rest of the book did not shine brightly as it should have. I think it needed better editing and direction. It’s too bad; such promise unfulfilled...

The shadow of sexual predation has hovered over the Catholic Church for more than two decades. Canadian J.J. Martin has written a novel, “Father Sweet,” that perhaps paints the picture with more detail than we care to know about. But, nonetheless, it is insightful and educational. A twelve-year old alter boy is urged to accompany a charismatic local priest on an two-day camping trip by his parents that turns into a nightmare for the child as he has to fight off the repulsive advances of the holy figure.

Twenty years later the boy, now a lost and angry man with no resources, is forced to face a past that never goes away. The excommunicated priest, and other characters, are all caught up in the scandalous behavior that haunts many young men. Different outlooks at sexual abuse are presented in all their ugliness. Martin has carefully researched the many aspects of this continuing outrage, exploring the many shadowed pathways over which the controversy has traveled.

The writing is illuminating, as practices that are repulsive to most everyone seem to get explained away by theological expressions of love and belief in the Supreme Being. Many religious figures, as private expressions of individual preference, have adopted practices that are repulsive and sinful. The author brings those opinions forward as expressed by the persuasive urgings of the repulsive Father Sweet as he unhinges the boy and instills lifelong mental problems.

I was impressed by the book because of the opportunity for me to get a deeper look at a subject that both intrigues and repulses me. I felt that the writer presented a rational look at a subject that is usually accompanied by hysteria and overblown emotion. It’s a problem that must be addressed through strict oversight and discipline. I believe the author has taken an important step in bringing the details and the difficulties in dealing with them to our attention. A question I’ve long wanted to ask; when will things change?

Thank to netgalley and the author/publisher for the Arc for my honest review.

Trigger warning for abuse, clergy abuse; etc


What an important book in these times. This is definitely an uncomfortable topic, but such a REAL issue faced by so many of our youth around the world.

An emotionally draining, gripping, compelling read.

4.5 strong stars!! Thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for this riveting, well written, and sensitive book in return for an honest review. I found it suspenseful, emotionally gripping, and disturbing. The book addressed the painful subject of child sexual abuse by clergy and the shame of our residential schools.

Most of the book was a 5-star read for me, but the road trip to Mexico I found not up to the rest of the book due to my being confused by Daniel’s motives and finding Jake vacillating in his plans to go forward and in his attitude towards Daniel.

Jake lived in a small Catholic community where the church was the centre of peoples’ lives. His parents seemed cold and distant, not ones in which to confide. The children always hoped for their father’s approval and feared his stern, angry words. He never had conversations with them, and never spoke about his work. The family routinely attended church together. Besides the church and school, Jake’s life revolved around playing in the woods with his brother Jamie, building a tree house, bike riding and learning forest and camping skills at the Boy Scouts. His special hero was an Indigenous man who taught him woodland skills. Jake became an altar boy at the church.

Life changed for Jake when Father Sweet, a predator priest arrived in the community. His parents were delighted when he invited Jake to go on a camping trip with him. The boy did not want to go, but his parents insisted. There was a growing sense of fear and suspense. The priest seemed totally unprepared for a camping experience and left Jake to do all the work. Father Swift’s religious ravings seemed quite deranged and scary. He said how the greatest love known was between a priest and an altar boy and started making advances towards Jake. Jake felt frightened and trapped, aware that something was very wrong. After rejecting Sweet’s advances, he was threatened and forced to make a terrible choice.

Later at his father’s funeral, an elderly native man attends. Instead of offering condolences, he said he just needed to see that the man was truly dead. When Jake is clearing out his father’s belongings, he discovers boxes of files and letters showing that his father worked for the Department of Indian Affairs, and was responsible for forcing thousands of native children away from their families into residential schools to eliminate their culture and language. There many were abused, beaten, died from disease and neglect, and some froze to death trying to run away home.

25 years later, Jake as an adult is depressed, broken in spirit, drinking too much, angry and unemployed, the result of the dreadful secret of his sexual abuse. His brother is a successful lawyer, with a wife and two children. Jake knows he needs to heal himself and to find justice for those still being abused by clergy or suffering lifelong trauma from past abuse at residential schools. Can he find the inner strength to do so?

I felt this was an important book, but some may find it an uncomfortable read. The characters are fictional but it reflects very real events and victims.