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Stuart Haydon #1
A Cold Mind
Somewhere in the sprawling city of Houston, a psychopath s stalking his victims. Each is a high-priced call girl trained and groomed for the pleasure of high-powered gentlemen. Each is found murdered, her body twisted in a climax of agony, defying medical explanation. but most chilling of all is that the killer is coldly efficient, leaving behind no clues, no motives, no evidence.
Homicide detective Stuart Haydon has seen his share of the dangerous passions that lead to murder, but he's never seen anything like this before. From its luxury condos to its rotting wharves and mean back streets, Haydon is sucked into the seedy sexual underbelly of the city...into a secret slave trade in flesh and lust...into the cold mind of a killer in love with death.
Homicide detective Stuart Haydon has seen his share of the dangerous passions that lead to murder, but he's never seen anything like this before. From its luxury condos to its rotting wharves and mean back streets, Haydon is sucked into the seedy sexual underbelly of the city...into a secret slave trade in flesh and lust...into the cold mind of a killer in love with death.
350 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
15 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
About the author
David L. Lindsey
29 books92 followersI’m a native Texan, and I spent my early years a few miles from the Mexican border in Starr County. Eventually my family moved to West Texas where I grew up in the oil fields and ranches of the Colorado River valley northwest of San Angelo. After graduating from North Texas State University and spending a year in graduate school (focusing on 19th century European literature), I moved to Austin in 1970 where my wife, Joyce, and I still live.
Although I wanted to try my hand at writing fiction after graduate school, Joyce and I had two small children, and the often-rocky road to publishing and establishing a writing career seemed a risky proposition that I couldn’t afford to take at that point. I took an editing job with a small regional press and spent the next decade knocking around in a variety of jobs, including running my own small publishing company for a few years, and editing books in the humanities for the University of Texas Press.
Finally, in 1980, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer to try my hand at fiction. Knowing I couldn’t afford to write for nothing, I decided to increase my odds of getting published by researching what kinds of fiction had the best chance of finding a publisher. Mystery novels rose to the top of my research results. I don’t think I’d ever read a “mystery novel” at that time, but I immediately bought a representative collection of twenty-five popular, famous, and classic mystery novels, including British and European writers. After reading these, and many more, I realized that the “genre” encompassed a startling variety of work, everything from Mickey Spillane to Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Two years later I began my writing career by publishing two mystery novels in the same year. Thirty-odd years later I’ve just finished my 15th novel. Though I began writing in the mystery genre, I eventually went on to write fiction in other areas, mostly dealing with the criminal, national, and private intelligence professions.
When I’m not writing, I spend most of my time in my library. My other pleasure is gardening and landscape work, though where I live in the hilly streets of west Austin, “gardening” most often looks like wrestling with nature, rather than gently nurturing it. Still, though it’s a lot of work, it’s a great pleasure to watch things grow. Joyce and I now sit in the shade of trees that are forty feet tall that we planted when we first moved to this place nearly thirty years ago. That’s a good thing.
Although I wanted to try my hand at writing fiction after graduate school, Joyce and I had two small children, and the often-rocky road to publishing and establishing a writing career seemed a risky proposition that I couldn’t afford to take at that point. I took an editing job with a small regional press and spent the next decade knocking around in a variety of jobs, including running my own small publishing company for a few years, and editing books in the humanities for the University of Texas Press.
Finally, in 1980, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer to try my hand at fiction. Knowing I couldn’t afford to write for nothing, I decided to increase my odds of getting published by researching what kinds of fiction had the best chance of finding a publisher. Mystery novels rose to the top of my research results. I don’t think I’d ever read a “mystery novel” at that time, but I immediately bought a representative collection of twenty-five popular, famous, and classic mystery novels, including British and European writers. After reading these, and many more, I realized that the “genre” encompassed a startling variety of work, everything from Mickey Spillane to Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Two years later I began my writing career by publishing two mystery novels in the same year. Thirty-odd years later I’ve just finished my 15th novel. Though I began writing in the mystery genre, I eventually went on to write fiction in other areas, mostly dealing with the criminal, national, and private intelligence professions.
