Customer Reviews

The Moai Murders (Archaeological Mysteries, No. 9)

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

 

 

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.

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

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.

Too many characters. Few of them really memorable. Hamilton doesn't describe them physically so they all run together. I had to write a chart in the front flap of the book to try to keep them straight. Also, too much of the book is Lara, the narrator, mulling over clues over and over. A bit tedious. Not a terrible book, but not great, either. Hamilton has done better.

Another murder-filled adventure for our favorite female Toronto antique shop owner. This time her best friend wants to see Easter Island before she dies, so off the two of them go to Easter Island. I had no idea that there were so many Moai's around the island. Very interesting and a fun read.