出版社周刊评论
As part of a scathing depiction of a deceitful, materialistic Mormon Church, lawyers Naifeh and Smith (co-editors of the biennial directory The Best Lawyers in America , etc.) point out that the 1985 Salt Lake City scandals and bombings that convulsed the community had a precedent in certain dubious practices of the church's prophet and founder Joseph Smith. The suspenseful plot, involving a series of murders and a large cast of Mormons and police investigators, centers on the purchase and suppression by church officials of authentic and forged documents that cast doubts on basic tenets of their faith and attested to the cover-up of Smith's unsavory past. Under the threat of blackmail, the church bought many of these documents from the dealer-bomber Mark Hofmann; according to the authors, Hoffmann, after confessing the murders and forgeries, was allowed, thanks to the church's political influence, to plea bargain the murder indictment into a manslaughter charge thereby sparing the church an embarrassing trial that could have revealed its complicity. (September) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus评论
Solid true-crime as the prolific writing team of attorneys Naifeh and Smith (How to Make Love to a Woman, The Best Lawyers in America, Why Can't Men Open Up?, etc.) chronicle the largest criminal investigation in Utah history, one which rocked the Mormon Church. In October 1985, bombs killed a Mormon housewife and a Salt Lake City businessman. Here, Naifeh and Smith concentrate on the relentless efforts of two hard-boiled Salt Lake City cops to track down the bomber--an outsized personality, a tragic and scary mixture of Mormon heretic, pathological liar, and cold-blooded killer. The police investigation revealed that the victims had been selling documents to the highest members of the Mormon Church--documents that purported to cast doubt on the veracity of the church's founding revelations. In describing how the bomber was finally brought to justice, Naifeh and Smith offer a revealing tour of Mormon history, examining the character of founding Prophet Joseph Smith, the institution of polygamy, and the practice of ""blood atonement."" The conflict between Mormon historic ""fact"" and contemporary PR ties the Mormon hierarchy to the murders; and the authors pull no punches in documenting the role that church leaders played in conspiring to censor news of their involvement and to obstruct the wheels of justice. Exhaustively researched, engrossingly told. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.