novelesque_life's review against another edition
2.0
RATING: 2.5
2016; Soho CRim/Soho Press
(Review Not on Blog)
I did give book two .5 more in rating from Book 1 [b:The Bishop’s Wife|21416678|The Bishop’s Wife (Linda Wallheim Mystery, #1)|Mette Ivie Harrison|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436466558s/21416678.jpg|40717829]). This is because I was more engaged with the writing this time and story was really intriguing. The ending was a bit hookey, and you kind of know who the killer is midways, if not almost right after the murder. Linda was just as annoying with her "I'm not judgemental, but here is what I would think of them or this situation, if I was judgemental" attitude. I don't mind "clean" cozy mysteries once in awhile, especially after a binge of suspense or gritty mysteries, but these seem too tame and there isn't anything happening. I'm going to try book three as I am down to review all four so far in the series.
***I received an eARC from EDELWEISS***
2016; Soho CRim/Soho Press
(Review Not on Blog)
I did give book two .5 more in rating from Book 1 [b:The Bishop’s Wife|21416678|The Bishop’s Wife (Linda Wallheim Mystery, #1)|Mette Ivie Harrison|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436466558s/21416678.jpg|40717829]). This is because I was more engaged with the writing this time and story was really intriguing. The ending was a bit hookey, and you kind of know who the killer is midways, if not almost right after the murder. Linda was just as annoying with her "I'm not judgemental, but here is what I would think of them or this situation, if I was judgemental" attitude. I don't mind "clean" cozy mysteries once in awhile, especially after a binge of suspense or gritty mysteries, but these seem too tame and there isn't anything happening. I'm going to try book three as I am down to review all four so far in the series.
***I received an eARC from EDELWEISS***
missamandamae's review against another edition
5.0
I received an ARC from the publisher for my review.
I really enjoyed The Bishop's Wife. Written by a practicing Mormon about practicing Mormons, it aired some dirty laundry of LDS culture and used it to form a compelling murder mystery. This followed suit, though certainly will push buttons with it's more controversial subject matter - a local church leader is murdered in a church building, and it is revealed that he was born a female.
My big beef with a lot of stories featuring Mormons is they're either treacly inspirational, or not at all sympathetic. Harrison's Linda Wallheim has done her own soul searching, and chooses to live the Mormon faith despite lingering questions and exasperation with the rigidity and culture of some of her fellow church members. Harrison allows for questions to rise, but bear testimony to the beauty of the LDS gospel without overtly proselytizing. The characters in her books are people I know from my own church experience, and I am still impressed and grateful for her portrayal of Linda's husband Kurt, the bishop of their ward. My dad's been a bishop, and I appreciate the honest and endearing way she presents Kurt with his compassion and his own struggles.
I could not put this book down. I started it last night, read a third, had to sleep, read some more before work, and every spare moment I had I read another chapter until the end. Parts of it made me uncomfortable from their truthfulness and their relevance to current hot topics within the LDS faith, and I hope will open up some discussions from readers about those topics. Your heart breaks for these characters, and I felt like Linda - at a loss sometimes with what to do, so you bake something.
I *highly* recommend this book, and though reading The Bishop's Wife first will set up some plot points, His Right Hand can stand on its own.
I really enjoyed The Bishop's Wife. Written by a practicing Mormon about practicing Mormons, it aired some dirty laundry of LDS culture and used it to form a compelling murder mystery. This followed suit, though certainly will push buttons with it's more controversial subject matter - a local church leader is murdered in a church building, and it is revealed that he was born a female.
My big beef with a lot of stories featuring Mormons is they're either treacly inspirational, or not at all sympathetic. Harrison's Linda Wallheim has done her own soul searching, and chooses to live the Mormon faith despite lingering questions and exasperation with the rigidity and culture of some of her fellow church members. Harrison allows for questions to rise, but bear testimony to the beauty of the LDS gospel without overtly proselytizing. The characters in her books are people I know from my own church experience, and I am still impressed and grateful for her portrayal of Linda's husband Kurt, the bishop of their ward. My dad's been a bishop, and I appreciate the honest and endearing way she presents Kurt with his compassion and his own struggles.
I could not put this book down. I started it last night, read a third, had to sleep, read some more before work, and every spare moment I had I read another chapter until the end. Parts of it made me uncomfortable from their truthfulness and their relevance to current hot topics within the LDS faith, and I hope will open up some discussions from readers about those topics. Your heart breaks for these characters, and I felt like Linda - at a loss sometimes with what to do, so you bake something.
