Review of Holy Murder: Polygamy's Blood
By Dick Landis

Polygamy and Blood Atonement, in America? It must be a figment of the imagination. Maybe in the Afghanistan of the Taliban, but never in the land of the free and home of the brave. How wrong we are! James SpencerÕs new fictional thriller Holy Murder PolygamyÕs Blood, is based on enough truth to curl the hair on the back of your neck.

This is truly a novel of substance that will take you on the ride of your life through the dark world of the hidden polygamous cults still thriving in Mormondom. SpencerÕs setting in the Wyoming stomping grounds of his youth allows him to provide descriptive scenic detail that matches his personal awareness of the Mormon world as a former LDS elder.

Spencer tells a gripping story of what it is like to live in a world of total male domination. Young women ruled by intimidation and fear with little or no hope of escapeÑall in the name of perverted religious truth. We see the impact of delusion and aberration that comes from blindly following a flawed belief system to its logical conclusion.

The main character, Jan Kucera and his friend, Sheriff Monster Broadbeck, face a ruthless religious fanatic. Prophet Ronald Hansen, the leader of a desert-based sub-cult, mind-controls his army of followers in a way reminiscent of Jonestown.

Kucera, an AP writer with a knack for research and a penchant for introspection, writes a New York Times exposŽ about the polygamous Prophet. Because of that, the Prophet attempts to kill Kucera, but mistakenly kills Emma, KuceraÕs wife, instead. Kucera and Broadbeck team up to expose andÑhopefullyÑto eliminate the cult and itÕs drug dealing criminal activities.

A gun-blasting opening defines the characters of both Kucera and Monster Broadbeck. The story line is taut, the dialogue compelling and the characters often quirky but well-honed. It is a fast-paced canÕt-put-it-down Grisham-like thriller with enough Mormon history to inform but not overwhelm.