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Abandoned Prayers: The Incredible True Story of Murder, Obsession and Amish Secrets by Gregg Olsen
gracefullypunk's review
2.0
Abandoned...books? After what seemed like hundreds of pages but was only about sixty percent of the book, I gave up. What was salacious in the 1990s -- an Amish man leaving his community and embarking on homosexual affairs -- is boring and, frankly, offensive in the level of detail provided today. I just wanted to know more about the poor little boy left to die in a ditch.
tomato_bisque's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
3.75
Its a very detail-oriented true crime book, and it made me think about how religion and homophobia kept people's mouth's shut even if it meant leaving Danny in harms way. The way the gay people in the book is written about feels dated, if that is something that is going to bother you. However, I appreicate the author's efforts in laying out every detail from the case - I will be reading more from him.
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
mama3manda's review against another edition
2.0
Well, to start with, I picked up this book because I usually really enjoy reading about the Amish, and because I saw this author had a book coming out, "The Amish Wife", that I want to check out that looks to be a sequel to this book. Therefore, I thought it best to read this one first.
It's a true crime story, and IMO almost a biography of a few years of the accused's life. I think it could have been a lot more condensed and not as long. I did admittedly have trouble keeping track of people. That being said, I suppose the detail is important in forming an opinion on the accused's character. There was a lot more about the accused's personal life than I expected, for sure.
Overall, it's a heartbreaking and frustrating case.
It's a true crime story, and IMO almost a biography of a few years of the accused's life. I think it could have been a lot more condensed and not as long. I did admittedly have trouble keeping track of people. That being said, I suppose the detail is important in forming an opinion on the accused's character. There was a lot more about the accused's personal life than I expected, for sure.
Overall, it's a heartbreaking and frustrating case.
superjoku's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
3.75
It was well researched. I enjoyed the background on Amish culture. It was very thorough with Stutzman’s history.
catetastrophe's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
3.5
chazzerguy's review against another edition
2.0
Fascinating story, and the book is pretty well written... BUT... There are so many different characters. Parents, in-laws, brothers, sisters, lovers, police officers, roommates, coworkers, neighbors... And so many different jurisdictions. By the end of the book my head was spinning trying to keep it all straight. I shoulda taken notes to keep everyone straight.
Would be a hard book to write for anyone I think. Fascinating story, just needs to be a little better organized I think.
Would be a hard book to write for anyone I think. Fascinating story, just needs to be a little better organized I think.
amyharman70's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
This book leaves me saddened and angry. R.I.P. Danny ( Little Boy Blue)
Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Addiction, Homophobia, Child death, Sexual content, Gore, and Child abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship