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A Killing in Zion: An Art Oveson Mystery    by Andrew Hunt Amazon.com order for
Killing in Zion
by Andrew Hunt
Order:  USA  Can
Minotaur, 2015 (2015)
Hardcover, e-Book
* *   Reviewed by Hilary Williamson

Andrew Hunt's A Killing in Zion follows City of Saints as the second in his series starring Mormon Detective Lieutenant Art Oveson in 1930s Utah. Salt Lake City's mayor has given him the job of reviving and running the Anti-Polygamy Squad, with a team of three under him, including his insubordinate friend Roscoe.

Though Art is enthusiastic about his task, it is not an easy one as the polygamists (who are scorned by modern Mormons like Art) are 'astonishingly adept at hiding their transgressions.' The pressure is on for results and arrests! Then a polygamist prophet they had interviewed, seventy-nine year old Uncle Grand, leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Saints, is found murdered, along with his driver. Art and Roscoe find a young, mute girl hiding in the closet.

Apparently there's a power struggle within the Fundamentalist Church of Saints and Art suspects the second-in-command, the mysterious and elusive Rulon Black, of engineering the killing. More homicides follow. And Art learns that many young boys have gone missing from the cult's compound - runaways or something more sinister? Art and his team uncover a huge land swindle and racketeers operating under the guise of religion, with cutthroat security forces at their beck and call. They barely make it out alive.

This is an unusual series with a unique lead, and offering a window back in time to 1934 Utah - don't miss A Killing in Zion.

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