WIVES AND SISTERS
By Natalie R. Collins
St. Martin's Press
175 Fifth Avenue
New York,NY 10010
www.stmartins.com
ISBN# 0-312-33428-1
Genre: Suspense
Hardback, 270 pages, $23.95

At the age of six, Allison Jensen manages to escape from a man with a gun, although her best friend, Cindy, does not. Cindy's body is never discovered and young Allison does not understand why her parents and the Mormons around her never talk about what happened to Cindy. As Allison grows up, she is harshly disciplined, to the point of physical abuse, by her father every time she questions her family's religion. Allison eventually calls herself an Aint (as opposed to a Saint), and when she is in college, moves away from the religion her father is determined she believe in. Shortly after Allison is raped, she learns that her attacker is her brother-in-law. But her attempts to convince her family of this are met with stubborn denials and harsh words. Allison begins to investigate her brother-in-law's background and finds alarming sexual misdeeds committed by him which were covered up by the Mormon Church. Allison embarks on a journey to discover what happened to her friend Cindy as she attempts to bring her rapist to justice and force the Mormon Church to admit its atrocious concealment.

Is this the author's way of vilifying a somewhat archaic religious sect or is Ms. Collins simply divulging realistic facts about the Mormon religion while relaying a fascinating story? Then again, many of the beliefs and practices cited herein can easily be attached to other religions. Regardless, this book had this reader turning pages, completely absorbed in Allison's tale. Filled with suspense, mystery, and certainly moral and mental anguish which are supremely portrayed, this is a must-read.