The author is described as an "administrative law judge with the Utah Public Service Commission." A check on the internet does not indicate whether he still serves, and lives, in Salt Lake City. The most recent information I could find was for 1999, and has him still in that job.

The protagonist of this book is attorney Adam Leer. A lapsed member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he has settled into an uncomfortable truce of sorts with his parents and his brother. Divorced from his wife, he's now seeing a Gentile woman, Jo, a school psychologist. Adam's family is not entirely enthusiastic about Adam's divorce and his subsequent sexual relationship with Jo.

When Ben Asher walks into his office one day with a possible anti-trust case against a large medical conglomerate (Asher operates an independent testing lab), Adam isn't sure he wants to take the case. But he decides to look into it. Asher is found dead soon thereafter, and his widow, the lovely Jackie, appears at Adam's office, urging him to continue his investigation. He's certain the conglomerate is somehow responsible for her husband's death.

What follows is a somewhat muddled, sparingly-written story of investigation and conflict, sexual tension and religious confusion. Several attempts are made on Adam's life; even the lovely Jackie, who in her grief sets out to seduce Adam, gets shot. Adam, a former FBI agent, knows how to handle himself, but he finally decides to call in some outside help, including a disgraced private investigator (who can't get hired by anyone else, thanks to pressure from the Church) and a beer-bellied biker who Adam represented once.

The Salt Lake police are finally called in, bringing together Adam Leer and a detective who dislikes Adam very much. Not to worry, they can work things out.

One doesn't usually expect anything but banalities on dust-covers, but the following, found on the rear flap, really goes over the line in misleading prose:

This is a fascinating look at corrupt business practices, at a city where business and religion sometimes come into conflict, and where a determined man can fight his way through odds of many kinds.

First, the book is not at all fascinating. It is, at best, pedestrian in its written style and, at worst, unbalanced and badly motivated. Mystery novels should focus on the mystery, not on the bedroom talk between Adam and Jo. Their discussions, pre- and post-coitus, are lengthy, garbled, and difficult to attribute. While their personal relationship, and perhaps even their bedroom habits, may be of passing interest, they are coincident to the story, and should have been kept to a minimum.

On the other hand, the action scenes, central to the reason why Adam is a "determined man," are spare, lacking detail, and strain credibility. He lays down clues with a heavy hand, and ultimately leaves little to the imagination.

Where Thurman does very well, however, is in his barely-disguised contempt for Mormonism and Mormon culture. I can't remember reading a single positive thing about the Church in this book. And while he doesn't resort to involving high ranking Church officials, as did Robert Irvine in his Moroni Traveler series, he does indict the Mormon system, bringing into the narrative a near-shunning of apostate family members and a hint of the idea of blood atonement.

Normally, this wouldn't bother me much. But when I reflect that this is written by a judge in Salt Lake City, I began to wonder how even-handed he can be when it comes to matters concerning the Church. I don't live in Utah; I don't know the judge. Perhaps some have even appeared before him. Maybe my concern is misplaced.

But, putting aside the anti-Mormon bias of this book, it simply isn't a very good read. It doesn't appear that further adventures of Adam Leer have followed. Frankly, it's just as well.

It isn't likely you'll come across this book, except at thrift stores or library sales. If you are a collector of Mormon mystery fiction, as I am, then pick it up and shelve it. Otherwise, I recommend you move on to something else.

Jeff Needle
jeff.needle@general.com