Review
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Title: Deadly Undertakings
Author: Gregg Luke
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Genre: Fiction
Year Published: 2012
Number of Pages: 288
Binding: Trade paperback
ISBN10: n/a
ISBN13: 978-1-62108-074-9
Price: $16.99
Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle for the Association for Mormon Letters
There are times when, after reading a book, a thoughtful reader ends up asking himself, “Did this author even *try* to write a good book?” I can't tell you how many times this has happened as I make my way through the murky world of LDS fiction.
And then there are times when you say, “Whew! This guy really did a lot of research to produce a book like this!” I can only guess that author Gregg Luke worked a lot of overtime hours producing this story. And let me tell you, this one's a real honey.
Here's the story in a nutshell: Rebekah Smith works in the Medical Examiner's office. She's a gifted assistant and close friend of the head of the department. Very sharp, very pretty, very inquisitive, she's a favorite among her coworkers (including one fellow who continually makes unwanted advances on her). She's dating a detective with the Salt Lake Police Department. Josh Logan carries with him the weight of the loss of a wife and the emptiness that goes with it. Rebekah also suffers from a psychic burden – the death of her mother, a death she feels she should have prevented.
A curious case brings Rebekah and Josh together professionally. An elderly woman – past 100 years of age – dies in her home. Her body is discovered by her daughter, who claims her mother was very healthy and should not have passed away. Perhaps all of this would have been written off, if not for several odd details: they find half-dollar pieces on the victim's eyes, her face is covered in a linen handkerchief, and her blood has been completely drained and replaced by a mysterious fluid! What the heck is going on here?
When several other post-100 year old bodies surface, all bearing the same curious aspects as the first victim, police are afraid they have a serial killer on their hands. Can Rebekah and Josh sort through the clues and discover who is doing this, and why?
Rebekah is being mentored by Dr. Sandeep Mahesh, a Pakistani national whose depth of knowledge in the field of autopsy and chemistry continues to drive Rebekah to do better, to learn more, and to make a difference. Can Dr. Mahesh help in the search for the killer?
Early on, we learn who the killer is, but there's another character, known only as “the Mentor,” who is guiding him in his work. We must wait until the end of the book to learn who the Mentor is.
Author Luke writes with a certain spareness of prose. As with his earlier books, he doesn't waste any time on unnecessary detail, but unfailingly gives us enough to enable us to know the characters well. And he manages to pull off a complex tale, full of pharmaceutical (Luke is a registered pharmacist) and medical detail that fascinates at every turn. And he does this with very few central characters.
One of the drawbacks of the paucity of male characters in this book is that readers will quickly narrow down the identity of the Mentor – I figured it out about 3/4 of the way through the book. But readers will welcome this respite from character-heavy stories. And to further aid the reader, Luke's characters are filled with distinct personality traits, making them memorable and sympathetic.
A few minor nits must be mentioned (readers of these reviews know that I'm always about the business of picking nits <grin>). First, as Josh and Rebekah are studying areas of the country with a high incidence of people living past the 100-year mark, the author pinpoints Loma Linda, California, as just such a place. I thought it would have been a nice touch had he mentioned Loma Linda Medical Center and the high percentage of the residents of Loma Linda who are Seventh-day Adventists. Adventists live by a code similar to the Word of Wisdom, and this could account for their longevity. Mention of the Adventists would have been appropriate.
And later in the book (and I'll try to do this without giving away too much of the plot), Josh and Rebekah are being held by the psychotic killer. A fellow police officer knocks at the door and Josh, ordered by the killer to speak carefully or risk both himself and Rebekeh being shot, tells the officer he's doing fine and then follows with, “I should be finished up at 10:33.” Of course, I recognized immediately that “1033” must be some kind of police code, indicating he was in trouble and needed help. But the killer, who is depicted as quite mad but very bright and attentive to detail, is listening to the whole thing. Who says, “I should be finished up at 10:33”? Sure, “I'll be done around 10:30,” but a precise time like 10:33? Why didn't the killer catch on that something wasn't right? It just didn't ring true to me.
So, two minor blips in an otherwise outstanding read. I loved this book for several reasons. First, Luke is a very good writer, a talent we've enjoyed in previous titles. Second, this kind of plot line is, I think, a departure from what you expect from Mormon fiction. I really appreciate innovation, and this book is a welcome change from the run of the mill stuff we normally see.
“Deadly Undertakings” should be on the reading list for anyone who enjoys good fiction, who loves a good story, and who wants to watch a great storyteller at work.
Jeffrey Needle
Association for Mormon Letters
jeff.needle@gmail.comwww.aml-online.orgwww.LDSBookLovers.com/Needle.html
