What is Mette Ivie Harrison reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Mette Ivie Harrison, author of The Bishop's Wife.

Her entry begins:

I've been reading more and more mystery lately, but this is an eclectic pick of favorite books of the year:

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

There are eleven children in my family, and all of us show symptoms of autism spectrum behavior, though only a couple are probably diagnosable. We are seeing more of the grandchildren diagnosed officially because there are more treatments for them. This book is about a man who has decided to look for a life partner in an organized way, and Rosie of the title turns out to be completely against all his rules, but they fall in love anyway. There were moments when I found myself wanting to argue with the author about whether a high-functioning autistic person would act this way. I realized as I was doing this that it was a self-defensive reaction, because I felt so much in tune with this character that that self-defensiveness is all about feeling exposed myself. I also love romances, though, and I was intrigued with how the two stories came together in a believable and satisfying way. I'd love...[read on]

About The Bishop's Wife, from the publisher:

In the predominantly Mormon city of Draper, Utah, some seemingly perfect families have deadly secrets.

Linda Wallheim is a devout Mormon, the mother of five boys and the wife of a bishop. But Linda is increasingly troubled by her church’s structure and secrecy, especially as a disturbing situation takes shape in her ward. One cold winter night, a young wife and mother named Carrie Helm disappears, leaving behind everything she owns. Carrie’s husband, Jared, claims his wife has always been unstable and that she has abandoned the family, but Linda doesn’t trust him. As Linda snoops in the Helm family’s circumstances, she becomes convinced that Jared has murdered his wife and painted himself as a wronged husband.

Linda’s husband asks her not to get involved in the unfolding family saga. But Linda has become obsessed with Carrie’s fate, and with the well-being of her vulnerable young daughter. She cannot let the matter rest until she finds out the truth. Is she wrong to go against her husband, the bishop, when her inner convictions are so strong?

Inspired by a chilling true crime and written by a practicing Mormon, The Bishop’s Wife is both a fascinating look at the lives of modern Mormons as well as a grim and cunningly twisted mystery.

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--Marshal Zeringue