When I’m not writing, I spend most of my time in my library. My other pleasure is gardening and landscape work, though where I live in the hilly streets of west Austin, “gardening” most often looks like wrestling with nature, rather than gently nurturing it. Still, though it’s a lot of work, it’s a great pleasure to watch things grow. Joyce and I now sit in the shade of trees that are forty feet tall that we planted when we first moved to this place nearly thirty years ago. That’s a good thing.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 22, 2020
" Particles of rat hair clung to his skin in various places from his forehead to his chin, as did reddish-gray smears and daubs of the rotting animal.
Evokes a truly yummy image, doesn't it? "Daubs of a rotting animal" has a nice cadence to it. Over a quarter of a century ago I read David L. Lindsey's Mercy and liked it very much. So I reached for A Cold Mind, an earlier (1983) book by the author, and got quite a bit disappointed. One of the publishers' blurbs screams in all capitals "DEFIES YOU TO PUT IT DOWN!" Well, putting the book down was not a problem for me - I managed to do it too many times. Picking the book up, though, was more of a problem. I found the novel overwrought, overlong, and quite a bit boring. Readers who like the 'serial killer' genre will rate the novel higher, I am sure. For me, it just barely reaches the minimum needed for marginally positive recommendation.
The novel is a police procedural with a slight components of psychology. Detective Stuart Haydon is investigating the death of a young woman found drowned in the Houston bayou. While the medical examiner suspects that the woman worked as a prostitute, the exact cause of death cannot be easily established. Soon connections emerge to recent deaths of two other women. All three were call girls and all three died after displaying signs of an illness that lasted several days.
From the web I have learned that this is the first novel in the Stuart Haydon series. I find this a little surprising since for me there is not much interesting about the detective's character. He is good at what he does, and seems to be an intelligent, experienced, and hard-working cop. Yes, he does have a dark secret, but I find laughable the author's efforts to furnish our protagonist with a memorable aspect of his persona. It feels to me like a crude attempt to entice the readers to buy next books in the series, where the secret will be explored in more detail and maybe even explained.
The detectives discover an album full of pictures that show "gloriously delicious" bodies of the call-girls involved in sexual activities. Particularly interesting are pictures taken through red, blue, and yellow filters - the colors will play some role in solution of the case.
My review sounds pretty vicious so far but the novel is not without strengths. I find it well written - in fact, very well for the police procedural genre - and I liked reading small snippets of text about Houston. I know the fourth largest city in the country only from driving through it: Mr. Lindsey's novel made me want to know it quite a lot better:
If not for the accomplished writing and Houston bits A Cold Mind would not clear my threshold of recommendability.
Two-and-a-half stars.
Evokes a truly yummy image, doesn't it? "Daubs of a rotting animal" has a nice cadence to it. Over a quarter of a century ago I read David L. Lindsey's Mercy and liked it very much. So I reached for A Cold Mind, an earlier (1983) book by the author, and got quite a bit disappointed. One of the publishers' blurbs screams in all capitals "DEFIES YOU TO PUT IT DOWN!" Well, putting the book down was not a problem for me - I managed to do it too many times. Picking the book up, though, was more of a problem. I found the novel overwrought, overlong, and quite a bit boring. Readers who like the 'serial killer' genre will rate the novel higher, I am sure. For me, it just barely reaches the minimum needed for marginally positive recommendation.
The novel is a police procedural with a slight components of psychology. Detective Stuart Haydon is investigating the death of a young woman found drowned in the Houston bayou. While the medical examiner suspects that the woman worked as a prostitute, the exact cause of death cannot be easily established. Soon connections emerge to recent deaths of two other women. All three were call girls and all three died after displaying signs of an illness that lasted several days.
From the web I have learned that this is the first novel in the Stuart Haydon series. I find this a little surprising since for me there is not much interesting about the detective's character. He is good at what he does, and seems to be an intelligent, experienced, and hard-working cop. Yes, he does have a dark secret, but I find laughable the author's efforts to furnish our protagonist with a memorable aspect of his persona. It feels to me like a crude attempt to entice the readers to buy next books in the series, where the secret will be explored in more detail and maybe even explained.
