Wives and Sisters--and Murders

Chilling, real and totally gripping, are a few of the words that describe Natalie Collins' second novel WIVES AND SISTERS. Natalie is a fellow GCC author, and WIVES AND SISTERS is set in the country where Nathalie herself comes from--Mormon country--and it gets at all the complex questions about culture and religion that feed our fascination with the Mormon community.

WIVES AND SISTERS opens with a look back at the sudden disappearance of Allison Jensen's best friend, who was kidnapped while playing in the woods near home. One moment her friend was beside her; then she was gone. When no leads emerged, she was given up for dead. Now, years later, Allison still gets no answers from the Mormon community in which she lives, so she's determined to find them herself. On the surface, the book is a thriller--and a white-knuckle thriller at that--but it gets at so much more than that, as Natalie takes us on an intense insider's tour of the dark reaches of a mysterious, closed-off culture.

Natalie is an author and journalist with over 20 years of writing experience. She was also an editor for the 2001 and 2002 Sundance Film Festivals. A lifelong resident of Utah, raised a member of the Mormon Church, she lives there with her husband and two daughters.

The praise so far is pretty much unmitigated--so don't blame us if you can't put the book down:

It's a white-knuckles ride all the way. Expert depiction of a young woman's struggle with the oppressive "family values" of one kind of fundamentalism. Newcomer Collins is a talent to watch." --Kirkus Reviews

"Startling and compelling--I could not stop turning the pages. Natalie Collins weaves an absolutely riveting tale." --Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of The Sinner

"A dark, powerful debut novel. Natalie Collins pulls no emotional punches crafting this searing tale of one woman's search for justice." --Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of The Killing Hour