Mon 21 May 2012
Reviewed by Allen J. Hubin: DAVID L. LINDSEY – In the Lake of the Moon.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[3] Comments
Allen J. Hubin
DAVID L. LINDSEY – In the Lake of the Moon. Atheneum, hardcover, 1988. Bantam, paperback, 1990.
I’m of two minds about this book, the latest of David L. Lindsey’s novels about Stuart Haydon of the Houston police department. On the one hand, it’s notable for the depth of character revelation and exploration and for the strong sense of place.
On the other, its 341-page length draws out the tale, thins it out, demanding reader patience. Photographs, decades old, come to Haydon in the mail. At first he doesn’t recognize the person pictured, but it’s his father, fifty years before. Stuart was very close to his father until his death some six years before, thought he knew him intimately.
But the pictures, sent with malevolent purpose, are followed by others, and the trail leads from the steaming rain of Houston to the density and sprawl of Mexico City, to a man whose brain, bubbling with madness, is bent on death. But why him, Stuart wonders, off balance and out of his element, and how could there be so much of his father he didn’t know?
Vol. 11, No. 1, Winter 1989.
The Stuart Haydon series —
1. A Cold Mind (1983)
2. Heat from Another Sun (1984)
3. Spiral (1986)
4. In the Lake of the Moon (1988) [Nominated for an Edgar as Best Novel]
5. Body of Truth (1992)
David L. Lindsey has written eight other stand-alone novels, the most recent being The Face of the Assassin (2004).
May 21st, 2012 at 8:31 pm
I was not reading many police procedurals back in the 1980s and 90s, so I’m not surprised to note that I’ve not read any of Lindsey’s Stuart Haydon series.
I may have been wrong in doing so, as even though Haydon works for the Houston PD, IN THE LAKE OF THE MOON sounds more like a personal adventure — as do some of his other cases, based on the brief synopses I’ve seen of them.
May 22nd, 2012 at 5:42 am
It’s a sign of the times, I guess, that a book like this could seem too long at 340 pages while today (too) many mysteries are 500 pages plus.
Lindsey’s books left me cold, as did his main character. I gave up after the first, A COLD MIND, despite favorable reviews by Barry Gardner and others.
May 22nd, 2012 at 11:38 am
Jeff,
Yes, the series does sound like one that Barry Gardner would have enjoyed. What caught my eye was that LAKE OF THE MOON was nominated for an Edgar. I often find that what the MWA is looking for to give awards to is often the opposite of what’s of interest to me.
I think that when this series came along, it gave off the same kind of vibes for me as it did for you. This is a personal reaction only, of course, and it has absolutely nothing to do with literary quality. I have not read any of Michael Connelly’s books, either, to pick a somewhat similar example.
— Steve