The Righteous (Righteous Series #1) [Kindle Edition]

Michael Wallace (Author)

Book Description

Deep in the Utah desert, the small polygamous community of Blister Creek has a history of protecting its own. Even when a young woman is brutally murdered just blocks from her home, the residents of the conservative enclave close ranks. But just because they don’t want outside law enforcement in their business doesn’t mean the murder will go unpunished. More than a thousand miles away, Jacob Christianson, a medical student and son of a devout church elder, learns of his cousin Amanda’s murder. Though Jacob is skeptical of many of the community’s fundamentalist beliefs, his sharply analytical mind and family connection to the victim earns him the assignment of investigator into Amanda’s death. Jacob heads to Blister Creek, accompanied by his inquisitive younger sister, Eliza, to probe the bizarre circumstances of their cousin’s violent death. It doesn’t take long for the pair to realize that Amanda’s murder was no random act; rather, it is part of a covert plot to overthrow the church’s leaders. Chilling and engrossing, The Righteous has been hailed as a “first rate suspense thriller,” a tightly plotted novel about the dark secrets hiding behind the veil of religion.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A first rate suspense thriller." --Red Adept Reviews. Five stars.

"A real page-turner. On the surface, it was a murder mystery--and a good one--but the story was played out against the intriguing and unusual backdrop of a fundamentalist Mormon community." Five stars.
--BigAl's Books and Pals

"I highly recommend this very gripping thriller exposing horrors of a religious cult." --Martha's Bookshelf

"Michael Wallace draws his characters well. I adore Eliza. I admire her strength more than any other female character I've read recently." --Chaos and Insanity Book Reviews

Review

"Deeply engrossing! Michael Wallace delivers the thinking man's thriller while establishing one of the freshest male leads in crime fiction--Jacob Christianson, an aspiring doctor and cult elder's favored son." Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Live to Tell

"... The Righteous is a page-turner with characters complex enough to wrestle with questions about living in a patriarchal, polygamous society in the 21st century.... Wallace takes a page from Stephen King, using descriptions of violence strong enough to upset in a way violence should, but leaving enough unsaid to allow imagination to fill in the gaps (or not)." -Laura Compton, AML

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 444 KB
• Print Length: 338 pages
• Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (February 21, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005J61DDI
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,475 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #27 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Medical
  • #29 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Medical
  • #60 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Series

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

244 of 249 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing and Gripping! February 4, 2011

By Carol Donaho

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Mr. Wallace has hit a home run with his latest novel. I was hooked from the first sentence, "Amanda Kimball drugged her three year old daughter before putting her to bed." You certainly can't stop reading at that point and this story never lets up.

It is hard to write a synopsis without giving away too much so this will be vague. A woman who is a member of a breakaway Mormon fundamentalist group still practicing polygamy in Blister Creek, Utah is murdered. Another part of the same group has settled in Canada. Not wanting publicity, for obvious reasons, one of the 12 ruling elders sends his son, Jacob, a med student, to investigate the group's claims that Mexican laborers had committed the crime. Jacob receives permission to take his sister, Eliza,age 17, with him so she can meet 2 of 3 prospective husbands.

This is where things become sinister and bigger than just one murder. You are thrown into a religious world filled with deceit, hunger for power and acceptance, and the will to do anything to achieve them. Add jealousy, arranged marriages, a shrinking gene pool, and you have a reading ride.

This is more than a mystery; more than an action-adventure story. This book is an in depth look at a small religious polygamous group and the problems they have and those they might cause. It is an excellent study in how far people will go to protect what they hold dear or to get what they want. Skillfully woven into the plot are questions of morality, honesty and the vast repercussions when these are lacking.

Fast paced, great characters, amazing knowledge of the subject and a book I highly recommend.

130 of 131 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Righteous, well done and definitely worth the price March 1, 2011

By Robert J. Ziner

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Full disclosure: The author sent me a free copy of this book. Although he did not ask me to write a review, I feel a certain obligation because, after reading Devil's Deep, another of his books, I love the quality of his work. Also, unlike many independently published works today, I noticed few formatting, typographical, grammatical, or contextual errors in this one.

I rarely write reviews, leaving that task to others to fulfill, but at the same time I've always believed that the very good and the very bad need to be recognized for the benefit of both the source and other prospective consumers of the product. In this case, my discovery of Michael Wallace's writing skills has modified my reading habits because after reading The Righteous I purchased his other books and will read those before returning to the 400 or so by other authors that are waiting to be read on my Kindle. I have come to like many self-published authors mainly because their prices are so attractive and I've found that there are so many jems out there waiting to be discovered.

Other reviewers have described the story in The Righteous, so there is no need for my becoming redundant. However, as one who is fairly picky about the quality of what I read, I have to say that this book is not only a nice novel but is also informative in that it spoon feeds some interesting insights into a religious sect by weaving them into a well-written mystery. It holds the reader's interest throughout and enables the reader to relate particularly to a couple of the characters. The author obviously knew what he was doing in creating these characters because he has already published one sequel and has another planned. Michael's works are well worth the price he has placed on them. Those who haven't tested his work are best off buying his books now before one of the major publishing houses picks him up and triples his prices on us. In the two years I've been reading independent authors on a Kindle, I have found three who are particularly noteworthy, and Michael Wallace is one of them. The reason for the four star rating instead of five is that I think Michael softened most of the impact of his scenes by softening the actions that took place throughout the timeline. For those who prefer less violence than what we typically encounter today, this book's especially for you.

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A work of fiction with a reality twist February 15, 2011

By DC from WA USA

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the second book by Mr. Wallace that I have read and although I enjoyed both very much, The Righteous was a truly different path taken.

A glimpse into the Fundamental Latter Day Saints, which may be different than today's more left-wing swinging Mormon, they do share many similarities in beliefs and origins of those beliefs. To say that the author may have taken creative license in his story is a rather "duh" moment, we ARE reading fiction.

I feel that this story can be a stand alone for any reader that would choose to put a period at this end of this particular book, but I am greatly looking forward to the next installment and am so appreciative to the author for not leaving everything totally up in the air making room for that sequel so that the reader NEEDS to purchase the next books because the story never ends. To me authors that choose to just keep putting out that next installment/sequel is no different than the dealer for the house in a poker game and is surely a sign of an author who does not trust his/her own story, its plot or characters and IMO just lazy.

Thank you Michael, I enjoy your style of character development, dialog and the twists and turns of your plot that can be shocking but make perfect sense. I also admire you not "fixing" everything which truly makes the story more "real" because just like in at least the reality I live in, evil is never totally removed or destroyed. It is always somewhere waiting for the next opportunity to raise his or her ugly head and cause destruction and chaos. Great story!

Good luck to you!

More About the Author

I've trekked across the Sahara on a camel, ridden an elephant through a tiger preserve in Southeast Asia, eaten fried guinea pig, and been licked on the head by a skunk. In a previous stage of life I programmed nuclear war simulations, smuggled refugees out of a war zone, and milked cobras for their venom. I speak Spanish and French and grew up in a religious community in the desert.

Would you like an alert when the next book is published? Sign up for Michael's email list at michaelwallaceauthor.com and receive a free Kindle copy of The Righteous novella "Trial by Fury." This list is used to announce new releases and occasional offers of free advance copies, not for any other purpose.

I also welcome email from readers at m.wallace23(at)yahoo(dot)com.