The Righteous — Michael Wallace

On a cool night in the Utah desert, a young woman flees her home, her sleeping child clutched in her arms. Hours later, she is found dead, her tongue torn out and her daughter mysteriously returned to her own bed. The residents of Blister Creek are anxious to solve this shockingly brutal crime, but theirs is a unique community--a conservative polygamous sect that cannot afford for news of the murder to reach the outside world. So, they call upon one of their own: Jacob Christianson, son of a respected church official and cousin of the victim. With the help of his teenage sister, Eliza, Jacob digs into the bizarre murder and uncovers a monstrous, blood-soaked secret that could destroy the very foundation of their church. Chilling and engrossing, The Righteous is a tightly plotted novel, the first in a series about love, loyalty, and dark secrets.