Death in the Covenant by D.A.Bartley Review!

In the wake of Utah’s stringent laws against plural marriage, the growth of the Mormon Church has slowed. Young men are abandoning the Church, leaving their female counterparts unmarried and childless. Now, the church is about to lose one more member…and it may be due to murder.

Detective Abish “Abbie” Taylor returned to the mountain town of Pleasant View, Utah, hoping for a quiet life. But that hope dissipates like a dream 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 someone murdered his friend, 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 the Colonia Juárez, a former LDS colony in Mexico. There, she uncovers a plan to “seal” young women to church leaders in temple ceremonies, so the women can give birth and the children can be adopted by Mormon families in the United States. But Abbie knows too well that bringing secrets to light can be deadly. Is that why her father’s friend died?

When she returns to the States, some members of the LDS community certainly don’t seem happy that Abbie knows what she knows. Abbie realizes with a jolt that her investigation could cost her father his job. Who is the murderous mastermind of this secret plot? Is it Port, the young Second Counselor to the President of the Church? Bowen, the charismatic Church spokesperson? Does the “accident” victim’s widow know more than she’s told the police? Time is running out for Abbie to save her father’s job—and her own life—as dark forces close in, and the outlook for Pleasant View turns decidedly unpleasant.

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DEATH IN THE COVENANT

The growth of the Mormon Church has slowed. Young men are abandoning the Church, leaving their female counterparts unmarried and childless. Now, the Church is about to lose one more member … and it may be due to murder.

Detective Abish “Abbie” Taylor returned to the mountain town of Pleasant View, Utah, hoping for a quiet life. But that hope dissipates like a dream 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. Is that why her father’s friend died?

Abbie realizes with a jolt that her investigation could cost her father his job and possibly get him excommunicated. Who is the murderous mastermind of this secret plot? 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. 

D. A. Bartley is a member of Daughters of Utah Pioneers. She traces her family history back to the earliest days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She spent much of her childhood in Utah, but her parents were incurable travelers. She was born in Scotland and lived in Germany, France, and Russia. After studying international relations, politics and law, D. A. worked both as an attorney and an academic in Manhattan. In the end, though, she could not escape her life-long love of mysteries. She lives in New York City with her family. Keep up with her at www.dabartley.com.

My Review

Death in the Covenant by D.A.Bartley tells the tale of Abish, aka Abby, she has returned to Pleasant View, Utah where she works at the police department. She receives a call to a car accident. There she finds that the victim is a family friend and one of the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints. 

Abby has lapsed in her religion, but her father, a professor, has not and Abby is determined to find out what happened to her father's friend who Abby believes was murdered as does her father. In order to prove this, she travels to Mexico to a clan of Mormons there. She finds that young women are getting pregnant to add members to the clan. There is also the fact that the church is thinking about going back to the age-old plan of polygamy.

Can she find out what happened to her father's friend, what is going on with her father? Can she keep her father safe? You will have to read this book to find out. Great characters and exceptional explanations about the LDS community and what they are about. I learned quite a bit as a matter of fact. I really enjoyed the book! I look forward to reading another Abish Taylor Mystery! 

I received a copy of the book for review purposes only.