The Killing Maze (Laura Winslow Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

David Cole (Author)

Book Description

Series: Laura Winslow Mysteries | Publication Date: February 6, 2001

Deception Is Everywhere

Laura left her Hopi self behind and came to Tucson hoping to start over, praying that her past would never find her. Now she works as a high-tech cyber-sleuth for Miguel Zepeda -- an aging private detective who lives on the Tohono O'odham reservation. Laura is hiding within the Internet, safe and untouchable...for now.

But Miguel has mysteriously disappeared, leaving Laura to investigate an alleged pharmaceutical fraud within a small drug company. With no clue to her boss's whereabouts and troubled by pieces of a client's life that will not fit together, Laura must leave her anonymous cyber-world and enter a twisted maze of gangs, Internet scams, and cold-blooded murder. Somewhere between a dusty Mexican border strewn with broken breams and the upper levels of Tucson society are answers Laura needs to uncover, before her worst fears resurface...and devour her whole.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An intriguing tale of mystery and self-discovery...Readers will be fascinated." -- --Romantic Times

About the Author

David Cole is the author of Butterfly Lost, The Killing Maze, Stalking Moon, and Scorpion Rain.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Avon (February 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061013951
• ISBN-13: 978-0061013959
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,859,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another kind of "Traffic", February 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Killing Maze (Laura Winslow Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

If you want an exiting variation on the movie Traffic, don't hesitate to read this book. Even if you've never seen the movie, still don't hesitate, since this book is so well written. Part of Cole's plot deals with smuggling people across the US/Mexico border, and he vividly writes about the "coyotes" and smuggling people rather than drugs. I love Cole's main characters, but I particularly like the "sense of place" in the Sonoran desert ranging from Tucson and Southern Arizona down into Sonora, Mexico. Cole writes about Internet and computer crime as though he's done it himself! But even the shady characters in this book are three-dimensional and alive, with Cole writing about the good/not-so-good in all of us. Laura Marana Winslow is a unique "detective" in that she's neither a detective nor wants to be one. Her friend Rey, the ex Viet Nam vet and one-time Border patrolman, is an exceptionally drawn character, but no more so than that of his ex-wife, Meg Arizana. I love the "performance artist" aspect of her life, plus the dynamics of all three of them working together. Like "Traffic," this book is exciting from start to finish. Unlike having to go to a movie theatre, though, I've got The Killing Maze to reread any time I want.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Desert Bound, February 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Killing Maze (Laura Winslow Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Before reading The Killing Maze, I never spent much time with mysteries. Not any more! David Cole has an amazing gift for vivid characters, complex plots and subplots, and a "sense of place" about living in the desert that makes me want to immediately buy an airplane ticket to Arizona. His main character, Laura Marana, is a true outsider, struggling with very real conflicts of identity and purpose. Laura's computer hacking puts her life on the edge of what's legal and she pays for it. Cole's character list includes many wonderfully drawn people, none of them either all "good" or really "bad." He also accurately tackles the politics of gun culture in US society. I particularly liked Laura's friends Meg Arizana, the anti-gun activist, and Rey Villaneuva, a one-time Border Patrol officer who struggles with his inability to keep violence out of his life. The Killing Maze is a rare find for me and a perfect example of first-rate fiction, not just what some people like me might have dismissed as a genre book (a mystery). I've already ordered Butterfly Lost, Cole's first book, and can't wait for his next.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cole only gets better with The Killing Maze!, March 8, 2001

By 

Nancy J Henderson (Michigamme, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Killing Maze (Laura Winslow Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

If you enjoyed Cole's first book, Butterfly Lost, you're in for a real treat as The Killing Maze is another knockout winner from this new mystery author. Don't plan on putting this book down as once you begin chapter one, it's a real page turner that will keep your interest as you're reintroduced to Laura. Although she has assumed a new identity in The Killing Maze, she still makes her living by hacking into computer systems and obtaining information that eventually leads her to a major drug ring. Her past still haunts her and the reader will be drawn back to the rez and all of her past that she has tried so carefully to forget. Cole deftly introduces us to new characters that become part of this exciting plot. He continues to show his ability to keep us interested through the many sub-plots and characters and the reader never loses track of the storyline and their connection to Laura. Can't wait for the next chapter in book #3.