The Amish Wife

Unraveling the Lies, Secrets, and Conspiracy That Let a Killer Go Free

By: Gregg Olsen

Narrated by: George Newbern

Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

The #1 New York Times and Amazon Charts bestselling author Gregg Olsen solves a murder among the Amish and reveals the conspiracy to keep it a secret in a heartbreaking and horrifying true-crime story.

In 1977, in an Ohio Amish community, pregnant wife and mother Ida Stutzman perished during a barn fire. The coroner’s report: natural causes. Ida’s husband, Eli, was never considered a suspect. But when he eventually rejected the faith and took his son, Danny, with him, murder followed.

What really happened to Ida? The dubious circumstances of the tragic blaze were willfully ignored and Eli’s shifting narratives disregarded. Could Eli’s subsequent cross-country journey of death—including that of his own son—have been prevented if just one person came forward with what they knew about the real Eli Stutzman?

The questions haunted Gregg Olsen and Ida’s brother Daniel Gingerich for decades. At Daniel’s urging, Olsen now returns to Amish Country and to Eli’s crimes first exposed in Olsen’s Abandoned Prayers, one of which has remained a mystery until now. 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 kept it hidden for forty-five years.

©2024 Gregg Olsen. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Olsen has a gift for taking mountains of paperwork and interview material and weaving them into a cohesive narrative that is often difficult to put down, especially for die-hard true-crime fans. Because he frames the book as a step-by-step process of discovery, readers will feel like they’re right there with him as he’s knocking on doors and spinning out on the Midwestern ice. An engaging, well-researched historical excavation…”—Kirkus Reviews

“The details of the case are gripping enough, but Olsen elevates them with sturdy prose, meticulous research, and admirable journalistic tenacity. This addendum to a once-settled story lands as much more than a footnote.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The story is riveting…Folks interested in that peek behind the curtain will love this.”—Booklist

all the new information about the Amish

nothing at all. it was a good read, well listen. I hope I find another just as good. lots of twists and turns

The story is interesting

It just was a little anticlimactic and tedious at times. I wish it would have been more condensed.

Loved it!

i so much love this authors writing style and have read all his true crime books! I wish he had more and more but so loved that he did this follow up to the original story. NOW, this narrator has become one of my favorites! There could be no one better to have presented the essence of what the author wanted to have come across in how he felt and how the characters played out. I will always read whatever this author puts forth!!

True crime told with too much graphic detail.

I honestly thought this would be more about the life of the Amish wife that was killed but it was about her husband who was suspected of her murder and the murder of their son. A tragic story that was told in graphic sexual detail of the husband’s homosexuality and perverted behavior. The title needs to be changed to reflect the story’s content and perhaps rated XXX.
I had to stop listening because it becomes more than I cared to know about the husband. I was disappointed and feel like I need to shower off the remaining stains of this account. I will never know if he killed his wife even though it seems like he does.

Love a good story teller

I love true crime stories, especially when the author is a good storyteller, and the narrator catches all the right inflections

Sad but true, I think.

The cover up by the Amish community was very disturbing. I hope Ida and her poor abused son are resting in peace.

Too many rabbit trails

It was hard to follow. The cursing in the book was unnecessary. Very long and drawn out with unnecessary details. I do not recommend the book. Jumped around too much. Too much information that was totally unnecessary.

Boring rhetoric

A very difficult book to follow and stay interested in. Sorry I bought it. Great reader however. Forget it

Soooo boring

The narrators good but there is no story! So boring I regret spending my money on this book wish I could get my credit back :(

The his is the first ‘Amish’ book I couldn’t read - just too boring.

I dragged my way through 15 chapters - ‘there surely has to be some kind of story in there somewhere’ I thought but eventually gave up in disgust. Every Amish book up to now has been lovely but this one was awful! I really wanted to like it because I had paid for it, but just could not get past chapter 15.