![]() As in Rashomon, the truth proves elusive, shifting, and often unwelcome. But as Ellie befriends Katie, unsettling inconsistencies in the latter’s story emerge. ![]() ![]() Ellie moves in with the Fishers to prepare Katie’s defense, a device that allows Picoult ( Keeping Faith, 1999, etc.) to juxtapose the devout Amish (or Plain Folk) and their spartan way of life with city-slicker Ellie. Leda, also Amish, prevails upon an initially reluctant Ellie to defend Katie. Enter Ellie Hathaway, a 39-year-old (and single) Philadelphia defense attorney visiting her aunt Leda. A medical exam reveals that Katie has just given birth, but she insists she has never been pregnant. In the Amish community of Paradise, Pennsylvania, 18-year-old Katie Fisher, unwed, is the chief suspect in the death by asphyxiation of a newborn found in the Fisher family’s barn. With one crucial distinction: the defendant is Amish. An uneven reworking of tabloid headlines: a young woman is charged with infanticide, and a hard-boiled attorney agrees to defend her. ![]()
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