Telling the chilling story of the Lafferty brothers and the murderous slaughter of their sister-in-law, Krakauer goes beyond the crime to investigate the the Mormon founder, Joseph Smith and the emergence of this new American religion. It would not have been possible to explain the fanatical beliefs of the brothers without doing so. The result is a fascinating investigation by Krakauer into the history of the movement and the offshoot that has become the polygamous FLDS sect, so much in the news right now. It is noteworthy that statehood for Utah depended on the end of polygamy as a tenet (unless God orders it!!) It is no wonder that some adherents considered it apostasy at the time Perhaps their motives may have more to do with enjoying this life rather than insuring the next. It is interesting to note that men find ways to dominate women under the cloak of religion and not just in the mid east.

The premise of the novel seemed a little shaky from the outset. There was no birth certificate or death certificate issued. Yet there seemed to be no problem registering the child for school or for any other service she needed . At the moment of birth, the father (doctor) makes an split second incredible decision to put the child away, although he could not have known just how severly or mildly the child was affected. It seemed a bit unrealistic to say the least. The characters appeared very wooden. And of course, when the nurse takes the child, she immediately meets the big hearted truck driver. Enough said!