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The Righteous [Kindle Edition]

Michael Wallace (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (173 customer reviews) |
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Kindle Edition $2.99   -- --
Paperback $8.97   -- --
Audio, CD, Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged $10.19   -- --

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2011
When a brutal murder shocks the polygamist enclave of Blister Creek, Utah, church elders call in Jacob Christianson, a medical student and the favored son of a church elder. Jacob must solve the murder while protecting his young sister Eliza from marriage to one of three old men jostling for power within the church hierarchy.

Jacob discovers that the murdered woman has been killed in accordance with secret blood oaths taken within the polygamist temple. Together with his sister, he uncovers a plot to overthrow the church leadership, with murders that reach beyond the community and into the "gentile" world. The Righteous is a heart-pounding suspense-thriller with a depth that will haunt the reader long after the last page is turned.

"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. Jacob's analytic nature has him questioning everything, including the nature of God and the sexist politics of polygamy. It also makes him a perfect fit to track down a killer whose grisly crimes threaten Jacob's community, family, and soon, his very life."

-- Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of LIVE TO TELL.

"Wallace authoritatively and unsparingly tears open the veil shrouding a Utah polygamist community and its secret oaths of blood atonement, temple sacrifice, and angels with drawn swords. Inside we find a riveting thriller that recaptures everything lost from the original American religion."

-- Jeffrey Anderson, National bestselling, International Thriller Award nominated author of SLEEPER CELL.

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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
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Product Details

  • File Size: 406 KB
  • Print Length: 330 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1612182186
  • Publisher: Balsalom Publishing (February 1, 2011)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B004LX0B9M
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,664 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
233 of 236 people found the following review helpful
Engrossing and Gripping! February 4, 2011
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.
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123 of 124 people found the following review helpful
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.
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42 of 43 people found the following review helpful
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!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Informative look at fundamentalist mormon church
Not the best mystery, but an interesting inside look at the fundamentalist mormon church. Compelling enough that I will eventually buy the second book to see where the story goes,... Read more
Published 4 days ago by Secretariat
Wallace doesn't know the FBI
This is an interesting read, mostly because of the details of fundamentalist polygamous Mormon life. Read more
Published 14 days ago by NewDiane
The Righteous
I love Wallace's very engaging style. The topic of polygamy in the USA, which has most of its origins in the original Mormon faith, is examined in excruciating detail. Read more
Published 15 days ago by EllietG
Violence and Mormons
This book was recommended by a friend. Those who do not have a background in the Mormon religion may find some interest in the description of Mormon practices. Read more
Published 18 days ago by Colin Dolley
Disappointing ending
This book started off good and had a lot of interesting information about the Mormon religion. I enjoyed the book but was disappointed with the ending. It got pretty far-fetched.
Published 19 days ago by L. Fagan
I can't read it anymore!
I tried to read this book. I tried to like this book. I kept thinking it would get better, but I'm more than halfway through and it ain't! Read more
Published 20 days ago by D. Calloway
very good story telling crime thriller among Mormons
This was one of the recommended Kindle books, probably a self published author. It is first in a series of four. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Peter E. Safir
good read!
i just finished the book, and i am looking forward to the second and third in the series! i felt this was pretty compelling! good read!
Published 22 days ago by abbsuki
Better than I expected...
This was a pretty interesting series. The characters make this story more interesting because even though you don't understand how people or a religion can justify multiple wives,... Read more
Published 24 days ago by Laura J. Ostermiller
Mormons uncovered
This book was poorly written and obviously by someone with a grudge. However, it did reveal some interesting facts about Mormons. Read more
Published 26 days ago by K. Bryant
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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Michael Wallace Page
Michael Wallace
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.

If you would like to receive notice of my new releases, please sign up on my author web page: michaelwallaceauthor.com. This list is not used for ANY other purposes than to notify readers of new releases.

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

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Act as if you know what you are talking about and people will assume that you do. Pretend you have no fear and you will appear confident to others. &quote;
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