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Malcolm Rose

Fiction (Series)

Ages 12 and up,

Houghton Mifflin, 2006, 978-0-7534-6004-7

  One of Luke Harding’s friends has told him something that is very disturbing: it is possible that a young teenager, Everton Kohter, who is on death row, is actually innocent. He is to be executed in just a few days time and the friend wants Luke to check through the evidence again. He hopes that Luke will be able to find some proof that Kohter is innocent, and that he did not commit murder.

  The Authorities want Luke to investigate a faulty pairing. Somehow a man and woman who should not have been paired managed to get around the system. The Authorities want to find out how it was done. It is agreed that Luke will look into the pairing situation and The Authorities will let Luke and his assistant Malc double-check the Everton Kohter case.

  At first it looks as if the case against Kohter is watertight. But when Luke looks into the background of the victim he finds something which does not feel right to him. The dead man’s wife apparently died in an airplane crash. Her body was never found and there is evidence that her pairing with the victim was not a happy one. Could she be somehow involved in the murder?

  As Luke races against time to find out the truth, he also tries to find a way to save his own relationship with Jade, his musician girlfriend. He and Jade have been told that they cannot “pair” because of their different walks in life.

  In this gripping title in the “Traces” series readers will not only get to share a fascinating mystery but it is likely that they will also find themselves feeling very grateful that they live in this world rather than in Luke’s world. Readers are sure to find the system of “pairing” couples quite chilling. It is interesting to see how Luke’s pairing problem advances and to also see how he is changing. More and more Luke is questioning The Authorities. More and more he suspects and distrusts this all powerful organization which tries to control every aspect of human life.

  Malcolm Rose skillfully combines the sometimes dark and grim aspects of Luke’s forensic work with the humor which arises as a result of his interactions with his robotic assistant, Malc. Somehow one can always find a bright moment even when things are looking gloomy.

 

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