REVIEW: Blessed Be the Wicked

Blessed Be the Wicked
Author: D.A. Bartley

Detective Abish Taylor has returned to Utah where she grew up.  She's trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband and just had to get out of New York. She never intended to return to Utah. After leaving the Mormon faith, her family relationships are difficult....but this is a chance to start over so she's going to do the best she can. She expected her detective position at the Pleasant View PD to be pretty bland, as the crime rate is incredibly low. But then new homeowners find a dead man in their closet. Not just dead.....his throat has been cut. His clothing and body point to this being some sort of Mormon blood atonement ceremony. The local Mormons want this kept quiet to prevent scandal....but Abish knows she needs to solve this case.

I wasn't sure I was going to like this book. I'm not usually all that interested in books that lean heavily on religion, especially religious factions that control local government or attempt to hide crimes to stop scandal. But...this story is very well written and definitely suspenseful. Despite a few twinges at the Mormon-centric plot, I found myself engrossed in this story of secrets, lies, hypocrisy, and the many demons that can be hidden behind religion. I felt Abbie's frustration every time local Mormon leaders controlled information, slowed her investigation or put pressure on her and others to keep things quiet, even hinting the case didn't need to be solved. With a father who is high up in the Mormon hierarchy and already strained family relationships, Abbie is really between a rock and a hard place. She can stay true to herself and her career by solving this case, no matter what it brings to light. Or, she can placate her father and Mormon leaders and smooth her job, family and local relationships. 

Great story! Very well-written. The suspense builds quickly and keeps steady from start to finish. The characters are nicely developed. I loved Abbie as a main character. She is strong, intelligent, somewhat broken, but always true to herself.

I will definitely be reading more of this series! That shocks me, really....as I usually just hate books that intertwine religion so much with the plot....but in this case, it really worked. Making waves in a place where religion forms the local culture is difficult and sometimes dangerous. As a former Catholic, I found myself sympathizing with Abbie. The Catholic church fights to cover up things that maybe should see the light of day....like abuse and other crimes. And, my leaving the Catholic church caused a very harsh family schism in my own life...one that still exists today. There will be no smoothing over the rift in my case, which I have had to learn to live with. I can see this becoming a favorite series for me. I can't wait for the next book!

A word of caution:  This book might be a bit offensive for those of Mormon faith. It talks about some of the more violent aspects of Mormon history and shows a local church leadership bent on hiding secrets, even if that means stopping the investigation of a murder. The plot doesn't pull any punches and talks about some aspects of temple and Mormon life that according to a Mormon friend of mine are really not supposed to be talked about. If that would offend you, might be best to pass this one by.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**