A moving story of Eli, a serial killer who got away with the murder of his wife. This shows the unknown side of life with, and as, Amish, as we never expect. A can't pit down mystery documenting true life.

For the Indiana Book Club, we try to pick books that are easy to acquire at little to no cost to those who wish to join us in reading them. We’ll pick books that are available through the library or through Kindle Unlimited. For March of 2024, we picked this book because it had been an option as a Kindle First Reads. Every month, people with Amazon Prime get an email with a selection of books, and we get to pick one for free. They’re all Kindle books, and they get sent to whatever device you use to read your Kindle books. I get one every month but rarely read them, so I was excited to see a Gregg Olsen on the list because he is an author I seek out on a regular basis. I have enjoyed both his fiction and his non fiction so I was excited to dig into this one. Olsen had previously written about the villain in this tale. Eli Stutzman had been sent to jail over the death of his son, though he wasn’t convicted of actually killing his son. Olsen took on that story, trying to point the finger at Eli as a murderer…though there will never actually be justice when it came to his son, Danny, as Eli had long passed away. Olsen was convinced that Eli killed not only his son, but also his wife years before. Olsen went on a fact-finding mission amongst the very secretive Amish families in Ohio. He found few who were willing to chat, but those that did divulged a sordid history of secrets and cover-ups, from the Amish families to local law enforcement. This book dragged on, and on…and on. I was miserably bored with this one. I wanted to love this one, but it was just repetitive and bland. And even worse, there was no definitive answer as to what, or who, caused the death of Ida Stutzman. It almost felt like Olsen rushed this whole thing to get a book to his publisher on time. It was pretty disappointing.

An Interesting book with lots of twists n turns. Keeps you wondering who done it n more....surprised on the outcome!

The book is far too repetitive. The author could have presented new "evidence, " wIthout having to repeat the sordid details every time he gleaned a new possible piece of information. Reading the book became extremely boring for me and progressively offensive. It appeared to me that the author was far too obsessed with the life style of the gay community. Anytime I start reading s book I always push myself to finish reading it. I was not able to do so with this book. I "fast fowarded" through the last chapters in order to be able to write a review just to alert readers to the fact that it is not a book I would recommend, nor doI consider it an enjoyable or " healthy " read.

I am not a fan of true crime novels but this one intrigued me because I am a fan of the author. I want a follow up. And a genealogy would help in keeping all the players straight in my head. Too many Levis!!!

Long Story Short: Gregg Olsen revisits the subject of his 1990 book Abandoned Prayers after receiving a box of letters written by and about Eli Stutzman, a former Amishman who was convicted of murder in 1985. This new information sends Olsen on a quest to discover the truth about the untimely death of Stutzman's wife, Ida, in 1977 - long since believed to have occurred under suspicious circumstances. This story is so twisted and complicated it's hard to believe it's real. To say it was "jaw dropping" would be cliche, but there are certainly some heavy, sometimes devastating revelations. Olsen's four-season-long search for answers, beginning in the summer of 2022, is presented almost like a diary. As each season plays out, so do the interviews, dead ends, mishaps, and discoveries, with many conversations directly quoted. This is charming, but not flawless. Discussions are repetitive and the main topics meander through the narrative. This, coupled with the repeating names of many people involved (which is no fault of the author), is confusing at times. That said, Olsen is very thorough and I like his approach of not pretending he has all the answers. Though Ida's death is technically not a cold case, the book reminded me of the true crime podcast Your Own Backyard. Content Warning: discussions of child sexual abuse, suicide, and (obviously) murder.

The book dragged a little and became a little confusing but overall a good nook but a sad and tragic real life case with a determined crime writer seeking to find the truth

The Amish Wife by Greg Olsen is a well-researched and a very engaging book. In Greg Olsen’s 1990 book, Abandoned Prayers, which I highly recommend you read Olsen reported on a series of grisly murders allegedly committed by Eli Stutzman. Eli was a former member of an Amish community in Ohio and was also gay. Eli wife Ida died suspiciously when she perished during a barn fire. The coroner's report said natural causes and Ida's husband, Eli, was never considered a suspect. But when Eli eventually rejected his faith and took his son Danny with him, murder followed which sadly including his young son Danny who was found in a field dead. Greg Olsen first reported on Elis crimes in Abandoned Prayers, and this has remained a mystery until now. The questions have haunted Gregg and Ida's brother Daniel Gingerich for decades and at Daniel's urging, Greg Olsen now returns to Amish Country and to Eli's crimes. With the help of aging witnesses and shocking long-buried letters, Olsen finally uncovers the disturbing truth about Ida's murder and the conspiracy of silence and secrets that were kept hidden for forty-five years. I am a huge fan of Gregg Olsen and I truly admire Gregg for chasing down a 30 year + old murder and to prove that Ida was murdered and not a tragic accident. It was so sad to read the lack of cooperation received from those Olsen wished to interview once again which originally left the killer Eli with all his lies and deception, he fed people to be able to run free to commit his horrific crimes for years after. If you love true crime and cold cases this book is defiantly for you and a great read.