Title: Death in the Covenant by D.A. Bartley
Abish Taylor Mystery Series Book Two
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 316 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
The Church is facing a demographic crisis like never before. How far will leaders go to grow Mormon families? And how far will they go to keep their plan secret?
Detective Abish “Abbie” Taylor returned to the mountain town of Pleasant View, Utah, hoping for a quiet life. But that hope dissipates when she wakes to an unsettling phone call. Arriving at the scene of a fatal car accident, she discovers that the victim was one of the most beloved leaders of the Church—and an old family friend.
Abbie is skeptical when her father insists the death was not an accident, but in an attempt to patch up their relationship, she takes a few days off from her job as the sole detective in the police department, and heads to Colonia Juárez, a former LDS colony in Mexico. There, she uncovers a plan hearkening back to the Church’s history of polygamy. But Abbie knows too well that bringing secrets to light can be deadly.
Abbie realizes with a jolt that her investigation could cost her father his job and possibly get him excommunicated. Time is running out for Abbie to save her father’s position—and her own life—as dark forces close in, and the outlook for Pleasant View turns decidedly unpleasant.
Review:
Death in the Covenant by D.A. Bartley is a multi-layered and complex mystery. Although this latest release is the second novel in the Abish Taylor Mystery series, it can be read as a standalone.
Detective Abish “Abbie” Taylor is called to the scene of a car accident where she is saddened to learn she knows the victim. After talking with the lone witness to wreck, she is very suspicious about the circumstances surrounding the death of Heber Bentsen. The Mormon community is rocked by the loss of their much loved church elder and Abbie is tasked by Chief Henderson with wrapping up the case by Heber’s funeral.
After talking to her father, who is a professor at BYU, Abbie is troubled by Bentsen’s interest in several young women who have dropped out of college in recent years. The fact that these women are extremely faithful members of the Church provides Abbie with a very disturbing theory that is tied to a controversial period in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. When she follows her hunch, will Abbie uncover the truth about why Heber was murdered and the reason behind what is happening to the devout young women? And what will happen when the LDS Church leaders learn where her investigation is leading her?
Abbie’s position with the Pleasant View police department remains a bit precarious as Chief Henderson pressures her to quickly close the case. Abbie is not one to back down from uncovering the truth but she fully grasps the politics involved with her investigation and the LDS Church leaders. However, she is not willing to allow a murderer go free in order to placate the church elders. Once Abbie’s suspicions are confirmed and she knows just who in the church might be involved, she is even more determined to find justice for the victims. But she seriously underestimates how far the leaders of the church will go to shut down the investigation and protect LDS secrets from being revealed.
Death in the Covenant is a riveting mystery that provides an intriguing glimpse of Mormon faith. Abbie finds herself in an ethical dilemma in which she must decide between justice and her family. Chief Henderson remains a staunch defender of the LDS Church even if it means ignoring the duties of his office. The investigation moves at a brisk pace and although Abbie faces many obstacles, she never gives up trying to unmask the killer(s). D.A. Bartley brings this twist-filled mystery to a pulse-pounding, action-packed conclusion. While this current case is mostly resolved, a few dangling threads will leave readers anxiously awaiting the next installment in the Abish Taylor Mystery series.
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