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A review by novelesque_life
The Bishop's Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison
2.0
RATING: 2 STARS
2015; Soho Crime/Soho Press
(Review Not on Blog)
Honestly, if I had not listened to this on audio, I might have DNF'd this one. The mystery was a bit interesting and okay, but the main character, Linda Wallheim, was a bit of an annoying character. She is the wife of the Bishop (ha ha ha, as the title says), and now that all but one of her children have left the house she seems to be looking to keep herself busy. While the author explains the Mormon faith, sometimes the history lesson just went on for too long. The commentary on the faith is being seen as on media, layman and public was also a bit too much.
One of my favourite mystery series (Kate Burkholder) is by [a:Linda Castillo|54958|Linda Castillo|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1388704028p2/54958.jpg] where it has the Amish faith/culture. Though in that series it is gritty and the main character has left the Amish and is in law enforcement, the way you learn about the Amish culture is more enjoyable, for a lack of a better word. It feels like it adds to the story, and the judgement is coming from the characters not the author. There is compassion and curiosity behind it. While Linda tries to show she is not judgemental, I find that she comes off more judgemental on what people are thinking. She tries to hard. She has a commentary about everyone and their decisions and at times, it feels like it is the author not Linda who has these thoughts. Linda elects herself on solving the case and at times it seems like a stretch. She does not have the humorous arrogance of Miss Marple or Agatha Raisin.
The one aspect I did really enjoy about this book was Anna's storyline and Linda befriending her. Linda is a mother to sons and with her husband being Bishop deals more with men. It is nice to see her interacting with women and showing a bit of what it is like for Mormon women. Though it feels like you only get a few sides. I will try book 2, as I agreed to review them, and I don't like stopping at book one. I have read series where book one was meh and the rest have been fabulous. An author usually gets better in their craft.
***I received an eARC from EDELWEISS***
2015; Soho Crime/Soho Press
(Review Not on Blog)
Honestly, if I had not listened to this on audio, I might have DNF'd this one. The mystery was a bit interesting and okay, but the main character, Linda Wallheim, was a bit of an annoying character. She is the wife of the Bishop (ha ha ha, as the title says), and now that all but one of her children have left the house she seems to be looking to keep herself busy. While the author explains the Mormon faith, sometimes the history lesson just went on for too long. The commentary on the faith is being seen as on media, layman and public was also a bit too much.
One of my favourite mystery series (Kate Burkholder) is by [a:Linda Castillo|54958|Linda Castillo|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1388704028p2/54958.jpg] where it has the Amish faith/culture. Though in that series it is gritty and the main character has left the Amish and is in law enforcement, the way you learn about the Amish culture is more enjoyable, for a lack of a better word. It feels like it adds to the story, and the judgement is coming from the characters not the author. There is compassion and curiosity behind it. While Linda tries to show she is not judgemental, I find that she comes off more judgemental on what people are thinking. She tries to hard. She has a commentary about everyone and their decisions and at times, it feels like it is the author not Linda who has these thoughts. Linda elects herself on solving the case and at times it seems like a stretch. She does not have the humorous arrogance of Miss Marple or Agatha Raisin.
The one aspect I did really enjoy about this book was Anna's storyline and Linda befriending her. Linda is a mother to sons and with her husband being Bishop deals more with men. It is nice to see her interacting with women and showing a bit of what it is like for Mormon women. Though it feels like you only get a few sides. I will try book 2, as I agreed to review them, and I don't like stopping at book one. I have read series where book one was meh and the rest have been fabulous. An author usually gets better in their craft.
***I received an eARC from EDELWEISS***