I found this book very informative about the Mormon beliefs and life style. The murder mystery was directly related to Mormon beliefs. It was not an easy read book but it was well worth staying with till the end. People regardless of their beliefs, have a God given since of right and wrong and a basic knowledge of their creator. This book is about our seeking God and not giving up till our beliefs are really from Him. ( )

Now, my sis-in-law is a big murder mystery buff, but I am decidedly not. It’s that aversion to the formulaic that I can’t seem to shake. And yes, Later-Day Cipher does indeed start out with a murder, but that is just the first layer of the mystery, one that will continue to build long after that initial murder has been solved. It is with that first murder that Scott introduces us into a world very few of us are familiar with – Mormonism. The murderer intentionally leaves clues leading directly to the Mormon Church and some of its lesser known facets, clues that will take us deeper into the heart of a mystery hundreds of years old and more complicated than we realize.

Cipher has one thing so often missing in murder mystery/thrillers: an entire cast of complex, interesting characters, not simply an intrepid detective and a calculating killer. Selonnah Zee, reporter with forensic training, is our pivot point, but she is not the only investigator, and not the only person we can identify with or care about. She is also not the devout, Scripture spouting sleuth or the jaded, world-weary atheist you might expect. She’s a woman I could sit down and have coffee with, trying to do her job, care for an aging parent, and actually take a real vacation for once, all while occassionally pondering the big quetions life raises when we don’t have the time or energy to answer them.

During her so-called vacation to visit her cousin Roger, his wife Eliza and their daughter, she meets several interesting people, all while becoming involved in a murder investigation. In the years since leaving their home, Roger has converted to Mormonism, finding the forgiveness, purpose and belonging there that he so desperately needed. Also Mormon is the young detective Luke Taylor who was raised in a polygamous family, but doesn’t feel the need to defend his church that so many others do. There is also Petersen, a no-nonsence police chief with a wife and child, who quotes poetry and misses his parents, who both succumbed to Alzheimer’s before the novel opens. Other, more minor, but certainly not neglected, characters fill out the cast, all nicely rounded – no cardboard here – and all with varying associations to the Mormon Church. Perhaps the most surprising character of all is the Mormon Church itself.

Scott is a former Mormon, now a Christian, but she is not an angry convert. This novel is not an attack on Mormonism, or on anyone who chooses that lifestyle, as she reveals that it is more an entire lifestyle, life system, than it is simply a religious affiliation. Her depiction of the church and it’s followers is not only fair and balanced, but respectful. Its adherents are not mindless cult zombies, nor are they malicious predators; they are people who have found what we all want, purpose and comfort and belonging to something bigger than ourselves. Scott doesn’t hesitate topoint out the questions and inconsistancies in Mormonism’s beliefs and history, but there is no Bible-thumping Christian preaching eternity in hell either. She simply lets us learn about the religion along with Selonnah.

What I think I appreciated the most was that we find out the identity of the murderer long before the end of the novel, but the mystery, instead of being resolved, actually deepens. Serial killers typically grow more and more extreme in their atrocities, but Scott turns that on its ear as the incidents grow less gruesome, but more baffling as the pages turn. And the end – I didn’t see it coming. Bravo.

I believe this is Scott’s first major work of fiction, and there are some rough bits. Some of the exposition is clearly exposition, largely because it runs on so long – there is an enormous amount of background needed to fully grasp the significance of what is being done, and that can slow the story down, leaving it feeling a bit jerky in places. Is this her masterpiece? No, at least, I hope not. I want to read more, about these people, and from her in general. Isn’t that really what we’re looking for in a great read?

Latayne C. Scott’s Later Day Cipher is a mystery beyond murder and a glimpse into the world of Mormonism, but perhaps more importantly, it gives us insight into the human heart, in all its different varieties, as it struggles with the big questions: What do I believe? Why do I believe it? Is there something beyond this life? Is there something more? I enjoyed this book greatly, and I eagerly await more. I will be picking up her next, sequel or not.

Oh, and this is, after all, a mystery, so keep your eye out for the requisite red herring – best I’ve ever seen! ( )

Reviewed here: http://www.gorelets.com/blog/not-dead-yet-print-reviews/flash-reviews-of-semi-au...

Very good book. I had a hard time putting it down. It had a surprise ending. ( )

Latter-Day Cipher by Latayne C. Scott is ostensibly a murder mystery, the book opens when a young woman, Kirsten Young is found murdered and left displayed in popular canyon. Into her flesh, odd symbols and markings are carved, and a note is found with the body written in an obscure 19th century code. The symbols and note are connected with historical aspects of the Mormon Church, and the Church, always careful to protect its image, quietly calls on a few of its members to defuse the issue.

The book quickly becomes much more than it appears. One part murder mystery and one part exposé of the theological flaws in one of the worlds most powerful religions; in addition the book addresses quite well what happens when someone suffers a crisis in faith. When the very foundations of their beliefs are shaken and cracked. Scott’s protagonists are believable, and her faith is woven throughout the story, an integral thread that holds it all together. Yet the book never stoops to shallow preachiness. Instead we see real people struggling with their beliefs and faith. Against this backdrop, Scott has devised a rousing good mystery. Add to that, the fascinating glimpse into the secret and hidden practices of the Mormon Church, and you have a compelling read that I highly recommend. ( )