Abandoned Prayers: An Incredible True Story of Murder, Obsession, And Amish Secrets (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

by Gregg Olsen

Ebook, 2007

Status

Available

Call number

364.15230973

Genres

General Nonfiction

Nonfiction

Collection

Read

Publication

St. Martin's True Crime (2007), 428 pages

Description

True Crime. Nonfiction. HTML: On Christmas Eve in 1985, a hunter found a young boy's body along an icy corn field in Nebraska. The residents of Chester, Nebraska buried him as "Little Boy Blue," unclaimed and unidentified� until a phone call from Ohio two years later led authorities to Eli Stutzman, the boy's father. Eli Stutzman, the son of an Amish bishop, was by all appearances a dedicated farmer and family man in the country's strictest religious sect. But behind his quiet fa�ade was a man involved with pornography, sadomasochism, and drugs. After the suspicious death of his pregnant wife, Stutzman took his preschool-age son, Danny, and hit the road on a sexual odyssey ending with his conviction for murder. But the mystery of Eli Stutzman and the fate of his son didn't end on the barren Nebraska plains. It was just beginning. . . Gregg Olsen's Abandoned Prayers is an incredible true story of murder and Amish secrets..… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member miyurose

Somewhat interesting, definitely sad. Especially since the guy who left such a trail of destruction in his wake is now out of prison.

7 more

LibraryThing member yschaffer

A horrifying true story of a twisted individual who gives new meaning to the term "bad father." As bad as the father is, the sheer number of people who could have spoken up and saved this child, but didn't because of protecting their own asses, is chilling. If adults won't speak out to save abused

children they know are in danger, who will?

Show Less

LibraryThing member mzzkitee

This book scared me to death. I couldn't read it alone.

LibraryThing member Rob.Larson

Strange, sad story about a nut pretending to be religious. Olsen fans will love it.

LibraryThing member maryintexas39

What a very sad story.

LibraryThing member JamieM12

This book will seriously keep you on the edge of your seat! Absolutely shocking all Eli did! You have to read this if you love true crime but be prepared to be blown away!

LibraryThing member Lemeritus

Unpleasant - obviously in terms of its subject matter, but insidiously in terms of its attitude toward gay men in general.

LibraryThing member GrammaPollyReads

I read The Amish Wife prior to reading this book so I unintentionally read these in a chronological order. This story is so disturbing and so fascinating at the same time. This is probably due to my own biases in that even though Amish enclaves exist near where I live, they are still seen as

"other" and, because these are basically religious groups, there is a misconception that somehow these types of crime do not occur there. The reality is that sometimes nature is a far more important factor in whether individuals turn to crime. In retrospect, the crimes committed by Eli Stutzman would be appalling even with the Amish angle removed. And that is probably what makes this story so fascinating. Olsen does a great job of weaving the facts of the case with a carefully crafted narrative. The only thing I wanted was for Danny Stutzman to be a more fleshed out person but the lack of depth is actually inline with how Eli seemed to feel about his son.

The only caveat I have about this book is that there is homosexual relationships are central to the story and with that comes a certain amount explicit descriptions of sex that some readers may find off-putting. However, I didn't feel that these descriptions were gratuitous.

Show Less

Fewer