Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult (2001, Hardcover)

I bought Salem Falls because I have thoroughly enjoyed Jodi Picoult's previous books, and once again I was not disappointed. This one, like most of her other books, was difficult to put down once I began reading it. I admire how she takes a topic that could happen in today's world and brings that idea and her characters to life, weaving a story that seems hard to believe is merely fiction.

Jodi Picoult has once again done some spectacular writing with Salem Falls. While at first it seemed a bit far-fetched that a young man could twice be possibly falsely accused of sexual assault as in this story, I can see that it is possible. While it may be unpleasant to think about, these kinds of false accusations do happen in real life. And again, Jodi shows the reader that this kind of atrocious behavior usually begins a little closer to home.

She usually does quite a bit of hands-on research when writing her previous books, and it appears that she did the same with Salem Falls. She describes the Wiccan religion (first do others no harm) and the festival of Beltane very accurately from what I myself know, and she shows what can happen when this religion is grossly misused by others for personal gain.