Animosity : A Novel [Hardcover]

David L. Lindsey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2001

American sculptor Ross Marteau, renowned for his sensual depictions of the female form, is retreating to Texas after a particularly traumatic breakup in Europe. In San Rafael to start a new commission, he suddenly finds himself irresistibly drawn to the captivatingly beautiful Celeste, who pleads with Ross to choose Leda, her sister, as his next subject. When he finally meets her, he is stunned-she is, at once, the most beautiful and the most grotesque woman he has ever seen. Fascinated by her misshapen body and the incredible torment in her eyes, he accepts the challenge. But soon he is pulled deeper into their desperate world, and when someone close to them is killed, Ross finds himself ensnared in a web of dark secrets and deadly maneuvers.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Penzler Pick, April 2001: David Lindsey can write horrific thrillers such as Mercy, which ranks up there with such serial killer novels as By Reason of Insanity by Shane Stevens and The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. However, he is also the author of gentler tales--psychological suspense where the horror is subtle and comes from everyday and unexpected sources. Animosity belongs in the second category.

Ross Marteau is an American living in Paris, where he makes a decent living as a sculptor. After a particularly nasty breakup with his girlfriend of several years, he decides to return to his home in Texas and work from his studio in the art-friendly city of San Rafael. There he settles into a routine of working in the mornings on his next project and sharing conversation and a beer in the afternoons with his friend Amado Mateos. It is during one of these afternoon meetings that he notices a newcomer to the town.

Celeste Lacan is a beautiful woman who soon approaches Ross with a proposition. She would like to offer Ross a commission to sculpt her sister. Ross demurs--he already has a commission--but Celeste asks him to meet her sister before refusing, and when he does, he understands why Celeste is so insistent. Leda is not only the most beautiful woman Ross has ever seen, she is also the ugliest, and as a sculptor Ross knows that he will learn something new about beauty. As Ross begins working with Leda and meeting Celeste in the afternoons, he becomes obsessed with the two sisters. Life is about to become a living hell for Ross Marteau, and the ending of this story about art and love is breathtakingly horrifying. --Otto Penzler

From Publishers Weekly

Set in the art world, this latest psychological thriller by suspense veteran Lindsey (Mercy; Color of Night) is an alternately entertaining and frustrating tale of a sculptor's entanglement in revenge and murder. Ross Marteau makes a handsome living sculpting female nudes from glamorous live models. After a bad breakup in Paris, he returns home to San Rafael a chic, artsy enclave in the Texas hill country for his next commission. Upon his arrival, exotically beautiful newcomer C‚leste Lacan seeks him out and persuades him to sculpt her sister, Leda. Leda is striking in a photograph C‚leste shows Ross, but Leda, C‚leste hints, is not an ordinary beauty she will be a unique artistic challenge. As Ross soon discovers, Leda is a hunchback, stunning from some angles and startling from others. As Ross begins sketching her daily, and he and C‚leste become romantically involved, he glimpses details of the sordid arrangement that binds the sisters to each other and to C‚leste's abusive husband. There is an eerie tension among Ross, C‚leste and Leda, which heightens when a murder disturbs the calm of San Rafael. Lindsey conceives an intriguing scenario and wrestles his story through unexpected turns. At time his efforts to conceal surprises make the writing, and especially the dialogue, irritatingly vague, and Ross becomes less sympathetic as time after time he fails to ask obvious questions when subjected to the sisters' cryptic babbling. But as the end approaches, Lindsey's obfuscation pays off, and a few clever twists are guaranteed to throw readers for a delicious loop. National advertising. (May 8)Forecast: Lindsey is one of the most accomplished writers in the thriller field, but his tales, while solid, don't match his enormous talent; and this novel, with its offbeat subject and erudite approach, won't be a smash hit.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books; First Edition edition (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446527912
• ISBN-13: 978-0446527910
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,008,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN EXTRAORDINARILY INTENSE, AND EERIE READING EXPERIENCE, April 28, 2001

By 

Nick G - See all my reviews

This review is from: Animosity : A Novel (Hardcover)

Ross Marteau is a world renowned sculptor whose works of art depict the sensual side of rich and famous women. But, as he can use his hands to bring beauty, and sensuality to the sculptures of his clients, he can do nothing to save his own long-term relationship from falling apart.

After a bitter breakup, Ross heads back to his hometown of Texas to try and get peace of mind, but everything is disturbed when he meets Celeste Lacan.

Celeste introduces herself, and asks him to take on a new project...create a sculpture of her sister Leda. Only seeing a photo of Leda's beautiful face intrigues Ross enough to take on the job, and his attraction to Celeste is an added bonus, but when he meets Leda in person he is shocked by her physical deformity.

Consumed by Leda's beautiful face, as well as her unique body, Ross works hard to bring the contrasts to life in his sculpture, but slowly he realizes Leda is somewhat disturbed, and his relationship with big sister Celeste is pushing her further over the edge.

Ross, unaware of the strange bond between the two sisters, will be drawn into the dark world of the Lacan girls, and a shocking murder will be the proof of how sinister these sisters are.

'Animosity' is unlike anything you have ever read; it is beautifully written, eerie in plot, fast-paced, elegant, and ultimitely creepy.

David Lindsey has always written good thrillers, but with 'Animosity' he outdoes himself, it is packed with suspense, and includes an ending so shocking, that no reader will expect it, or forget it.

Nick Gonnella

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Subtle tale of love, obsession, betrayal and murder, January 18, 2002

By 

D. Kaplan "sleuth029" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Animosity : A Novel (Hardcover)

"Amimosity" is the story of Ross Marteau, a sculptor noted for his nude sculptures, who becomes entwined in the lives of two sisters when they commission him to do a sculpture of Leda, the younger sister. Ross finds that this commission will the biggest challenge of his career for Leda is not the flawless beauty she appears to be at first glance. This is a story where no one is who they seem to be and nothing that occurs can be accepted at face value.

I was most impressed with the soft voice in which Mr. Lindsey tells this story. You are constantly being thrown curves but, while unsettling, none of them were jarring. The story in itself is jarring, but the subtle way in which it is written makes it a poignant tale of love, murder, obsession and betrayal.

Mr. Lindsey joins the ranks of Joe R. Lansdale and Stephen Booth in creating a sense of place. You will find yourself totally immersed in the small town in Texas and the Left Bank of Paris. I don't like hot climates, but while reading this book, I actually wanted to be in that Texas town with its heat, humidity and lush landscape. Mr. Lindsey has also captured the romance and beauty of Paris that has drawn people to that magical city for years.

The last chapter of this book is a fitting end to a special book. I am still haunted by the last few pages.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as Good as Usual, September 19, 2001

By 

Joseph A. Hines - See all my reviews

This review is from: Animosity : A Novel (Hardcover)

David L. Lindsey apparently doesn't need Houston detective Stuart Haydon, but I do. In Haydon Lindsey created one of the most complex, contradictory characters in the genre. Then he abandoned him.

ANIMOSITY is a well-written novel (David Lindsey writes beautiful prose), but it left me wondering what exactly was the point. The characters were not very likeable and nothing was what it seemed. The plot was painfully convoluted and tended to twist and turn upon itself like a snake hit by a car. The conclusion was very unsatisfactory.

I gave the book three stars because any David Lindsey book is worth at least that, but I don't think that I will recommend it.