The detectives discover an album full of pictures that show "gloriously delicious" bodies of the call-girls involved in sexual activities. Particularly interesting are pictures taken through red, blue, and yellow filters - the colors will play some role in solution of the case.
My review sounds pretty vicious so far but the novel is not without strengths. I find it well written - in fact, very well for the police procedural genre - and I liked reading small snippets of text about Houston. I know the fourth largest city in the country only from driving through it: Mr. Lindsey's novel made me want to know it quite a lot better:
"The tunnels that honeycomb almost fifty blocks of downtown Houston and interconnect a fraternity of corporate buildings can be attributed not to a single Daedalus, but to a host of architects employed by the city's billionaire corporate powers. [...] the disparity of the design from block to block produces a true subterranean labyrinth."I have also enjoyed repeated mentions of PCs (personal computers) used in police department. 1982/1983 were the very early days of the PC era.
If not for the accomplished writing and Houston bits A Cold Mind would not clear my threshold of recommendability.
Two-and-a-half stars.
February 27, 2020
Hard to decide whether this is a two and a half rating book, or three star. Definitely a different way of killing victims than I've ever seen in a crime fiction book, but way to much information on the murderer's development of his killing technique. I won't go into the details here, but I don't consider myself that squeamish but I was a little taken aback by the author's description. Loved the Houston setting, started to feel an affinity for Stuart Haydon the detective in the book, but towards the middle and end didn't really get to understand his inner turmoil that well. I probably won't continue with the series--this was a used copy I had for several years, and I believe the next book is out of print. Just not enough there to hook me into keeping up with the characters.
April 19, 2012
Lindsay was a new author to us, recommended by a computer application that claimed “if you like this, you might like that.” Since we tend to be keen on series characters, we decided to try “Cold Mind” (we think his second novel, pub. 1983), the author’s first in a five-book Houston-based homicide detective Stuart Haydon set. Haydon happens to be independently wealthy, yet is still a workaholic that pursues his cases with passion. The plot echoes a favorite theme in murder mysteries: somebody is offing high class call girls, so before long we’re embroiled in a world where someone seems to be “importing” potential prostitutes and converting them Pygmalion-style into expensive assets. Haydon has some cop and medical examiner buddies who help him out, and despite a very unusual actual cause of death, they gradually zero in on the solution.
Lindsay has some fourteen published novels, so he must have a reasonable fan base. Unfortunately, we found the book somewhat ordinary – we weren’t really that enamored of the Haydon character; and other than the unique manner of the actual killings, there was little to excite us as the police ever so gradually grind in on the murderer. Late in the book the perpetrator was identified for us readers, which served to derail much of the suspense – and we did find out the “how” but never the “why”. So while the story offered some degree of entertainment value, we can find plenty of similar efforts in this genre that offer more fun, more intrigue, and more satisfaction.
Lindsay has some fourteen published novels, so he must have a reasonable fan base. Unfortunately, we found the book somewhat ordinary – we weren’t really that enamored of the Haydon character; and other than the unique manner of the actual killings, there was little to excite us as the police ever so gradually grind in on the murderer. Late in the book the perpetrator was identified for us readers, which served to derail much of the suspense – and we did find out the “how” but never the “why”. So while the story offered some degree of entertainment value, we can find plenty of similar efforts in this genre that offer more fun, more intrigue, and more satisfaction.
August 4, 2012
An absorbing thriller/murder mystery/police procedural. I stayed up all night reading this one. The killer was not a typical serial killer. Very different and original. I would like to read more stories about the protagonist, Stuart Haydon.
June 4, 2018
A star higher for me on a police procedural because of the detail.
February 6, 2022
A COLD MIND [1983] By DAVID L. LINDSEY
MY REVIEW 4.5 STARS****
I finished reading a 1st Edition Hardback copy of Lindsey's A COLD MIND last Friday in the heat of August 2020. It's mind boggling to consider that it was published in 1983, only a couple of years after I relocated to Ohio in '81.
