YOU GOTTA SIN TO GET SAVED by J. D. Mason is the third and final installment of what I call the Charlotte Rodgers/John King series.  From One Day I Saw a Black King and Don't Want No Sugar, we catch up with Charlotte, Connie and Reesy Rodgers and the infamous John King.  As the book opens, we are forced back approximately twenty-seven years when Charlotte is fleeing Kansas City for Murphy, Kansas.  Approximately one year prior, Charlotte abandoned her daughters in Denver, followed a man to Memphis, however, they made a stop in Kansas City and Charlotte's story continues from there.

Present day, and the youngest daughter, Reesy, has hired a private investigator to find her mother with the hopes of receiving some answers as to why she left and hopefully, to finally receive the closure she so desperately craves.  When Charlotte is located, Reesy is the only one excited.  Her older sister, Connie, hates Charlotte, Reesy's husband feels neglected and her adoptive mother feels threatened. 

YOU GOTTA SIN TO GET SAVED weaves back and forth from the past to the present and chapters are dedicated to each of the primary characters.  Because of this, the book is able to stand on its own, in terms of the history of the characters, and it was a pleasure revisiting that history.

Connie finds herself pregnant again after having numerous abortions and giving a child up for adoption to her sister.  Afraid she is truly her mother's child, Connie doesn't know which way to turn.  John is still John, running since the age of fifteen and never settling down, he appears cold and heartless. Instead of Connie waiting for him to leave, she puts him out and he returns to Bueller, Texas where we revisit his daddy and his uncle, as more history is revealed and more drama unfolds.

When Reesy heads to Kansas to meet her mother, what she finds is a disfigured Charlotte and a younger sister named Cammy; which begs the question, how can a women walk away from two daughters and then have another?  As Reesy spends time in Kansas, she finds a doting mother, a timid and pregnant Cammy and a soft spot in her heart to do right by her mother, which is to bring her to Denver to visit and to meet the rest of the family.  After Charlotte's return to Kansas, a terrible accident occurs and Reesy and Connie head there to provide comfort.  What they discover is Charlotte's true nature and each daughter must come to their own terms about their mother and who she really is.

J. D Mason's writing is detailed and very fluid and although there are numerous characters and story lines at play, she transitions very well.  Her characters are tormented, emotionally charged and display other realistic human qualities.  The end result is not a cushy conclusion, tied up in a neat package.  YOU GOTTA SIN TO GET SAVED is an excellent read that can garner much discussion about familial and societal ills that shape our being.

Reviewed by Dawn Reeves
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers