Customer Reviews

Animosity (Oeb)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

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

"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.

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.

I have read every David Lindsey novel and enjoyed each and every one of them. I couldn't wait to get my hands on Animosity. Was I evey disappointed. This is a terribly written book. It took 100 pages before any suspense took place. The book was so predictable that I knew the villian immediately. The book is simply preposterous and unbelieveable. Don't waste your time on this one.

I can't believe how lousy,sloppy and improbable this book is. David Lindsey,who brought us the complex,facsinating Stuart Heydon,has apparently decided that he doesn't need him anymore and has been trying to compete with Robert Ludlum for improbable and sophomoric writing. The characters are nothing more than cartoon characters,the plot is artificially convoluted,lacking any focus and credibilty. The dialogues are so forced,ridiculous and childish,I felt embarrassed for the author. I figured out the culprit midway through the book,so it didn't even hold any suspense,forced and artificial as it was. It's is amazing that such a promising author has sunk so low.

Every once in awhile you find a book that just won't let you go. Animosity is such a book. I could not put it down and I thought about it for days after I was finished. I never figured the twists out ahead of time. It is a study in the motivations of individuals and how dark motivation is deadly.

Having read and thorougly enjoyed Lindsay's Absence of Light, I eagerly bought everything else of his that I could find. My second voyage into his writing was this book. IF ONLY I had read the assessment of the first review!! This book is nothing like what Lindsay is capable of. It is boring, predictable and its characters are somewhere in between overdrawn and ridiculous. In an attempt to have a series of twists and turns, the author has the reader spinning - leaving one with a sense of nausea at times. I shall not give up on Lindsay, however. Absense of Light was so brilliant that I'm sure this was just a fluke.

When sculptor Ross Marteau is warned that the subject for his next sculpture was unusual, he didn't know the half of it. Sure she was beautiful, but she was also deeply troubled and, quite possibly, dangerous.

As well as being packed full of mystery and intrigue, we are also treated to a fascinating insight into the processes involved in producing a sculpture. Being someone who doesn't have an artistic bone in his body, I found it very interesting to get an idea of how it's possibly done.

Anyway, back to the story. Ross Marteau finds himself being drawn deeper and deeper under the spell woven by two beautiful sisters, Celeste and Leda. He falls in love with one and is fascinated by the other while he is preparing her sculpture. Through their webs of lies and half-truths he gets himself into a situation that he realises will quite possibly change his life for good.

Up until the last few pages, this is a run-of-the-mill story that keeps you guessing as to how it's going to end. But no matter how many guesses you take, David Lindsey provides an ending that you would never have expected. Quite frankly, it blew me away. It's not very often that I'm caught by surprise when reading a book. This ending did that to me and had me reading it bug-eyed in disbelief.

If you are expecting another cop mystery involving Stuart Haydon, you may be disappointed. However, if you read this book with no preconcieved notions of what you expect from Lindsey, you just may love it. The descriptions of the Hlll Country of Texas are right on and the story of the tangled web of lies and betrayals is a page-turner until the very end. I have read all of Lindsey's books and liked this one best of all.

Though not one of Lindsey's best novels, this one does have suspense and it builds to an interesting climax. Lindsey seems to be trying something new with this novel. It has less of a deliberate pace than his other works. Ross Marteau is more naive and corrupted than the usual Lindsey protagonist, which makes the ending all the more interesting. Lindsey is known for his articulate prose and peculiar characters, and with the latter he out does himself in this novel. Mr. Lindsey has set a very high bar for himself so when he writes a solid novel, but not a great novel one cannot help but be a little disappointed. I do recommend you not make this your first Lindsey book. Try Mercy or In the Lake of the Moon.