I *highly* recommend this book, and though reading The Bishop's Wife first will set up some plot points, His Right Hand can stand on its own.
flindberg's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was an interesting book. I enjoyed the mystery and thought it was well done. I think I’ll read the next book in the series.
lazygal's review against another edition
4.0
The second outing for Linda Wallheim is just as good her first. Less mystery and more human nature, with a lot of Mormonism thrown in, this is perfect for those not in love with hard boiled or cozies and who are looking for an interesting amateur detective. The mystery itself resolves relatively slowly, but what sets this apart is how it ties in to the Mormonism - no preaching, no proselytizing, just demystifying about the beliefs and daily life by showing this world as "normal" (which, of course, it is, "Big Love" and "Sister Wives" aside).
karschmidtholloway's review against another edition
3.0
An exciting murder mystery, just what I expected after reading the first Linda Wallheim book. What I liked about the representation of Carl Ashby is that his gender transition wasn't a "gotcha" twist at the end of the book; it was presented up front as foundational to the story. This is a story about a trans man's life, not a story where transness is a plot device. What bothered me was her repeated use of "transgenderism" - a word that pathologizes transgender people's identities. I don't get why Harrison chose to use the language she did, beings that she's not an ignorant person, which you can see from her author's note at the end. I understand you want to separate the voice of your character from your voice as the author, but if that was the reason, then the way you did it was clumsy and did not actually fit in with what we know about the character Linda Wallheim.
jeannemurray3gmailcom's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book simply because I learned quite a bit about the Mormon church. The murdered victim was transgender, which led to quite a bit of conversation about Mormon beliefs about sexuality. Very interesting.
heather_freshparchment's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Miscarriage, Infertility, and Child death
*Speaking as a cis straight female and a non-Latter-Day-Saint* This book explores what being trans and being gay within the LDS community can be like, which is hard to read at times. However, because our heroine is fiercely independent, I think she presents a balanced view, questioning others' more traditional views of church doctrine, but never crossing the line into 'heresy'. It was an interesting read to me, but if you have experienced this for yourself, it may be triggering.wordnerdy's review against another edition
4.0
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2015/10/2015-book-247.html
The sequel to Harrison's first book, The Bishop's Wife, is more of the same--a Mormon woman, wrestling with her own issues, finds herself involved in a murder investigation--though the case here is a bit different, as her husband's friend and fellow bishop is murdered, only it turns out he was biologically female. (According to an author's note, this book was apparently written after a friend's child came out as trans, and there is some feeling here of trying to help people accept others' sexualities and genders, or of making Mormon seem less un-accepting, or something.) The mystery itself was a bit all over the place, but I enjoy the protagonist and her family, and Harrison has pretty good timing. I would definitely read another of these if this does turn into an ongoing series, but I do hope the author works on building an actual /mystery/ a little bit more. (Not that I don't enjoy the in-depth look into the Mormon community, just the mystery feels sort of slapped-on.) B+.
__
A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on December 1st.
The sequel to Harrison's first book, The Bishop's Wife, is more of the same--a Mormon woman, wrestling with her own issues, finds herself involved in a murder investigation--though the case here is a bit different, as her husband's friend and fellow bishop is murdered, only it turns out he was biologically female. (According to an author's note, this book was apparently written after a friend's child came out as trans, and there is some feeling here of trying to help people accept others' sexualities and genders, or of making Mormon seem less un-accepting, or something.) The mystery itself was a bit all over the place, but I enjoy the protagonist and her family, and Harrison has pretty good timing. I would definitely read another of these if this does turn into an ongoing series, but I do hope the author works on building an actual /mystery/ a little bit more. (Not that I don't enjoy the in-depth look into the Mormon community, just the mystery feels sort of slapped-on.) B+.
__
A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on December 1st.
michelleful's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting premise for a mystery, but the writing style got a bit too moralistic for my taste. Still, will probably finish off the series.
vnesting's review
4.0
Linda Wallheim and her husband Kurt, a bishop in their Mormon community, discover a dead body in the church, but that's not the only shock in store for them. It turns out that the dead man, one of Kurt's closest friends, was born a female. This fast-paced mystery combines Linda's intuitive amateur sleuthing with a thoughtful exploration of current social issues. I could not put this down.