Thirty-seven years ago, let's face it, is a long time, and I realize that it's longer than many members of goodreads.com have been alive. That said, it has been lauded by critics as being "one of the best suspense novels of all time"...(and) "a classic of the genre". Lindsey actually began his writing career around 1983, and by the end of the '80s he had published several novels featuring his fictional Detective Stuart Haydon. Prior to the publication of A COLD MIND [1983] Lindsey had immersed himself in the world of real-life crime and had worked closely with the Homicide Division of the Police Department in his home Houston, Texas. His substantive research and the cooperation of the Houston PD helped to prepare Lindsey for writing about the exploits of his policeman protagonist Stuart Hayden. It is to be noted however that the novel which introduces Haydon would be the one in the series that critics and readers alike would praise for decades to come.
Frankly, I didn't discover this talented author until a few years ago when I came across his International Best Seller the serial killer thriller MERCY [1990]. Naturally the information I stumbled across elaborated upon Lindsey's earlier success with the publication of A COLD MIND [1983]. Lindsey graduated from his immersion in the Houston Homicide Division and as the '80s came to a close he had followed the same path that called out to another author of crime fiction, namely Thomas Harris. Both men were destined to go to Quantico, Virginia and spend time with the brilliant profilers of the day, the stars of the legendary Behavioral Sciences Unit. Harris would emerge and write perhaps the most iconic serial killer thriller of all time (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) while Lindsey would pen the psychosexual thriller titled MERCY that was destined to make him famous.
Lindsey's earlier works are not available in ebooks, and for that reason I procrastinated for an embarrassing amount of time before I broke down and read both of Lindsey's most well known novels, MERCY [1990] and the classic from decades ago A COLD MIND [1983].
A COLD MIND is an absolutely riveting narrative from the very first printed page. I found it intriguing that the genre listings for this novel on Amazon included Espionage, Psychological Thriller, and even Horror. There is an international flavor to the book in that sex trafficking plays an important role, and while there is nothing supernatural about the novel at its core there is in fact the feeling of absolute raw horror. This was the fourth novel I had read by Lindsey, and his rich characterization, his ability to describe Houston in such vivid detail that the atmosphere itself felt like a living thing, and his capacity to keep the pressure on while the tension continued to mount was no longer a surprise to me.
For those readers of crime fiction who find themselves thinking that there is nothing "original" out there any more, then this book is definitely for you. It has perhaps one of the most unusual, horrifying, and unique premises of any police procedural that I have ever encountered. Stuart Haydon, our protagonist, is not the typical Houston Homicide Detective. He is cultured, independently wealthy, wears expensive imported tailored clothes, and drives a Jaguar. More importantly, he is cursed by bouts of depression which are not fully explained in the course of the novel. The character of Hayden impresses me as intellectually brilliant, an academic, a cerebral thinker, thus prone to painful self-analysis and introspection around the clock. There is a time in the narrative where Hayden is engaged in a social discourse with his wife about the philosophy of Carl Jung and the opinions of Justice Louis Brandeis. Specifically, Hayden refers to the following quote:
"If we would guide by the light of reason, we must let our minds be cold"
He then explains to his wife "...behind these murders we will find a very reasonable man, a man whose mind is so cold that even the passions of murder cannot warm it".
Hayden is as intuitive as he is smart, and he feels the hairs stand up on his neck when he contemplates the nature of the serial killer they are hunting. It is suggested that Hayden has never in his experience encountered a killer who represents the very essence of pure evil in its most naked, undiluted, and basest manifestation. As a reader I did not feel that Hayden's bouts of immobilizing depression and withdrawal were secondary to his failure to heed the warning of Nietzsche ("Whoever fights monsters...". Rather the author appeared to be making the case that Hayden, the hunter of this truly unique monster, yearned to be eye to eye with him and thereby learn more about himself by virtue of the encounter.
