Linda Wallheim was helping with the Halloween activities for
the ward,
when she noticed Gwen Ferris with a Latina woman, Gabriela,
and her
three children. Gwen had been patronizing the Spanish ward
instead of
her regular one, Linda's, for a few months. Gwen's marriage
is in
trouble, mostly because she's having a crisis of faith,
which Linda
understands; she's been there before. In fact, the
Wallheims' marriage
is not as strong as it once was because Linda doesn't always
conform
to the model of the dutiful Mormon wife. Faced with an empty
nest,
Linda figures she can lend a hand in the Spanish ward, and
try to help
Gwen at the same time. But when Gabriela is found dead, Gwen
is on
the warpath and Linda is almost unwillingly dragged into
covertly
investigating the young woman's murder.
Undocumented immigrants and a murder mystery are but a few
of the
many layers that comprise NOT OF
THIS FOLD. Few authors can draw me in and hold me
captive the
way Mette Ivie Harrison does, and for the better part of the
middle of
the book, I sat transfixed. In one particular scene, the
descriptions and
the atmosphere are so powerfully rendered, that I was
momentarily
hypnotized as I watched the situation unfold; it is so
vivid, powerful,
and intense that I was glued to my seat and I breathed more
easily only
after it was over. The author's writing is tighter than
ever, and some
lines of dialogues have the impact of punches in the stomach;
Detective Gore comes to mind in more than one instance. Ms.
Harrison
is a master when it comes to weaving existential matters
into a murder
mystery, as well as topics that are even more controversial
given the
religious context. Linda's faith in God and in Mormonism
remains intact,
but she still finds the patriarchal hierarchy's reluctance
to put their
money where their mouth is hard to digest. Gwen, a force of
nature,
shakes Linda a little bit more as Linda, unsuccessfully, for
the most
part, tries to rein her in, and at the same time, cannot
help but identify
with Gwen's mission.
As in every book of the splendid Linda Wallheim series, I always learn more about
Mormonism, and while some concepts are difficult to grasp
for those of
us who are not of that faith, Ms. Harrison makes sure to
seamlessly
educate us with matters relevant to the plot. I find it
particularly
interesting that a book featuring Mormons has some of the
strongest
female characters I have read in a while: Linda, a bishop's
wife; the
redoubtable Gwen, who is reconsidering everything she's ever
been;
Gabriela, a young immigrant mother in difficulty; and
Detective Gore,
an African American who is not a Mormon. This, among several
things,
also contributes to give the Linda
Wallheim series a most unique spin to murder
mysteries. If
each book can be read on its own, long-time readers can
appreciate
Linda's growth, as well as the various stages of her
relationship with
her sons, and with her husband Kurt. Their marriage is
solid, but
decidedly not exempt from stress, mostly due to their
conflicting views
on Church matters, mostly the application of the theory to
today's
realities and the relegation of women to very minor roles.
Mette Ivie
Harrison's NOT OF THIS FOLD
is in
a class by itself: a captivating story in which intelligence
reigns
supreme, where right and wrong are examined from various
points of
view, and where the murder does not happen in a sort of vacuum.
The fourth installment in Mette Ivie Harrison's
nationally bestselling Linda Wallheim mystery series, set in
Mormon Utah, explores the effects of alienation,
immigration, and extortion from the inner workings of the
Mormon church.
Now that all five of her sons have left home, Mormon
bishop’s wife Linda Wallheim has quite a bit of time on her
hands, most of which she spends worrying about the state of
the country and how her youngest son, Samuel, who is openly
gay, is faring on his mission in Boston. She has also become
close with one of the women in her ward, Gwen Ferris.
But Gwen is quickly losing faith in the church, and her
issues with the Mormon power structure are only reinforced
by her work in Draper’s local “Spanish ward.” The ward’s
members comprise both legal and undocumented immigrants who
aren’t always getting the community support they should be
from their church.
When Gabriela Gonzalez, a young mother and Gwen’s friend in
the Spanish Ward, is found strangled at a gas station, Gwen
is paralyzed with guilt. The dead woman’s last phone call
was to Gwen, and her voice mail reveals that she knew she
was in danger. When Gwen decides the police aren’t doing
enough to get justice for Gabriela, who was undocumented,
she decides to find the killer herself. Linda reluctantly
takes part in Gwen’s vigilante sleuthing, fearing for her
young friend’s safety, but what the pair discovers may put
them both in danger.
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