Foolish Undertaking

By Mark de Castrique

"Another stellar entry in an outstanding series that deserves wider recognition: the family focus and rural North Carolina setting make it a natural for Margaret Maron fans." —Booklist STARRED review

The night before a funeral that will thrust the mountain town of Gainesboro, North Carolina, into the national spotlight, the body is stolen from the embalming room and funeral director Barry Clayton is knocked unconscious. Ouch. How will Clayton & Clayton deal with the relatives of Y'Grok Eban, the Montagnard hero who aided US troops during the Vietnam War, or the U.S. Senator, three-star general, and famous Hollywood star en route to Y'Grok's service? Barry's friend, Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins has a very personal interest in the missing Y'Grok—the Montagnard had saved his life. So does the Boston detective who also owes his life to Y'Grok and received a death-bed summons from the cancer-stricken old man: "Raven has come home." The three men pledge to crack Y'Grok's code, recover not just the body but a piece of a long-buried past, and deal with new death and betrayal. Is it a heroic or a foolish undertaking?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sourcebooks
• Release date: Jun 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781615950393

Mark de Castrique

Mark de Castrique grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina where many of his novels are set. He's a veteran of the television and film production industry, has served as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte teaching The American Mystery, and he's a frequent speaker and workshop leader. He and his wife, Linda, live in Charlotte, North Carolina. www.markdecastrique.com

Reviews for Foolish Undertaking

[tymfos · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I stayed up LATE to finish yet another great mystery from Mark de Castrique. I'm not sure which series I enjoy most -- this Buryin' Barry series, or his current Sam Blackman series -- but they are both very enjoyable.Barry Clayton is an ex-cop who returned to his hometown in the mountains of North Carolina to take up the family undertaking business when his father was stricken with Alzheimers. But he keeps winding up in the middle of mysteries. In this installment, he is assaulted when a body is stolen from his funeral home. The deceased is a Montagnard who was deeply loved by Vietnam veterans (including the local sheriff) for his courage in rescuing Americans in peril during the war. Why was his body stolen?Those who assemble for the now-postponed funeral include a Boston detective, an Army general and his aide, a US Senator and his aide, a Hollywood actor, a slew of Vietnam Veterans, and a gathering of Montagnards who had resettled in the US. de Castrique makes it clear in his preface that part of his motivation in writing this particular story is to draw attention to the fate of the Montagnards, the indigenous people of the Vietnam Central Highlands who showed astounding loyalty and courage in aiding American troops. Some were resettled in the U.S., but since the American withdrawal those remaining have suffered constant persecution by the government of Vietnam. I was not familiar with this aspect of the Vietnam War until I read this book, so it provided a bit of an education in the process of a very enjoyable mystery.