Carrie Stuart Parks utilizes her own background as a celebrated, FBI-trained forensic artist to blend fact and fiction into a stunning mystery. A 19th-century conspiracy is about to be shattered by a 21st-century forensic artist. In 1857, a wagon train in Utah was assaulted by a group of militant Mormons calling themselves the Avenging Angels. One hundred and forty people were murdered, including … murdered, including unarmed men, women, and children. The Mountain Meadows Massacre remains controversial to this day–but the truth may be written on the skulls of the victims.
When renowned forensic artist Gwen Marcey is recruited to reconstruct the faces of recently unearthed victims at Mountain Meadows, she isn’t expecting more than an interesting gig . . . and a break from her own hectic life.
But when Gwen stumbles on the ritualized murder of a young college student, her work on the massacre takes on a terrifying new aspect, and research quickly becomes a race against modern-day fundamentalist terror.
As evidence of a cover-up mounts–a cover-up spanning the entire history of the Mormon church–Gwen finds herself in the crosshairs of a secret society bent on fulfilling prophecy and revenging old wrongs.
Can a forensic artist reconstruct two centuries of suppressed history . . . before it repeats itself?
“Parks’s real-life career as a forensic artist lends remarkable authenticity to her enthralling novel, A Cry from the Dust. Her work is a fresh new voice in suspense, and I became an instant fan. Highly recommended!” –Colleen Coble, USA TODAY bestselling author
“A unique novel on forensics and fanaticism. A good story on timely subjects well told. For me, these are the ingredients of a successful novel today and Carrie Stuart Parks has done just that.” –Carter Cornick, FBI Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research (Ret.)
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A Cry from the Dust by Carrie Stuart Parks
A Cry from the Dust is the kind of book I think about even when I’m not reading it. The kind that makes me long for just a few minutes to steal away and read a few more pages. The kind that keeps me up too late at night. In other words, the kind of book I most enjoy reading.
The Prologue grabbed me and pulled me in, and this book and never let go. I love mysteries, but often the action overshadows character development. Not in this book. Characters are well-drawn and believable. Because most of the book is told in first person, I was immersed not only in the immediacy of the action, but also in Gwen Marcey’s incredible strength in dealing with crises hitting her from all sides.
I was rooting for Gwen, a world-renowned forensic artist who is caught up in a mystery surrounding a fundamentalist Mormon sect, as her life seemed to spiral down into despair. But Gwen, a recently divorced cancer survivor and mother of a rebellious teen, never surrenders to defeat.
While juggling her personal crises, Gwen investigates murders connected to her reconstruction of the skulls of victims of an attack in 1857. Based on actual events in the Mountain Meadows Massacre, Ms. Parks extensive research of the event and her personal experience as a forensic artist create a riveting story that had me turning pages well into the night.
Ms. Park’s expertise as a forensic artist brings an authenticity to Gwen’s character. Her description of Gwen’s sculpting and her investigative skills adds a layer of depth to a compelling story. The juxtaposition between the colors Gwen uses to describe visual as well as emotional experiences with the darkness of the events and many settings is the icing on the cake.
Despite her physical and emotional fragility, Gwen is relentless in her search for truth. This often puts her danger, and the shifting sands of who can be trusted had me off-balance and reading just one more page.
If you love suspense, you’ll love this book.
I don’t give many books 5 stars, but this one deserves it. I purchased the collection and have read this one so far. This mystery has a unique perspective using a forensic artist as the sleuth. The connection with Mormonism brings high stakes of an unusual kind. Suspense pulls you quickly through the book. It is so well written I could hardly believe it was a debut novel. If you like suspense and you are interested in Mormon issues, you’ll love this book.
Highly recommend this book. The depth of characters and story along with unexpected twists really makes this hard to put down. The author is a forensic artist writing about a forensic artist. She knows her stuff.
Our book club shares information about the author. I enjoyed this book (and 2 others written by her) so much, I chose her as my author of the month. She’s interesting, inspirational and writes gripping stories. My book club agreed!
I enjoyed the read, and there were lots of twists and turns. That made it exciting, but also sometimes difficult to navigate. Also, it was sometimes hard to keep up with which character you were supposed to be, since the narrative frequently switched between the point of view of several different characters-both major and minor. That said, I thought the book on the whole was enjoyable.
I love this authors writing style. It is very fresh and takes unexpected turns. The history that she weaves in is very interesting. It was hard to put down and I couldn’t wait until I could read more. I loved it so much that I read the rest of the series and can’t wait for more!
Loved it
Lots of fun twists and turns – quite the adventure.
Very interesting book, it had a lot of twists and turns, it kept me reading late into the night. Kind of scary that this kind of thing could happen in the USA in the name of religion. I would recommend it to others.
This book grabbed me from the first page! I am anxious to read the rest of the series.