In any case, there is a major take away after reading this book. Lindsey managed to craft a novel so utterly breathtaking in its imagery, uniqueness, unrelenting chilling suspense, and its innate horror that it is quite simply, a story once read, you will never forget it. It is in fact I think an anomaly. Why? Because it is the character who is king. The main protagonist is literally responsible for the sensational success or alternately the dismal failure of the book. We readers remember the character(s) in a given book, and very seldom do we tend to remember the plot lines of the story. In this extraordinary example of A COLD MIND, that tried and true axiom is turned upside down and on its head. Simply put, the character of Hayden was not king here, and I did not find the lead investigator of the Homicide team all that sympathetic or compelling. Conversely, it was in fact the STORY that was not only "unputdownable", but unforgettable. It is without question the scariest story I've ever read
The predator in this genuinely chilling thriller is a narcissistic genius, and a sexual psychopath who is in love with the spectacle of death. There is something inherently disturbing and ghoulish about necrophilia to begin with, but our villain is in a class of his own when it comes to his dark, unsettling fantasies, and he is uniquely horrifying in his method of murder. The fate of the beautiful young women in his victim pool is described in grim realistic detail. I won't include any details about how the victims are murdered. I will say that decades before I read this book it occurred to me that this would perhaps be the most horribly agonizing way to die than I could ever imagine. The mechanism of death is what nightmares are made of and the agony the victim suffers straight from the bowels of hell.
MY REVIEW 4.5 STARS****
I finished reading a 1st Edition Hardback copy of Lindsey's A COLD MIND last Friday in the heat of August 2020. It's mind boggling to consider that it was published in 1983, only a couple of years after I relocated to Ohio in '81.
Thirty-seven years ago, let's face it, is a long time, and I realize that it's longer than many members of goodreads.com have been alive. That said, it has been lauded by critics as being "one of the best suspense novels of all time"...(and) "a classic of the genre". Lindsey actually began his writing career around 1983, and by the end of the '80s he had published several novels featuring his fictional Detective Stuart Haydon. Prior to the publication of A COLD MIND [1983] Lindsey had immersed himself in the world of real-life crime and had worked closely with the Homicide Division of the Police Department in his home Houston, Texas. His substantive research and the cooperation of the Houston PD helped to prepare Lindsey for writing about the exploits of his policeman protagonist Stuart Hayden. It is to be noted however that the novel which introduces Haydon would be the one in the series that critics and readers alike would praise for decades to come.
Frankly, I didn't discover this talented author until a few years ago when I came across his International Best Seller the serial killer thriller MERCY [1990]. Naturally the information I stumbled across elaborated upon Lindsey's earlier success with the publication of A COLD MIND [1983]. Lindsey graduated from his immersion in the Houston Homicide Division and as the '80s came to a close he had followed the same path that called out to another author of crime fiction, namely Thomas Harris. Both men were destined to go to Quantico, Virginia and spend time with the brilliant profilers of the day, the stars of the legendary Behavioral Sciences Unit. Harris would emerge and write perhaps the most iconic serial killer thriller of all time (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) while Lindsey would pen the psychosexual thriller titled MERCY that was destined to make him famous.
Lindsey's earlier works are not available in ebooks, and for that reason I procrastinated for an embarrassing amount of time before I broke down and read both of Lindsey's most well known novels, MERCY [1990] and the classic from decades ago A COLD MIND [1983].
A COLD MIND is an absolutely riveting narrative from the very first printed page. I found it intriguing that the genre listings for this novel on Amazon included Espionage, Psychological Thriller, and even Horror. There is an international flavor to the book in that sex trafficking plays an important role, and while there is nothing supernatural about the novel at its core there is in fact the feeling of absolute raw horror. This was the fourth novel I had read by Lindsey, and his rich characterization, his ability to describe Houston in such vivid detail that the atmosphere itself felt like a living thing, and his capacity to keep the pressure on while the tension continued to mount was no longer a surprise to me.
For those readers of crime fiction who find themselves thinking that there is nothing "original" out there any more, then this book is definitely for you. It has perhaps one of the most unusual, horrifying, and unique premises of any police procedural that I have ever encountered. Stuart Haydon, our protagonist, is not the typical Houston Homicide Detective. He is cultured, independently wealthy, wears expensive imported tailored clothes, and drives a Jaguar. More importantly, he is cursed by bouts of depression which are not fully explained in the course of the novel. The character of Hayden impresses me as intellectually brilliant, an academic, a cerebral thinker, thus prone to painful self-analysis and introspection around the clock. There is a time in the narrative where Hayden is engaged in a social discourse with his wife about the philosophy of Carl Jung and the opinions of Justice Louis Brandeis. Specifically, Hayden refers to the following quote:
"If we would guide by the light of reason, we must let our minds be cold"
He then explains to his wife "...behind these murders we will find a very reasonable man, a man whose mind is so cold that even the passions of murder cannot warm it".
