Customer Reviews

The Killing Maze (Laura Winslow Mysteries)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Don't start this book unless you have allowed yourself ample reading time because you won't want to put it down, even for dinner. The Killing Maze by David Cole never lets up. It is exciting from beginning to end. I found myself thinking about it at times when I couldn't read it. The characters are interesting and the story is suspenseful with unpredictable twists. The author's insight about computers is awesome. It is one of the few books that I will read again because it is top-notch.

While this book is entertaining, I found the level of graphic violence to be more than I would have liked. Also, I live in Tucson and Cole obviously does not. He gets details about the city wrong, which takes away from the authencity of the story for me. For example, he refers to Highway US10 several times. It's an interstate, so it's I-10. Perhaps that would not be noticed if you didn't live in Arizona, but the lack of research on matters like this bothered me.

Being a huge Tony Hillerman fan, I like to choose other authors who operate in a native American milieu. I was immediately hooked by Laura, with her complex past and all of her medical problems; nevertheless, she manages to overcome and solve, in this outing, an incredibly complex fraud, including some really dangerous situations. I will definitely read more by this author.

After Laura Winslow drove a man to commit suicide, federal warrants were issued for her arrest. The law enforcement officials believe that Laura is dangerous, but are unaware that she is actually on the side of the angels, performing good deeds in the hope she will find her daughter abducted by her former husband.

Laura goes by the name of Laura Marana of Phoenix. She has made new friends and has hooked up with private eye Miguel Zepeda by selling him information she finds on the Internet. Laura is a great hacker who can break into any site, but what she still cannot accomplish is find her daughter nor locate the missing Miguel.

Miguel's death is linked to his client, pharmacist Maria Juarez, who has found transactions involving Viagra prescribed for infants. Laura studies her data and begins working on other investigations including insurance fraud. Together with Miguel's silent partner, Laura uncovers a scandal worth billions.

This novel occurs one year after the events of BUTTERFLY LOSS and retains the color and complexity of the first tale. Laura remains a sympathetic character who readers know needs a hug. The complicated story line has numerous subplots that cleverly tie back to the main theme, turning THE KILLING MAZE an exciting mystery along with a taste of the border culture.

Harriet Klausner

I love mystery novels, but this one was a mixture of attraction and repulsion for me. The protagonist, Laura, is very engaging and fascinating. A Hopi Indian who got involved with AIM, wanted by the FBI, on the lam, and a self-trained computer expert (read that: hacker) is now living under manufactured identity and using her skills working for a Private Investigator.
In that capacity, she gets involved with a case which involves
stolen identities, computer fraud, prescription abuse, and what runs close to the most on-page violence that I can remember reading in a mystery novel. If this book were reality, it would severely increase the annual murder rate in Pima County, AZ! By the end of the book, I'd lost count of the number of peopole who'd been killed in the protagonist's quest for justice.
If you are fascinated by what can be learned through hacking into computer networks, this is a wonderful book. If you like reading about gutsy-but-vulnerable female protagonists, this is a wonderful book. If you are turned on by violence, this is a wonderful book. But I think it would take a taste for all three of those characteristics to be able to read this book without having to put it down every few pages, just to let your innards settle down.