Lords of Paradise

Rating:
Summary: Polygamist and/or Serial Killer???
Review: A serial killer, a clan of polygamists, the true story--these are amongst the challenges facing investigative reporter Charlie Carver. Picture the looks of Brad Pitt with the intellect and dowdy fashion sense of Columbo! Carver soon finds himself embroiled in the intrigue surrounding a group of 'fugitive' polygamists and a killer of young, dark-haired women. Colourful, believable characters assist in this expose of an often 'backroom' human rights' subject in modern-day Salt Lake City--site of the next winter Olympics. Many kudos to TAP!!!! I urge you to read LaFlamme's first novel, and my favourite, VANISHING BREED--a love story set in the unsettled times of WWII in France involving the attempted rescue of a wonderful breeding pair of Trekhaner horses!!!

Rating:
Summary: Polygamist and/or Serial Killer???
Review: A serial killer, a clan of polygamists, the true story--these are amongst the challenges facing investigative reporter Charlie Carver. Picture the looks of Brad Pitt with the intellect and dowdy fashion sense of Columbo! Carver soon finds himself embroiled in the intrigue surrounding a group of 'fugitive' polygamists and a killer of young, dark-haired women. Colourful, believable characters assist in this expose of an often 'backroom' human rights' subject in modern-day Salt Lake City--site of the next winter Olympics. Many kudos to TAP!!!! I urge you to read LaFlamme's first novel, and my favourite, VANISHING BREED--a love story set in the unsettled times of WWII in France involving the attempted rescue of a wonderful breeding pair of Trekhaner horses!!!

Rating:
Summary: Lords of Paradise
Review: Fascinating fictional account of modern polygamy life in Utah. Well written and researched. The book held the interest of this reader after the first few chapters. While the suspense story was fictional the portrayal of polygamous life and its overwhelming patriarchal authority are real.

Rating:
Summary: A polygamy potboiler in search of 3-D characters
Review: This is a timely read in light of the publicity surrounding the recent conviction of polygamist Tom Green for the rape of his "spiritual" child bride, 13. The main character is investigative reporter Charlie Carver, but he needs to be fleshed out. The author hints at a promising direction by his X "leaving a poetic note about his dark heart and spirit lacking inner light." In future novels this theme could be developed, a good example is the way the James Lee Burke character Dave Robicheaux fights with his demon alcohol.

If Charlie Carver is an investigative reporter, we wish he would investigate the real meaning of Mormon polygamy, giving us a glimpse into its history and practice. Why do women still accept it? Why are they called a "spiritual" bride from a "celestial marriage"? Why are the men called "Lords" and "Prophets"? What's behind the idea that men can be Gods in their own little paradise? There is a goldmine of plot ideas surrounding Mormons, the classic read is "The Mormon Murders" by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, the all-time champ in the "Mormon Fact is Stranger Than Fiction Dept."