Mark de Castrique Foolish Undertaking

Foolish Undertaking

Mark de Castrique

Poisoned Pen, Feb 2006, $24.95, 264 pp.

ISBN: 1590582276

In Gainesboro, North Carolina, just before dying from cancer, Montagnard expatriate Y'Grok Eban informs Boston cop Kevin Malone that the "Raven has come home" scaring the street tough police officer, though he is not totally sure why. The brave Y'Grok saved many American lives during the Vietnam war, but the exile never went home once he fled for the Carolina hills. Now a grand funeral befitting a genuine hero is planned that has caught the attention of the national media.

However, someone enters the Clayton & Clayton Funeral Home, knocking unconscious director Barry Clayton before apparently stealing the corpse of Y'Grok. Barry's friend, local Sheriff Tommy Lee Watkins is upset for personal reasons, because four decades ago Y'Grok saved his life when he served in Nam. Kevin, coming south for the funeral, joins forces with Tommy Lee and Barry an ex-cop to locate the body, learn the meaning of Y'Grok's last cryptic message, and find out why something that happened forty years ago suddenly haunts those still living today over an ocean and a continent away.

Using a contemporary mystery, Mark de Castrique provides an intriguing look (through the memories of those gathering for the funeral) of the Vietnam War in which the Montagnard served as loyal allies to the American troops. The search for the stolen corpse and the efforts to break Y'Grok's enigmatic last words turn into a strong investigative tale that spins into much more as the war still haunts these men, while they each reflect back to try to define what the final words of their late brother in arms meant. FOOLISH UNDERTAKING is a fabulous thriller that grips the audience from the moment the corpse is purloined, and never slows down until Raven comes home.