Hayden is as intuitive as he is smart, and he feels the hairs stand up on his neck when he contemplates the nature of the serial killer they are hunting. It is suggested that Hayden has never in his experience encountered a killer who represents the very essence of pure evil in its most naked, undiluted, and basest manifestation. As a reader I did not feel that Hayden's bouts of immobilizing depression and withdrawal were secondary to his failure to heed the warning of Nietzsche ("Whoever fights monsters...". Rather the author appeared to be making the case that Hayden, the hunter of this truly unique monster, yearned to be eye to eye with him and thereby learn more about himself by virtue of the encounter.
In any case, there is a major take away after reading this book. Lindsey managed to craft a novel so utterly breathtaking in its imagery, uniqueness, unrelenting chilling suspense, and its innate horror that it is quite simply, a story once read, you will never forget it. It is in fact I think an anomaly. Why? Because it is the character who is king. The main protagonist is literally responsible for the sensational success or alternately the dismal failure of the book. We readers remember the character(s) in a given book, and very seldom do we tend to remember the plot lines of the story. In this extraordinary example of A COLD MIND, that tried and true axiom is turned upside down and on its head. Simply put, the character of Hayden was not king here, and I did not find the lead investigator of the Homicide team all that sympathetic or compelling. Conversely, it was in fact the STORY that was not only "unputdownable", but unforgettable. It is without question the scariest story I've ever read
The predator in this genuinely chilling thriller is a narcissistic genius, and a sexual psychopath who is in love with the spectacle of death. There is something inherently disturbing and ghoulish about necrophilia to begin with, but our villain is in a class of his own when it comes to his dark, unsettling fantasies, and he is uniquely horrifying in his method of murder. The fate of the beautiful young women in his victim pool is described in grim realistic detail. I won't include any details about how the victims are murdered. I will say that decades before I read this book it occurred to me that this would perhaps be the most horribly agonizing way to die than I could ever imagine. The mechanism of death is what nightmares are made of and the agony the victim suffers straight from the bowels of hell.
February 15, 2012
It was a good page turner. I thought it was a period piece, reveling the late 70s atmosphere (referring to ladies swooning over Burt Reynolds)... then I saw that it was written in 1983, so it was written 'modern'. It's aged fairly well; there are a few interesting directions woven into the story, definitely enough to keep you interested. If I have one complaint though, it's that the villain isn't developed hardly at all. We find out who he is and what he does in his normal life, and we find out what his criminal behavior/ritual is, but what we don't know is why he does it. If there is one aspect of life in the late 70s and early 80s that it captured perfectly, it's that saying someone was crazy then was enough to justify all kinds of behavior. It's to the detriment of the story that they use that tool. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun read that doesn't want to strain their brain on complex plot twists or over technical explanations.
July 31, 2024
Die Spezialität dieses Cop-Krimis ist die originelle und krasse Art, wie der Serienkiller seine Opfer umbringt. Als das Buch geschrieben wurde, waren Serienkiller noch eine (ziemlich sensationelle) Neuerung fürs Krimigenre, heute gehören sie ja quasi zum Standard.
Ansonsten bietet der Roman konventionelle Kost. Ordentliche Polizeiarbeit, recht detailliert geschildert und (nach meinem Laienverständnis) realistisch.
Irgendwie fand ich dies grade angenehm. Eigentlich überraschend, denn normalerweise bin ich von den immer wiederkehrenden Elementen in Krimis inzwischen recht gelangweilt.
Schade war, dass im letzten Viertel oder so der Dampf etwas raus war. Es passiert zu wenig und langatmige Schilderungn (z.B. von Gebäuden) machten mich ungeduldig.
3.5/5
Ansonsten bietet der Roman konventionelle Kost. Ordentliche Polizeiarbeit, recht detailliert geschildert und (nach meinem Laienverständnis) realistisch.
