Monday, December 03, 2018

Not of This Fold by Mette Ivie Harrison


First Line: Every year on the Friday night before Halloween, we put on a ward Trunk or Treat in the gym for the whole neighborhood, Mormon and not.

All five of Linda Wallheim's sons have now flown the nest, and she has a lot of time on her hands. She's spent that time becoming close with one of the women in her ward, Gwen Farris, as well as worrying about the state of the country and of her openly gay youngest son who is on his mission in Boston.

Gwen is losing faith in the church, and it has a lot to do with the local "Spanish ward," which is comprised of both legal and undocumented immigrants. When her friend, Gabriela Gonzalez, is found strangled to death at a gas station, Gwen's feeling of guilt is overwhelming. Gabriela's last call was to her, and Gwen ignored it. When she decides the police aren't doing enough to find Gabriela's killer, she seeks justice herself, and Linda finds herself a reluctant partner who's mainly involved in order to keep her young friend out of harm's way.

I have a great deal of admiration for Mette Ivie Harrison. Yes, she's writing mysteries-- a genre that some literary snobs dismiss with a sniff-- but she's also testifying to the current state of her church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It's the most even-handed, honest portrait of the Church I've read, and it's put Harrison in danger of being excommunicated. In this series, main character Linda Wallheim has dealt with various aspects of her religion as she solves crimes. A continuing issue in Not of This Fold is its stance on LGBT rights, as Linda's youngest son is openly gay and on a mission for the church. But the main issue here is the one of immigrants-- how they are seen by the church and how they are treated. I've probably made this book (and the series) sound as though they do nothing but preach religion, and they do not. NOt at all. However, the Mormon Church is the backdrop, the cultural setting, and to understand it a little is to be better able to unravel the mystery. For most readers, Not of This Fold will resemble reading a mystery set in a foreign country, and more knowledge is always a good thing.

Linda Wallheim is proud of her cooking and is picky about what she eats from other cooks' tables. But first and foremost, Linda is a mother. It's the primary gene in her DNA. With all her sons out of the house, she has found herself drawn to Gwen Farris, who is the age Linda's daughter would have been if she'd lived. Linda is aware of her maternal feelings, and she certainly needs those protective instincts because Gwen has never met an impulse she didn't give into. During the course of their investigation into Gabriela's death, Gwen constantly puts their lives in danger, and these TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) moments are infuriating. (Yes, I did have a difficult time with this character. With behavior like that, if Gwen does make it through the police academy, she's not going to live long when she gets out on the street.)

The mystery in Not of This Fold is first-rate, with plenty of red herrings, and it was so good to see Linda's husband, the eternal eye-roller and naysayer, getting involved. The added bonus of learning more about another culture makes Harrison's entire series one you won't want to miss. I know I don't.


Not of This Fold by Mette Ivie Harrison
ISBN: 9781616959425
Soho Crime © 2018
Hardcover, 360 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #4 Linda Wallheim mystery
Rating: B+
Source: the publisher
 

 

15 comments:

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed this one, Cathy. I respect the fact that she portrays the LDS church honestly, warts and all, but with respect. That's not easy to do.

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    1. No, it's not, and it's a shame that she's been raked over the coals for her honest and heartfelt portrayal.

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  2. I tried to get this book, but the library didn't have it. Some people have quit the Mormon church over their stance on lack of women's and LGBTQ rights.
    When I see someone say she knew people who ended their lives because they weren't accepted as gay in that church, it makes me furious.
    And I heard a woman who has a chronic illness say she was maligned that she was sick because she wasn't religious enough, that it was a moral failing, rather than an illness.
    But I do want to read this when it comes into the library.

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    1. I attended BYU because they have an excellent language department (have to train all those missionaries they're sending around the world). I am not Mormon yet had to have the interviews with the bishop, etc., and when I went, I went with an open mind, thinking that I would convert if the religion were right for me. The longer I was there, the more convinced I was that it was NOT for me. I'm not going to turn this into a religious debate, but one thing that piqued my interest in NOT OF THIS FOLD is that many many Millennials are leaving the LDS Church, and I would imagine that it's due to some of the things you brought up in your own comment.

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    2. Kathy D., if you would like a review copy, feel free to contact me at awejko@sohopress.com.

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  3. I would love a review copy.

    And by the way, Cathy, I love "Her Kind of Case," and wonder if Jeanne Winer is an old friend of mine, as her protagonist, Lee Isaacs, thinks so much like I do -- without the athletics.

    I mentioned Winer to someone I know and she ordered her other book. And I'm loaning this library book to another friend who will like it.

    I definitely need more books like this!

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    1. Make sure you email her for a copy, Kathy!

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    2. PS-- I'm hoping Winer is writing another Lee Isaacs mystery. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it so much.

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  4. One woman who is on a TV talk show was brought up in Utah in a Mormon family. She left the church over women's and LGBTQ issues. She also said she knew people who ended their lives because they were not accepted as gay, and also knows people sent to what's known as "gay conversion therapy," i.e., emotional and even physical abuse.

    Why can't people just let people be themselves? Why is that so difficult?

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    1. It seems to have been difficult throughout time for as many different groups as there are people. Will we destroy ourselves before we ever learn? I hope not.

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  5. I learned not to be judgmental about people's lifestyles, as long as no one is harmed, including themselves. I do believe in and support people's personal liberation. I know so many people who are who they want to be -- and I rejoice in it knowing it makes them happy. To me, that's being human. I learn this more all of the time.

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  6. I"m still reading the Winer book, slowly, enjoying it. I've always loved legal mysteries, going back to Perry Mason, and then later John Grisham. But when the lawyer is a woman, and a middle-aged one at that, even better. And Lee Isaacs is Jewish and loves jazz and has a cat and has gay friends. What's not to like?

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  7. This book is being sent to me. Thanks.

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Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!