No matter what you think about the early LDS church, this book will provide insight into one of its most influential founders, Brigham Young. This a historical tale with a fictional story about a sister wife from a small Mormon sect who is accused of murdering her husband when he has abandoned her for a new wife. While trying to determine the truth about the murder of his father, the protagonist uncovers an autobiography of Eliza Young, Brigham Young's 13th wife. Much of her story shows her fight to change the LDS church's view of plural marriage. It was very informative about the early history of the LDS church, as well as the 19th century struggle for women's rights.

3.5*** Two storylines are juxtaposed here – a contemporary murder mystery in a polygamist sect, and an historical novel that explores the beginnings of the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the issues that led to the Church’s denouncing of polygamy. Ebershoff does a good job of moving back and forth between the two, but I was much more interested in the historical aspect of the novel. Ann Eliza’s story was fascinating to me, and it was that portion that really kept me reading. Using four different performers for the audio version really helped to clearly identify the story lines and differentiate the many characters.