Overview
A dark and daring debut novel exploring power, control and resilience against all odds, The Tribes tells the story of a cult member accused of a shocking crime and the lawyer who chooses to defend her.
One quiet night in a rural Vermont town, a panicked woman calls 9-1-1 on a gas station payphone to report that a newborn baby has died. Local police respond to the call and charge Heather Garner, a college drop-out who’s been a member of fringe religious community The Messiah’s Tribes since the 1990s, with the murder of her infant son. Heather’s future is left in the hands of a family who hasn’t seen or heard from her in almost 20 years.
Abby Harris’s friends and colleagues are puzzled by her choice to take on a child homicide case, but Abby is convinced that there’s more to Heather’s story than meets the eye. Putting her own pregnancy at risk, Abby’s investigations lead her to understand that The Messiah’s Tribes may not be a peaceful, eccentric bunch of hippies, but a well-organized, exploitative criminal enterprise.
Engrossing and suspenseful, the mystery of Heather’s past is revealed piece by terrifying piece, until a jury must decide: Are Heather and her dead child just collateral damage, or is the dead-eyed woman a willing participant in the cult’s sinister agenda?
Review
One quiet night in a rural Vermont town, a panicked woman calls 9-1-1 on a gas station payphone to report that a newborn baby has died. Local police respond to the call and charge Heather Garner, a college drop-out who’s been a member of fringe religious community The Messiah’s Tribes since the 1990s, with the murder of her infant son. Heather’s future is left in the hands of a family who hasn’t seen or heard from her in almost 20 years.
This is told in two different voices, Abby, Heather’s attorney and Heather, or as she is known in the cult, Havah. What choices Heather made! And let me tell you, this cult is nothing to be messed with. Abby found this out the hard way. But Abby does not back down. She fights for Heather. Heather has truly been through some traumatic experiences! Talk about emotions that will run rampant in the reader. This book had me all over the place.
All of that being said, I am in the minority on this one. Parts of this book are amazing, especially the ending. It is full of intensity and drama. I was definitely glued to the pages during parts of this book. But the middle is a bit monotonous. But y’all there are parts that just need a good editor. If I heard one time about the baby moving in Abby’s belly, I heard it in every other chapter. It does not mean this book is not good, just not a 5 stars for me.
This is 3.5 stars rounded up.
Need a story that will get your blood pumping and your anger at its boiling point…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
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