Rating: 
Summary: Not the Usual McMurtry caliber
Review: After reading this novel, I had to ask myself "why was this ever even published?" I've enjoyed McMurtry novels immensely over the years and was horribly disappointed in this piece of rubbish. The characters are simply bizarre and as a whole evoke no emotional response from the reader. The plot is childishly simple and, although at times humorous through folly, not specifically engaging. Barely 300 pages (and that's with careful formatting), it's obvious "Sin Killer" was churned out to simply make a deadline and is not a true effort from a highly talented writer. There are many much better Larry McMurty novels. Forget this one and go try something else.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Fast paced, wildly funny tale with outstanding character development and visual imagery. McMurtry has outdone himself with this novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Book Gone Bad
Review: The book Sin Killer is not a very good. The book is pretty much pointless. In Sin Killer it did not give very much information and it was not clear. It talked about where they were going but the author jumped around on many subjects. The author would be talking about one thing then all of the sudden he would be talking about else. I would reccommend this book to people that are older mature and can read very well. I think this book was more written for adults than young adults. This book was mainly about a girl who moved to America. When they got there they bought a steamboat and started to travel the rivers of the west. It talks about what goes on the in the wild west and the adventures they have. This bookis best suited for adults.
Rating:
Summary: intriging book
Review: I wasn't sure about this book when I started it and thought I'd see it through a couple chapters. Well, I was hooked by about Chapter three. Many who have written reviews are right, it isn't a whole lot like "Lonesome Dove", but a new type of book by McMurtry. The only books of his I've read are the Lonesome Dove series and of course loved all of them. I'm also anxiously awaiting the next in the series of the Berrybender family. If a movie was made, casting would be fun!
Rating: 
Summary: An enjoyable read!!!
Review: After reading many of the reviews for this book, I felt compelled to weigh in my opinion. First of all, everyone seems to be chasing a high they got from "Lonesome Dove". While it is one of my personal favorites, it does not serve as a benchmark for everything to follow--both a unrealistic and unfair standard.
That being said, I found "Sin Killer" quite enjoyable. It was funny and entertaining, and was an easy, leisurely, yet quick read. I think that identifying the book as a sort of black comedy is key to enjoying it. I am eagerly awaiting the next book.
If anything can be learned by the two extremes of reviews this book has garnered thus far, it is that you should not judge a book by its cover OR its inside flap. Just trust the author and read the book!
Rating:
Summary: Fehhhhh... Gross family with Gross ways...You've been warned
Review: This is my first McMurtry novel. I have never read "Lonesome Dove" and all I can say, is why would anyone write about such a bombastic abusive, and disturbing family as the Berrybenders?...About the only interesting part for me was the "Buffalo Man" storyline... Other than that, I was sadly disappointed by tale. The Berrybender's were a vastly unappealing bunch.
Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointed reader
Review: Awful..Just simply awful. I forced myself to read about 140 pages and finally gave up..Not once did I even crack a smile at what I suppose was meant to be funny. I gave up and so should McMurtry.
Rating:
Summary: Sin Killer
Review: This was a total waste of time. There was nothing of redeeming value in this book. No real history, no moral lesson, simply a story of selfish riches and "fornication". Not worth you time nor money
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable Read
Review: I quite liked the craziness of the people, places and events. I found this book an easy and enjoyable read and look forward to the next one
Rating: 
Summary: Small-e epic?
Review: As noted in some of the other reviews here, this is in some ways not McMurtry's strongest effort. "Last Picture Show" it ain't, but this "first in a series" effort may still have a few redeeming virtues. There *are* some pretty annoying flaws here. Early on, as Lady Tasmin is being returned to the steamer by Jim Snow (a.k.a. "Sin Killer"), she out of the blue starts asking about his plans to travel to Santa Fe, and refers to him guiding groups of travellers. I went "huh?" and spent a lot of time searching the previous pages for even a hint of any of this Santa Fe stuff. Maybe it was there at one point, but the scene must have hit the cutting room floor. We're at a loss as to where and how Tasmin pried this information out of the taciturn Mr. Snow. Somebody was not sweating the details on that point, and the same loose attitude seems evident elsewhere. If you read "Lonesome Dove" and its sequel "Streets of Laredo", you'll recall how gleefully the author pops his characters in the meat grinder. Let's just say there's a lot more hamburger in this one. But you'll hardly miss most of the thin cardboard characters, so it's easy to appreciate McMurtry's dark sense of humor in mangling them. The losses here are like a 'Toon getting crushed by a falling piano, compared to "Lonesome Dove", where they were genuinely affecting. (Especially in the TV version, when the boys are forced to string up that Dan Tanna fellow.)
Despite these reservations, I got to the end of the book wanting to find out what happened next. Clever fellow, that Larry McMurtry. He starts out with a ship full of European stereotypes, badly out of touch with reality. He steadily puts them in touch with a very harsh and often fatal reality. Maybe something more real in the way of a story will emerge. This is billed as the first of a four-volume series, so I guess I'm willing to wait for Volume II. There's a chance that McMurtry will return to form now that he's pared down the cast of characters a bit. I'll leave it to the consumer advocates out there to debate whether this four-volume thing is a cynical marketing ploy or a legitimate attempt to craft a Grand Epic. Certainly, the author has done more with fewer words.
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