Sins of Brother Curtis - A Story of Betrayal, Conviction, and the Mormon Church by Lisa Davis

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This brilliantly reported, unforgettable true story reveals
how one of the most monstrous sexual criminals
in the history of the Mormon church preyed on his victims
even as he was protected by the church elders
who knew of his behavior.

About the Author
LISA DAVIS is a veteran journalist who has worked as a staff writer at Village Voice Media publications in San Francisco (SF Weekly) and Phoenix (New Times) and has written for various other publications including the Arizona Republic, Phoenix Gazette, Business Journal, and Slate online magazine. She holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from Goucher College in Baltimore and a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and urban studies from San Francisco State University. She teaches journalism at Santa Clara University. Her work has won national recognition, including the George S. Polk Award.

On The Road
Lisa Davis will be appearing at

Saturday, October 15
Time TBA
Litquake, the San Francisco Literary Festival
Mission Police Station
630 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA
For more info, click here.

The Author Speaks
Interviews with Lisa Davis

"Churches Use 'Free Exercise' Defense To Block Abuse Cases"
in Huffington Post
Click here to read the interview.

"Child molester+Mormons=easy prey"
in Sacramento News and Review
Click here to read the interview.

"Lisa Davis on a Mormon tragedy"
in Narrative
Click here to read the interview.

and click the logo below to hear
Lisa Davis interviewed on

Reviews
"The Sins of Brother Curtis is a doggedly reported, cleverly organized and well-written book that can be both painful to read and hard to put down."
- San Francisco Chronicle

"...Davis makes abundantly clear in her well-researched account of systematic abuse and coverup."
- Publishers Weekly

"...expect to be enthralled by a crackerjack, no-nonsense journalist at the top of her game."
- Booklist

"This riveting book tells an all-too-common story of how an institution will protect its own perceived interests to the neglect of its values ... on the whole a gripping read."
- Library Journal

"Davis’ experience as a journalist proves invaluable in this inquiry into Brother Frank Curtis and the flood of destruction his abuse brought to several Mormon communities. In addition to revealing the emotional and psychological damage caused by Curtis’ horrendous sexual violations, the author divulges the gross negligence and, in some cases, intentional cover-up by bishops and other church leaders when the abuse was discovered... The story is profoundly disturbing, especially when the author reveals the actual abuse followed by the seemingly insidious attempts of the Mormon Church to shield its members and its doctrines through legal loopholes like the clergy-penitent privilege.
A flawed but fascinating examination of the unsettling intersection of a child molester, the Mormon Church and the American legal system."
- Kirkus Reviews

Buy the Book
The Sins of Brother Curtis is available in hardcover and e-book versions at

and wherever fine books are sold.

From the Book
Bobby had done the prison-release work, building and painting for the government, but ultimately he’d gone back to what he knew best, and did most prolifically. His small estate here was built with drug money.

Bobby’s wife handed him the phone with a look and a shrug that told him the caller was unfamiliar, which meant suspicious.

“Yeah,” he said into the phone.
“Is this Bobby Goodall?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you the Bobby Goodall who grew up in Southeast Portland in the late 1970s?”
“Yeah.”
“Bobby, my name is Tim Kosnoff. I’m a lawyer in Seattle and I represent a young man named Jeremiah Scott who is suing the Mormon Church. Can I ask you some questions?”
“Okay.”

The Mormons. Bobby started thinking, but was distracted by the next question.

“Do you know Manny Saban?”
“Yeah.”

Bobby hadn’t seen Manny in years. He hadn’t seen anyone from the neighborhood in at least a decade, and even then it was only that he’d randomly run into someone’s sister somewhere. His mind started to drift back to Manny’s house and the park and the Dairy Queen and his friends.

And then Kosnoff dropped a bomb and it was like someone had changed the channel in Bobby’s brain.

“Bobby,” the lawyer said. “Did you know a man named Frank Curtis?”

Click here to continue...

For interviews / appearances, contact:
Kate Lloyd
Publicity Manager, Scribner
(212) 632-4951
Kate.lloyd@simonandschuster.com

For book publicity inquiries, contact:
Chris Fiscus
Public Relations
(602) 541-6254
chris.fiscus@cox.net

For all other inquiries, contact:
Judith Riven
Judith Riven Literary Agency
(212) 255-1009
judith@rivenlit.com