Linda Wallheim is the bishop's wife in Draper, Utah, a
Mormon community. She leads a busy and exhausting life;
she and her husband must remain available to their wards,
their flock, 24/7. There are always things to do, people
to help, but no more so than when Carrie Helm, a
neighbour, disappears, leaving her husband and young
daughter. That kind of behaviour is frowned upon and
seldom happens in a Mormon community, but Linda feels
there is more than meets the eye, so she decides to look
further into the matter. But while doing so, she uncovers
another mystery that might go back several decades, and
the bishop fears she might do more damage than good.
THE BISHOP'S WIFE caught my attention because of the very
idea of a mystery novel set in Utah featuring Mormons
seemed rather unusual and Ms. Harrison knocks it right
out of the ballpark! Right from the beginning, THE
BISHOP'S WIFE is a comfortable book to read because Ms.
Harrison writes in a flowing, beautiful yet concise
style; the tone feels very intimate, as if Linda was
addressing the reader personally, as a trustworthy
friend. I truly enjoyed how the author subtly inserts all
sorts of information about Mormonism, explaining and
setting things straight without interfering with the flow
of the story or ever sounding preachy; she merely states
relevant facts, and I learned a lot in the most pleasant
way possible. The characters are very well fleshed out,
very convincing, and it was interesting to witness the
family dynamics between the characters. I also love how
Ms. Harrison presents the facts: Utah and Mormons might
be the setting, but the story itself is universal. The
events that take place in THE BISHOP'S WIFE could happen
anywhere people tend to keep secrets and hide skeletons
in the closet; being in a Mormon community only makes
uncovering the truth a bit trickier.
THE BISHOP'S WIFE is a most captivating mystery; it is
not fast-paced, but by no means is it sluggish: the
slower pace is extremely efficient in accentuating the
feeling of dread, thus making THE BISHOP'S WIFE quietly
chilling as events unfold. Linda uncovers one clue after
another, leading to a most horrifying conclusion; there
are no graphic descriptions of the horrors that occur but
the slight glossing over gruesome details make the crimes
committed even more appalling. THE BISHOP'S WIFE is a
meticulously crafted suspense with several plot twists
that literally gave me goosebumps several times. I do
hope that the full title of the novel, THE BISHOP'S WIFE
(A Linda Wallheim Novel) , implies that there
will be more adventures featuring Bishop Wallheim's wife,
because I'm very much looking forward to more books from
the very talented Mette Ivie Harrison!
In the predominantly Mormon city of Draper, Utah, some
seemingly perfect families have deadly secrets.
Inspired by an actual crime and written by a practicing
Mormon, The Bishop’s Wife is both a fascinating look at
the
lives of modern Mormons as well as a grim and cunningly
twisted mystery.
Linda Wallheim is the mother of five grown boys and the
wife
of a Mormon bishop. As bishop, Kurt Wallheim is the ward’s
designated spiritual father, and that makes Linda the
ward’s
unofficial mother, and her days are filled with comfort
visits, community service, and informal counseling.
But Linda is increasingly troubled by the church’s
patriarchal structure and secrecy, especially as a
disturbing situation takes shape in the ward. One cold
winter morning, a neighbor, Jared Helm, appears on the
Wallheims’ doorstep with his 5-year-old daughter, claiming
that his wife, Carrie, disappeared in the middle of the
night, leaving behind everything she owns. The
circumstances
surrounding Carrie’s disappearance become more suspicious
the more Linda learns about them, and she becomes
convinced
that Jared has murdered his wife and painted himself as an
abandoned husband.
Kurt asks Linda not to get involved in the unfolding
family
saga, but she has become obsessed with Carrie’s fate, and
with the well-being of her vulnerable young daughter. She
cannot let the matter rest until she finds out the truth.
Is
she wrong to go against her husband, the bishop, when her
inner convictions are so strong?
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