The Book of Luke

Holder debuts with an uneven saga of a reality TV couple and their explosive breakup. Luke Griffin met his husband, Barnes, on the first season of the adventure show Endeavor. Barnes is now a Republican senator, and when he’s caught in a sex scandal, Luke leaves him and petitions to gain full custody of their children. Desperate for money, Luke joins Endeavor’s 20th season. He and the other contestants forge alliances and try to make the show’s contests, which include pickaxing through ice sculptures to retrieve a key, “feel like a game and not a gulag.” As Luke competes, he “remember[s] what it felt like to be a winner.” He cozies up to fellow contestant and roommate Shawn, a former porn star, but fears a relationship with Shawn will jeopardize his custody battle. After Barnes joins the cast mid-season, chaos ensues: a video leaks of Shawn and Luke together, a punch is thrown, and someone is blackmailed. Holder is inventive with Endeavor’s increasingly bizarre challenges­­—at one point, contestants race to solve a jigsaw puzzle underwater­—but bites off more than he can chew with an overcrowded cast and timeline jumps that overexplain rather than add depth to the action. Readers will hope Holder finds firmer footing his next time out. (Dec.)