The Rules of Silence (Mass Market Paperback)

by David Lindsey (Author) "Benny Chalmers stared through the opened window of his pickup..." (more)
Key Phrases: van crew, cedar brakes, surveillance van, Garcia Burden, Jorge Macias, Titus Cain (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Lindsey is an efficient thriller author who sometimes (as in Mercy) reaches considerable heights of suspense and terror. The present book, however, is no more than just efficient, despite its smooth prose, a Lindsey trademark. It has a workable plot-Titus Cain, a self-made Texas millionaire software developer, is being bled financially by a Latino thug who threatens to kill Cain's nearest and dearest if he fails to pay large sums into a series of front companies-but it soon becomes clear that the plot is all there is to the book. Titus; his wife, Rita; and the outlaw techno-whiz they hire to get them out of their horrible situation are not brought to life for an instant, but remain the ciphers of a mindless action movie. It soon becomes clear that the Cains' would-be savior, Garcia Burden, has his own dark agenda, and that their nemesis is not stockpiling money just for himself but perhaps for a sinister Arab group that could be planning a new terrorist attack. There's a great deal of planting bugs, scrutinizing laptops, dashing around in SUVs and the occasional burst of mayhem, but it's basically an unengaging and mechanical exercise. Lindsey can do much better.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Multimillionaire Titus Cain is approached with a strange proposition: if he doesn't give a certain man $64 million, this same man will kill off some (or perhaps all) of Cain's friends and loved ones. The money has to be given to the extortionist in such a way that no one suspects anything is going on (primarily through deliberately bad investments), and if Cain even tries to seek help, the killings will start instantly. Lindsey's latest novel is thoroughly exhilarating, even if the premise isn't completely fresh: Jon Katzenbach's The Analyst (2001) was also about a man who had to do a specific thing if he didn't want the villain to kill his loved ones. Titus Cain is a sympathetic protagonist, a man forced to make tough decisions in the face of enormous danger; Cayetano Luquin, the powerful extortionist, who apparently does this sort of thing for a living, is vastly evil without being cartoonish; and Garcia Burden, the ex-CIA counterterrorism expert to whom Titus turns for help, is resourceful and inscrutable. Lindsey's novels sometimes suffer from lethargy, as though he's just sort of wandering through his story, but this one moves swiftly to its rousing finale. It's a definite winner. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446612928
• ISBN-13: 978-0446612920
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #669,341 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Lindsay's worst book yet. A book worthy of Clive Cussler., May 17, 2003

By	Ian Kaplan (Livermore, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Rules of Silence (Hardcover)

In general I don't read a lot of detective or mystery fiction. An exception has been David Lindsey. I own most of his books, even some of the more obscure works, published early in his career. I have been drawn to Lindsey's books by his writing style and the moral ambiguity of his plots. Sometimes decent people do ugly things in Lindsey's stories. As in life, in Lindsey's plots there have been no simple answers.

The Rules of Silence is the last David Lindsey book I'm planning to buy. The only reason that I was able to finish this howler is that I could not believe that the plot was really as simplistic as it turned out to be. I kept thinking that Lindsay would twist the plot around in the end and show the reader that everything that they thought was true was not. Instead The Rules of Silence was a waste of time and money. This is the sort of book that I would expect from Clive Cussler, not the author of Mercy.

In contrast to some of Lindsay's previous work, the characters in The Rules of Silence are cliches, without any depth. The story is so predictable and trite that until I reached the last page I could not believe that Lindsay would actually write something like this. If Lindsay had a long history of writing empty "boy fiction", then I would not expect anything else. Sadly Lindsay has been capable of better work. Given the poor quality of this book and the fact that there are so many good books, I'll think twice before spending time on another David Lindsay work.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars similar in theme to Jon Katzenbach's THE ANALYST, April 12, 2003

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Rules of Silence (Hardcover)

Cayetano "Tano" Luquin extorts money from millionaires by threatening to kill anyone they cherish if payment fails to be remitted. The professional blackmailer insures nearly impossible tracing even following the money trail by having his victims make losing investments in which he reaps the awards from paper companies "laundering" the cash. His current chosen lamb is software developer guru Titus Cain.

Titus and his wife Rita turn to counterterrorist expert Garcia Burden to help expedite the Cains from this devious plot. If Tano learns that his victims deviated from his script, one by one those close to Titus will be marked for death plus a demand for an increase from the $64 million dollar first offer will occur. A former CIA agent, Garcia starts gathering information on his opponent knowing that if he breaks THE RULES OF SILENCE of this game someone will die.

Though somewhat similar in theme to Jon Katzenbach's THE ANALYST, THE RULES OF SILENCE is an exciting action thriller that never slows down until the final confrontation occurs. The story line moves at a rapid pace so readers need to wear their seat belts at all times. The villain and his opponent each have agendas that make them the lead duo in a deadly game of cat and mouse, and more easily understood than the victims. Not quite as character rounded as David Lindsey's usual novel (see A COLD MIND and MERCY), readers will still appreciate this exhilarating thriller.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lindsey's approach to the "page turner", May 1, 2004

By A Customer

I've always had the feeling that David Lindsey was the "thinking man's" mystery/thriller writer. The reader was impressed at the writing skill and depth of the writer - the book HAD to be read slowly to appreciate the nuances he brought to the story, however gruesome the topic. Now he goes and writes something completely out of style: a book that grabs you from the first chapter and doesn't let you go until the final page. Great writing, as usual, but much more fast-paced than in the past. Terrific book.