Like so many other times before, the doorbell is ringing too early in the morning or too late at night. Someone wants to see the Bishop. Linda Wallheim is used to it and to being labelled as THE BISHOP'S WIFE, not always seen as a person unto herself. She quickly wakes Kurt, her husband, and goes down to open the door and to care for who is there.

Not that Linda minds all the time. As THE BISHOP'S WIFE, she is used to it, despite the upheavals it may cause in their busy family life. It is easier now that not all five of her sons are living at home with only Samuel, a high school senior left. This time, it is a very distressed looking Jared Helm and his young five year old daughter Kelly. The family are members of the Bishop's ward in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also known as LDS or the Mormon church).

Linda is also used to the confidences that Kurt is firm about keeping as part of his role as Bishop, but she is curious. As it will soon be public knowledge, Kurt tells her the story that Jared's wife had left her husband. But, knowing how much Carrie Helm loves her daughter and when no word is heard from the deserting wife, Linda begins to wonder what is really going on. Soon, she is actively seeking out opportunities to help by babysitting Kelly. What she sees and hears makes her more determined to find out more. But Kurt is both her husband and her Bishop, will he approve? What will happen to her and her family if she continues to seek out clues? What will happen to her if she does not?

THE BISHOP'S WIFE by Mettie Ivie Harrison is a very intriguing and captivating mystery with an unusual backdrop of being set in the context of a religious leader's family and involving their local church members and community.

Harrison is a practicing member of her church and, as an experienced writer already well known in the young adult market, THE BISHOP'S WIFE has a very authentic tone and gives an insider look at current LDS beliefs and practices that will appeal to both Mormon and non-Mormon readers alike. Harrison writes from her heart and many of the feelings and reactions that Linda, her main character, experiences have their source from the wellspring of her own experiences of grief and compassion.

I especially like how she covers in THE BISHOP'S WIFE how women can be both abused and supported by the male- dominated orientation and practices in the Mormon church and in their family lives. I also appreciate how she nicely balances out the good and extreme beliefs as well as changing practices in her dialogues between the characters and Linda's thoughts about their interactions. Her descriptions of church life, be it LDS or not, and all the work volunteers do, especially the women, is very true to life and normative for many places.

Personally, I could not barely put down THE BISHOP'S WIFE and just wanted to read it without stopping as I just got so pulled into the storyline and wanting to know what would happen next. Harrison has taken a seemingly simple mystery and put in some very surprising twists which takes things to a much more complex and deeper level which pulls how deep secrets and betrayals and moves them into the light for redemption and hope. I particularly like how Harrison weaves overarching themes of friendship, faith, acceptance and grief interwoven into the storylines as a natural part of church life and character development. A special example of this is in the discussion about the uniqueness of the undergarments worn by LDS men by the two women preparing the body for the funeral.

I also love Linda Wallheim as a character. She is caring, intelligent, curious and has such caring compassion for the people she knows. Yet, at times, I also feel frustrated by some of her reactions to certain critical clues as they seem out of alignment with her personality. She seems too action oriented to just let things lie or to be worrying so much about the implications if she does or doesn't deal with them. This ambivalence would jar me a bit but then I am quickly pulled back into the story of THE BISHOP'S WIFE again as the action moves forward.

How Harrison interplays what is happening outside the home with the secrets and their own sorrows and joys in the home is wonderfully done and it a key part of the storyline. So, while there may be some small frustrations; overall, it is very well-written book with really surprising and shocking turn of events. I found THE BISHOP'S WIFE to be a fascinating and insightful read and I think you will as well! Enjoy!