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Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'
The Amish Wife: Unraveling the Lies, Secrets, and Conspiracy That Let a Killer Go Free by Gregg Olsen
7 reviews
mreadsbooks's review
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Outing
Minor: Homophobia, Mental illness, and Rape
so_puzzled's review
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
emadisonc's review
3.0
“It is like a circle. One thing people say leads to another, then it comes back again. It is like there is really no end. Nothing final.”
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcoholism, Incest, Pregnancy, and Outing
Minor: Animal death and Rape
am4man's review
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
acthomas's review
4.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Murder, and Outing
bookmebabe's review
2.5
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Sexual violence, and Trafficking
Minor: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and War
taylorfield's review
3.5
Long Story Short: Gregg Olsen revisits the subject of his 1990 book Abandoned Prayers after receiving a box of letters written by and about Eli Stutzman, a former Amishman who was convicted of murder in 1985. This new information sends Olsen on a quest to discover the truth about the untimely death of Stutzman's wife, Ida, in 1977 - long since believed to have occurred under suspicious circumstances.
This story is so twisted and complicated it's hard to believe it's real. To say it was "jaw dropping" would be cliche, but there are certainly some heavy, sometimes devastating revelations. Olsen's four-season-long search for answers, beginning in the summer of 2022, is presented almost like a diary. As each season plays out, so do the interviews, dead ends, mishaps, and discoveries, with many conversations directly quoted. This is charming, but not flawless. Discussions are repetitive and the main topics meander through the narrative. This, coupled with the repeating names of many people involved (which is no fault of the author), is confusing at times. That said, Olsen is very thorough and I like his approach of not pretending he has all the answers. Though Ida's death is technically not a cold case, the book reminded me of the true crime podcast Your Own Backyard.
Content Warning: discussions of child sexual abuse, suicide, and (obviously) murder.
Enjoyment: 3.5/5
Craft: 3.5/5
Overall: 3.5/5
Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse and Pedophilia