In the Lake of the Moon

Rating:
Summary: Lindsey a master of character development and of the complex
Review: Previous reviewer lucas (uk) needs to read more often. This is an involving and satisfying read and as with all of Lindsey's works the reader gains a real feel for the characters and for the complexities of human situations...if you're willing to take the time to get involved with the lives you're being introduced to. Am really looking forward to his newest...The Color of Night.

Rating:
Summary: Lindsey a master of character development and of the complex
Review: Previous reviewer lucas (uk) needs to read more often. This is an involving and satisfying read and as with all of Lindsey's works the reader gains a real feel for the characters and for the complexities of human situations...if you're willing to take the time to get involved with the lives you're being introduced to. Am really looking forward to his newest...The Color of Night.

Rating:
Summary: Riveting
Review: This is an exceptional novel. The writing is amazing, the story grips you from start to finish. Lindsey does an excellent job of capturing the feel of Mexico City. Its uniqueness transcends the novel. Mexico City is the star here, her allure remains long after her beauty has faded. Stuart Haydon is Lindsey's best protagonist and he is at the top of his game here. Be forewarned this book is not for the squeemish, but none of Lindsey's books are. If you are someone who enjoys great writing and riveting suspense you will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Riveting
Review: This is an exceptional novel. The writing is amazing, the story grips you from start to finish. Lindsey does an excellent job of capturing the feel of Mexico City. Its uniqueness transcends the novel. Mexico City is the star here, her allure remains long after her beauty has faded. Stuart Haydon is Lindsey's best protagonist and he is at the top of his game here. Be forewarned this book is not for the squeemish, but none of Lindsey's books are. If you are someone who enjoys great writing and riveting suspense you will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing. Overly complex storyline & a difficult format
Review: With its long chapters, long paragraphs and densely packed small point text, this book is neither a quick nor an easy read. You cannot simply pick up this book in a spare five minutes and expect to polish off a section of a chapter - you'd be lucky to read two pages.

The reader will have to set aside significant time, sit down (with a drink), and take time to read and understand what is going on. To this reviewer, this spoils the whole essence of reading novels.

The book starts off with chapters alternating between the two main characters, Saturnino Barcena and Stuart Haydon. Haydon is a Houston detective, albeit with an affluent background and family connections with Mexico City. His life is interrupted by the daily receipt of a photograph that seems to hint at his families' past in Mexico. When he receives a photograph of himself taken the previous week with a trajectory line of a bullet entering his head added to it, he takes some time off and goes down to Mexico to try and work out what is going on.

Unfortunately, when he reaches Mexico City, things start to become increasingly confusing, both for Haydon and for this reader. There are a lot of characters who suddenly become involved in this part of the story, all of whom have connections with all of the others. Haydon seems to spend most of his time driving between the residences of these people, which quickly became very disorientating for me, trying to keep track of who's who and where they are in relation to each other.

I read another review of this book somewhere where the reader suggested that a map of Mexico City marked with the various locations referred to in the story would have been a great help in their understanding and I fully second that particular motion. I'm not sure how much a map would contribute to my understanding of this book, but it would certainly have helped.

Don't make this the first David Lindsey book that you read, as the two other books by this author that I have read ("Mercy" and "Requiem for a Glass Heart") are much better. I hope the other half dozen are too.