Stalking Moon [Mass Market Paperback]

David Cole (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2002

In this compelling mystery, Laura Winslow must untangle a criminal conspiracy to save herself from being put in gaol.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

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

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 295 pages
• Publisher: Avon (January 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380819708
• ISBN-13: 978-0380819706
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,607,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fast-paced, violent thriller, July 5, 2002

By 

M. A Michaud "michael_michaud" (Dulles, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stalking Moon (Mass Market Paperback)

In this novel, David Cole introduces us to the seamier side of life on the American side of the border with Mexico. His protagonist, a woman who has had a nightmare past including criminal convictions, is an expert in using computers to track illegal bank accounts. She also is an expert in creating new identities for herself. While working with American law enforcement officials, she discovers the horrors of illegal trafficking in women, particularly from Eastern Europe. Corruption is everywhere. Characters betray each other; some are gunned down. The shorthand language of computerese pops up in the middle of normal prose. Cole paints a bleak picture, but it will hold your attention.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Series, April 26, 2003

By 

readamystery13 "Kristin" (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stalking Moon (Mass Market Paperback)

I am constantly looking for great mysteries to read. After reading the first three books in this series (Butterfly Lost, The Killing Maze, and Stalking Moon), this is an excellent series for those who like mysteries set in the American Southwest. David Cole's outlook of the Hopi and Navajo traditions and cultures add to the intensity of this mystery. He builds a compelling protagonist, Laura Winslow, who is a computer hacker that you never completely learn about. In each book, she changed somewhat but still you never fully understand her. The character's dialogue is genuine and persuasive, while the plots are gripping and suspenseful. Each book has been hard to put down and step away from, you have to see what happens next.

4.0 out of 5 stars Laura Winslow is one of my favorite characters in crime fiction, November 14, 2011

By 

Cathy G. Cole (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stalking Moon (Mass Market Paperback)

First Line: One of my cell phones rang at 4:15 in the morning.

As a brilliant computer hacker, Laura Winslow knows of many ways to fly beneath the radar to avoid detection. Through the years, she's used many of those ways herself. As a youthful member of A.I.M. (American Indian Movement), she did things that have the government still searching for her. Her ex-husband stole their daughter, and Laura is still trying to find her, but at least she's overcome her addiction to ritalin. The smoother her life is, the more she'll be able to concentrate on what matters most to her.

This part-Hopi hacker-investigator has been hiding out in the Arizona desert, but her latest job puts her too close to the Mexican border at the same time that a large-scale illegal border crossing is taking place. Laura is now in the hands of federal agents who will expose and arrest her unless she agrees to help the government in uncovering a massive operation trafficking in human lives. Innocent women have already died in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and Mexico, and unless Laura can discover the truth in a labyrinth of internet chat rooms and cover-ups, she may join them.

I enjoy this series and always recommend it to other crime fiction readers who enjoy mysteries in that mid-range between cozy and hard-boiled. Author David Cole imbues his books with a strong sense of place-- not through painting word pictures of breathtaking scenery, but through plots that deal with issues that are crucial to the area. His main character, Laura Winslow, is also one of the best in the genre.

Superficially, Laura is a character that many readers would prefer to ignore. Her background can easily make them uncomfortable. Laura's history-- and her growth and transformation-- is exactly what makes her such a wonderful character.

She's hiding from the federal government due to her participation in the American Indian Movement as a teenager and young woman. For the most part, she was following in her ex-husband's footsteps and not any real threat to life, liberty and the pursuit of the American Way. In a very real sense, her participation has already cost her her daughter.

Laura also became addicted to ritalin, and drug addicts also make most people uneasy. In the first book in this series, Butterfly Lost, she is still addicted and fighting it, which made her a very jumpy and unpredictable person. By this third book in the series, she's succeeded in kicking her habit, but she can still be unpredictable. Laura Winslow is a woman who evolves from book to book. She grows, she changes, she becomes stronger and more focused. It's this transformation of a character that has me hooked on these books. Laura is becoming a person who's willing to take control and stop hiding. No matter how conflicted she is, Laura always opts for doing what's right.

From the border towns of Nogales to the city of Tucson, Cole leads us through a maze of clues to the people smuggling women into the U.S.-- and the futility that comes with catching them. It's every bit the same as cutting the head off a hydra.

David Cole is a very talented storyteller and the creator of a marvelous character in Laura Winslow. It would thrill me to bits if more readers would discover-- and appreciate-- his books like I do.