When a brutal murder shocks the polygamist enclave of Blister Creek, Utah, church elders call in Jacob Christianson, a medical student and the favored son of a church elder. Jacob must solve the murder while protecting his young sister Eliza from marriage to one of three old men jostling for power within the church hierarchy.
Jacob discovers that the murdered woman has been killed in accordance with secret blood oaths taken within the polygamist temple. Together with his sister, he uncovers a plot to overthrow the church leadership, with murders that reach beyond the community and into the "gentile" world. The Righteous is a heart-pounding suspense-thriller with a depth that will haunt the reader long after the last page is turned.
Praise for Michael's Work:
"Deeply engrossing! Michael Wallace delivers the thinking
man's thriller while establishing one of the freshest male
leads in crime fiction--Jacob Christianson, an aspiring doctor
and cult elder's favored son. Jacob's analytic nature has him
questioning everything, including the nature of God and the
sexist politics of polygamy. It also makes him a perfect fit
to track down a killer whose grisly crimes threaten Jacob's
community, family, and soon, his very life."
-- Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of LIVE TO
TELL.
"Wallace authoritatively and unsparingly tears open the veil
shrouding a Utah polygamist community and its secret oaths of
blood atonement, temple sacrifice, and angels with drawn
swords. Inside we find a riveting thriller that recaptures
everything lost from the original American religion."
-- Jeffrey Anderson, National bestselling, International
Thriller Award nominated author of SLEEPER CELL.
"A first rate suspense thriller." --Red Adept Reviews. Five
stars. Indie suspense
novel of the year.
"A real page-turner. On the surface, it was a murder
mystery--and a good one--but the story was played out against
the intriguing and unusual backdrop of a fundamentalist Mormon
community." --BigAl's Books and Pals. Five stars.
"I highly recommend this very gripping thriller exposing
horrors of a religious cult." --Martha's Bookshelf
"Michael Wallace draws his characters well. I adore Eliza. I
admire her strength more than any other female character I've
read recently." --Chaos and Insanity Book Reviews
Photo banner of The Fiery Furnace, Utah by Jeremy Tolbert.
