Mette Ivie Harrison
is an award-winning, national bestselling, New York Times Notable author of The Bishop’s Wife. Her name is pronounced Metty (rhymes with Betty). The Linda Wallheim mysteries feature an amateur sleuth who is a Mormon bishop’s wife in Draper, Utah. The first book (The Bishop’s Wife) is loosely inspired by the Josh and Susan Powell real-life story. Book 2 (His Right Hand) is about a trans-gender bishopric member. Book 3 (For Time and All Eternities) is about a polygamous Mormon group. Book 4 (Not of This Fold) is about an immigrant family labeled as “Lamanite” in Mormon parlance. Book 5 (The Prodigal Daughter) is about a young woman who is a runaway and has been sexually assaulted by multiple Mormon young men. Other books have been on hold as personal life issues regarding Mormonism have interrupted the author. Mette Ivie Harrison has also written many other books for young adults and other Mormon-adjacent fiction, including her Vampries and Mormons series by BCC Press.
Praise
Expect to see it on a lot of ‘Best Mysteries of the Year’ lists. It will be on mine.
— Sarah Weinman
The Bishop’s Wife has good reason to draw a large readership.
— Janet Maslin, New York Times
Sane, wise, likable . . . [The] solution is nicely surprising, and Linda has an engrossing voice, at once modest and assured.
— Charles Finch, USA Today
Harrison makes her adult debut with a stunning contemporary mystery set in Mormon country… [She] easily transports readers into a world most will find as unfamiliar as a foreign country.
— Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review
The mystery surrounding Carrie drives the plot, but Linda herself is the most compelling thing about young adult author Harrison’s debut adult mystery about a world she knows well.
— Booklist, STARRED Review
Adds twists aplenty to an insider’s look at a religion replete with its own mysteries.
— Kirkus Reviews
Eye-opening . . . A novel so far from my reality I needed a telescope, but I think that’s why I enjoyed this debut so much.
— Carole E. Barrowman, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Harrison has an eye like a Nikon camera and an educated ear. I was amazed at her perfect pitch in her choice of words and gestures.
— The Deseret News
Intelligent and wry. In Linda’s dealings with her husband’s flock, author Mette Ivie Harrison gives us a rare neutral treatment of Mormonism . . . Refreshing.
— The Raleigh News & Observer
Honors
- A National Bestseller
- ABA IndieNext Selection for January, 2015
- An ABA IndieBound Bestseller
- A PLA LibraryReads Selection for January, 2015
- A Publishers Weekly Most Anticipated Book of Fall 2014
- Utah Book Award
- Whitney Award Nominee
- on All Things Considered
- Spirit 0f 76 Recommended Book List
- “Borders Recommends” List
- The Center for Children’s Literature “Too Good to Miss” List
- Utah Center for the Book Letters for Literature
- The Children’s Bookstore
“Pick of the Month” - A New York Times Notable Book, 2014
- Association of Mormon Letters Honorable Mention
- Brodie Award Winner 2020 “Delayed Adulthood,” Medium
Substack
Substack
Go to metteh.substack.com for my Kicking and Screaming Substack