2288. The U.S.S Enterprise-A is on a vital peacekeeping mission in a remote solar system beyond the boundaries of the Federation, where two warring planets—Pavak and Oyolo—are attempting to end years of bitter conflict.

Crucial peace talks are being conducted aboard the Enterprise, even as Starfleet weapons inspectors oversee the disarmament process. Losses and atrocities on both sides have left plenty of hard feelings behind, so Captain James T. Kirk has his work cut out for him, even as he unexpectedly runs into a disturbing figure from his past: Lenore Karidian.

Twenty years ago, the deadly daughter of Kodos the Executioner tried to kill Kirk, but she has since been declared sane and rehabilitated. Kirk wants to give her the benefit of the doubt and a second chance at life, but when a mysterious assassination threatens the already fragile peace process, all clues point toward Lenore–and the future of two worlds hangs in the balance.

Order Foul Deeds Will Rise:

Can a murderer be rehabilitated? To what extent do past actions have an impact on future behavior? Or, more specifically, what impact do those actions have on the perceptions of others when it comes to behavior?

These questions and more are examined in Greg Cox’s new Original Series adventure Foul Deeds Will Rise.

Lenore Karidian, the daughter of the infamous Kodos the Executioner, is working as a Federation aid worker on the devastated world of Oyolo in the midst of peace talks between that planet and neighboring Pavak. Captain Kirk invites Lenore aboard the Enterprise in an attempt to put past demons to rest, but when the Pavakian representative is discovered to have been killed, Lenore becomes a prime suspect.

Given her past murders of seven innocent people, as well as her attempted murders of Lt. Kevin Riley and Captain Kirk himself, it is somewhat understandable that she becomes a target of inquiry.

This is the one area in which the logic of the novel kind of falls apart for me. I have a hard time accepting that Captain Kirk would so quickly invite Karidian aboard. While hindsight is 20/20, and there is no way Kirk would have known that the murders would happen, I still believe that allowing Lenore aboard the Enterprise was very irresponsible. Perhaps I’m simply not as “good” or forgiving as Captain Kirk.

Even if Lenore is not responsible for the murders, her mere presence serves as a distraction in the investigation, diverting attention away from other possible suspects. I found myself agreeing with Kevin Riley, now a Federation ambassador: allowing Lenore Karidian aboard the Enterprise while the sensitive negotiations were taking place was a mistake.

This minor nitpick aside, Foul Deeds Will Rise was very enjoyable on several levels. Whereas most Original Series novels are set during the classic five-year mission, this one is set two decades later, in the period between Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Greg Cox, the ever-impressive font of Trek continuity knowledge, continues his tradition of making numerous small references to events in the lives of the Enterprise crew.

Setting the story during this period serves to widen the pool from which his references can be drawn. Additionally, setting the novel in this period lends a feeling of freshness to the story. Not many stories use this time period, and a change from the norm is always welcome.

Greg Cox uses a number of literary devices to very good effect in his novels, including a very apparent Chekhov’s gun, which in this case, turns out to be Chekov’s sneeze! Watch for Pavel Chekov’s allergic reaction to be a seemingly minor inconvenience that turns out to have a much larger impact on the plot!

Speaking of Chekov, it was a lot of fun to see him in his role as chief of security in this novel. Although he supposedly had this role in the films, we never really got a chance to see him shine in the job. The closest we got was Star Trek VI, in which he investigates the assassination of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon. However, the entire crew was involved in that investigation.

In Foul Deeds Will Rise, we get a more detailed look at how Chekov has really grown into his role as security chief.