Author: Gregg Luke
Strange things are afoot on the campus of Utah State University. Seemingly-normal students have been falling into trances around campus landmarks, and Professor Morgan Winegar wants to know why. We, the readers know that the trance is induced from the combination of a drug (administered through an energy drink to unwitting drinkers) and a musical trigger. Lucky for Winegar, she happens to have a crack team of professionals to help her with her job: a husband who works for a science lab, an autistic son who can hear the subliminal messages contained in the music, smart cops, a PhD researcher for a bishop, and a TA who wants to do the right thing.
Altered State isn't a mystery: we know from the beginning who is responsible for the experiment and how it's being carried out. Instead, it's a race against time to see if Winegar and her peeps can figure out what's going on before something really, really bad happens. So what makes the story interesting? (And yes, I did consider the book pretty interesting and entertaining.) Well, all of the girls are model-gorgeous and all of the guys are slightly dorky and may or may not have bad accents. But Morgan and her husband Homer are pretty well-constructed as characters. She's a good Mormon with a past, and he's a good Mormon with a past. We learn a lot about hers, but only a little bit about his, and unlike his wife, I would have pushed him to tell me more. But all in all, pretty good book.
1 comment:
I think this is my favorite of the mysteries. It felt different to me. I wonder if it's because it was written by a man. The jargon was a little show-offy, and I wanted to smooth the writing in places, but the characters were interesting and the plot kept me turning pages.
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