The Moai Murders (Archaeological Mysteries, No. 9) [Hardcover]

Lyn Hamilton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 5, 2005

Featuring Toronto antiques dealer Lara McClintoch, Lyn Hamilton's fascinating series immerses readers in the world's most exotic cultures. This time, the globetrotting Lara travels to Easter Island, where ancient mysteries spawn modern-day murder as the giant stone carvings known as the Moai draw a delegation of experts to the island-and a killer with vengeance on his mind.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Hamilton's well-told 9th archeological mystery (after 2004's The Magyar Venus), Toronto antiques dealer Lara McClintoch and her friend Moira Meller, while on vacation on Rapa Nui (better known as Easter Island), decide to register for the First Annual Rapa Nui Moai Congress, which they discover is being held at their hotel. Notable among the conference's participants—an eccentric lot of interested amateurs rather than serious scholars—is Jasper Robinson, an adventurer filming a documentary and putting forth his own theory about the Moai, the huge carved heads for which the isolated Pacific island is famous. Many are jealous of Robinson, but who would go so far as to murder the man? Vivid descriptions of the terrain, as well as details of the history and cultural evolution of Easter Island's people, enrich this chatty whodunit. While some of the action strains credulity, Hamilton makes effective use of flashbacks and puts a first-class twist on the traditional locked-room mystery. Agent, Bella Pomer. (Apr. 5)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Antiques dealer Lara McClintoch and her friend Moira Meller head to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to celebrate Moira's return to health. When they reach their hotel, they find it's the site of the Rapa Nui Moai Congress--an academic conference to exchange information on the moai, giant stone carvings that populate the island. After the two join the conference, planning to attend the lectures and field trips, one of the attendees is found dead, thought by police to have been trampled by wild horses. Lara disagrees with the verdict and begins her own investigation as further participants die. Fascinating details about the island's history and the moai enhance this ninth adventure in the archaeologically rich series. Lara and Moira are well-drawn characters, but, disappointingly, the numerous secondary characters are hard to differentiate. Still this is an enjoyable addition to the series. Readers who enjoy the archaeology frame may also enjoy Aaron Elkins' forensic anthropology mysteries. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover (April 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425200442
• ISBN-13: 978-0425200445
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #627,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE MOAI MURDERS, March 17, 2007

By 

Edward J. Altmann (Kabul, Afghanistan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Moai Murders (Archaeological Mysteries, No. 9) (Paperback)

Once again we are flown away to one of the most mysterious and fascinating places in the world. This time, Ms. Hamilton's part time "Sherlock Holmes" and full time antique dealer, Lara McClintoch, is on a vacation...from everything except murder. I should have written murders. Follow her through a history lesson that is painless, entertaining, and incredibly informative and try to outguess her. Betcha you can't.

Reading Ms. Hamilton's books should qualify us for Master's Degrees in History and Archaeology. Reading these "impossible to put down" books certainly qualifies us for being extremely well entertained.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars absorbing amateur sleuth, April 5, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Moai Murders (Archaeological Mysteries, No. 9) (Hardcover)

Lara McClintoch, co-owner with her ex-husband Clive, of an upscale antiques store in Toronto, has been to some very exotic places but has never really gone on a vacation. Her best friend Moira Meller who is also Clive's girlfriend, convinces her to go on a real vacation to Easter Island also known as Ropa Nui. The island is famous for its Moai statues several feet high and facing inland several resting on a base known as an ahu.

Nobody knows who carved them or how they were made but the Ropa Nui Moai congress meet on the island and accept Moira and Lora as members. A native who has visions says that one of the group will die shortly on a specific spot. This actually happens but Lara sees evidence that the member was murdered not accidentally killed by a horse. When the star of the Congress, who made a very important find to back up his belief that the native language came from Chile, is murdered, the police are forced to act. The daughter of another group member lies in a coma and nobody knows why. Lora thinks that all these events are linked and she goes his extraordinary lengths to prove her theory and save the remaining members of the group.

After reading THE MOAI MURDERS, readers will have a definite picture in the mind's eye what Easter Island actually looks like, what the natives are like and who people want to vacation there. Lyn Hamilton has written a colorful, exciting and totally absorbing amateur sleuth novel that will be enjoyed by readers who like a complicated and complex who-done-it and armchair travelers.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars There is a good plot in there waiting to get out..., March 23, 2007

By 

A. Thomson "Avid reader" (Surprise, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Moai Murders (Archaeological Mysteries, No. 9) (Paperback)

This could have been a wonderful read. The elements are there: an intriguing setting, an interesting story, a variety of characters. But somewhere along the way the author lost her way. None of the characters is compelling or memorable, and their relationships to one another are seldom developed. Often, instead of dialogue, we get a lecture that could have been part of the forum rather than part of a conversation. The editing of this book was practically non-existent; a paragraph would be followed by a paragraph that was totally unrelated to what was going on in previous one. Lara's thinking-out-loud became a redundant summary of the plot so far. When the killer was revealed it was like "huh? who is that?" I read this for a book club, and almost all of us said we wouldn't have finished the book if we were reading it on our own. A major disappointment.