Hidden Wives

This undistinguished debut by the pseudonymous Avery (two sisters who were raised in a fundamentalist Catholic community) focuses on a horrifically oppressive Utah religious sect. Young female members of Blood of the Lamb, like sisters Sara and Rachel Shaw, are generally wedded by the age of 15, “assigned to be sealed for all time and all eternity in a celestial marriage.” Male members, by contrast, can only attain the highest level of heaven by taking at least three wives. Prophet Silver, the movement’s leader, decrees that Sara must marry her father’s half-brother, and singles out the attractive Rachel for his own special attention. Both girls, after exposure to the outside world, consider leaving the community. The violence, sexual abuse, and the predictable consequences of inbreeding aren’t for the faint of heart, but readers should also be prepared for more melodrama than drama. Betty Webb does a better job with the contemporary polygamy theme in Desert Lost. (June)