Irgendwie fand ich dies grade angenehm. Eigentlich überraschend, denn normalerweise bin ich von den immer wiederkehrenden Elementen in Krimis inzwischen recht gelangweilt.
Schade war, dass im letzten Viertel oder so der Dampf etwas raus war. Es passiert zu wenig und langatmige Schilderungn (z.B. von Gebäuden) machten mich ungeduldig.
3.5/5
February 7, 2020
Interesting. A little dated with some of the references, but we'll written. I would definitely read more by this author.
December 21, 2021
A while back I read Misery by Lindsey and really liked it but for some reason forgot to go get more of his books. Recently, I remembered that I'd forgotten and remedied the situation starting with this one. And it's excellent. Stuart Haydon is a police detective in Houston, Texas. He is Lindsey's continuing character and while he's not my favorite protagonist, the plots of these books more than make up for the fact that I just don't like the guy. In A Cold Mind high class, very beautiful hookers are dying - a strange, agonizing death. What is it exactly? This is a good one with the most inventive murder weapon I've ever heard of.
October 13, 2022
Nagyon jó könyv. A főszereplő nyomozó elvesetessé teszi, a karakterek humorosak, és maga az ötlet (a gyilkosságok) formája nagyon bejön. Főleg a gyilkos karakteri felépítése, bemutatása. A könyv vége pedig szerintem reális. Van szó arról hogy mi történik utána, egyik kedvencem lett nagyon gyorsan.
October 3, 2020
Read in 1986. A suspense thriller about a serial killer. One of my favorites of that year.
December 7, 2023
Definitiv eine außergewöhnliche Tötungsmethode. Aber der Spannungsbogen ist mir zu flach. Es gibt wenig Überraschungsmomente oder ähnliches. Zum Teil sehr schöner Wortschatz und Satzbau.
August 7, 2012
Wow. What can I say? I could NOT finish this book! Having known about David Lindsey for over 20 years,and the fact that he set this series in Houston (Where I am born and raised) I thought I had an instant winner.
But I could not get into it. It reads well, but never grabs you.(At least me) I was over half way, and could not finish, nor did I realy want to....
Here is what I know of the story. Someone is killing high priced Call Girls, in a very unique way. Just not unique enough to get me to finish the book!!!
But I could not get into it. It reads well, but never grabs you.(At least me) I was over half way, and could not finish, nor did I realy want to....
Here is what I know of the story. Someone is killing high priced Call Girls, in a very unique way. Just not unique enough to get me to finish the book!!!
couldn-t-finish
October 31, 2016A Cold Mind was on my list of books to check out because I picked up a book a while back that goes with this series. It’s an old book, published in the 80s, but I figured I’d give it a try since the mystery sounded good. Unfortunately, after reading a few chapters, I’ve decided to take it off my to-read list.
From what I can tell, the mystery is about a disease-ridden prostitute who is found naked in the water by two boys. There’s no clear cause of death.
I just couldn’t connect with the detectives or the victim. A Cold Mind is going on my did-not-finish list.
From what I can tell, the mystery is about a disease-ridden prostitute who is found naked in the water by two boys. There’s no clear cause of death.
I just couldn’t connect with the detectives or the victim. A Cold Mind is going on my did-not-finish list.
August 1, 2008
Very good characterization
April 12, 2010
A Houston police detective, Stuart Haydon, searches for a serial
killer of call girls. I may be biased toward Lindsey's books because I'm a native Houstonian.
killer of call girls. I may be biased toward Lindsey's books because I'm a native Houstonian.
July 12, 2011
I like a good murder mystery as well as the next one however the abuse of women is beyond the pale. This book was much to grizzly for me.
September 19, 2011
I like the way Lindsey writes. His books really "flow". I liked the characters ( detective) better in the first book I read by Lindsey but this was a good thriller.
October 21, 2019
Pure pulp. Instantly dismissable and forgettable.
March 24, 2016
Totally gave me the creeps! A great serial killer.
March 4, 2008
A great read. Full of suspense. I am not a veracious reader but I had trouble putting it down.
February 3, 2015
RATING: 3.0
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews