Chosen because
Seems to combine a murder mystery set in a modern day polygamous sect with a historical exploration of how the Mormon Church developed and how one of its founder’s wives rebelled and led a crusade against the oppression that was plural marriage. Who done it and history – what’s not to like?
The Review
There are two books here, salami sliced to alternate the reader between a biography of Ann Eliza the real life 19th wife of Brigham Young (second leader of the Mormon Church) and a fictional tale of a modern day 19th wife accused of murdering her polygamous husband.
The biography hangs together well, told through carefully crafted but presumably made up documents including personal testimonies, letters & research papers that, while not being factual, purport to reveal the truth. How much is fact, how much is interpretation and how much is invention is difficult to tell, even after consulting the author’s notes at the end. But it doesn’t matter as the narrative is strong and engaging.
The whodunit element is less satisfying. The narrative is told by the estranged son, excluded from the religious community due to a misdemeanour when just a kid, but now obliged to return to try and clear his mom. Although he and those he meets outside the community are well enough drawn, those within the community seem to lack any characterisation; in particular it is difficult to remember which “sister-wife” is which and how they have contributed to the story so far. (This must be a problem encountered often by a polygamous husband!). There is mystery, clues, tension and excitement; but true aficionados of the whodunnit genre may find it tame.
The connection between the two stories is little more than they are both about a wife number 19; although the modern story does give an opportunity to bridge the historical gap from the apostasy of Ann Eliza to the development of the modern day Mormon faith. What is unclear, even after the author’s notes, is whether there really is still a vestige of polygamy tucked away in the backwaters of the Great Salt Lake .
In summary an engaging read to uncover a little-explored side channel of American social history.
Read another?
I could be tempted if it was a similarly research based story; less so if it was a straight novel relying on wholly fictional characters.
