The Killing Maze

Being a huge Tony Hillerman fan, I like to choose other authors who operate in a native American milieu. I was immediately hooked by Laura, with her complex past and all of her medical problems; nevertheless, she manages to overcome and solve, in this outing, an incredibly complex fraud, including some really dangerous situations. I will definitely read more by this author.

If you enjoyed Cole's first book, Butterfly Lost, you're in for a real treat as The Killing Maze is another knockout winner from this new mystery author. Don't plan on putting this book down as once you begin chapter one, it's a real page turner that will keep your interest as you're reintroduced to Laura. Although she has assumed a new identity in The Killing Maze, she still makes her living by hacking into computer systems and obtaining information that eventually leads her to a major drug ring. Her past still haunts her and the reader will be drawn back to the rez and all of her past that she has tried so carefully to forget. Cole deftly introduces us to new characters that become part of this exciting plot. He continues to show his ability to keep us interested through the many sub-plots and characters and the reader never loses track of the storyline and their connection to Laura. Can't wait for the next chapter in book #3.

If you want an exiting variation on the movie Traffic, don't hesitate to read this book. Even if you've never seen the movie, still don't hesitate, since this book is so well written. Part of Cole's plot deals with smuggling people across the US/Mexico border, and he vividly writes about the "coyotes" and smuggling people rather than drugs. I love Cole's main characters, but I particularly like the "sense of place" in the Sonoran desert ranging from Tucson and Southern Arizona down into Sonora, Mexico. Cole writes about Internet and computer crime as though he's done it himself! But even the shady characters in this book are three-dimensional and alive, with Cole writing about the good/not-so-good in all of us. Laura Marana Winslow is a unique "detective" in that she's neither a detective nor wants to be one. Her friend Rey, the ex Viet Nam vet and one-time Border patrolman, is an exceptionally drawn character, but no more so than that of his ex-wife, Meg Arizana. I love the "performance artist" aspect of her life, plus the dynamics of all three of them working together. Like "Traffic," this book is exciting from start to finish. Unlike having to go to a movie theatre, though, I've got The Killing Maze to reread any time I want.

Before reading The Killing Maze, I never spent much time with mysteries. Not any more! David Cole has an amazing gift for vivid characters, complex plots and subplots, and a "sense of place" about living in the desert that makes me want to immediately buy an airplane ticket to Arizona. His main character, Laura Marana, is a true outsider, struggling with very real conflicts of identity and purpose. Laura's computer hacking puts her life on the edge of what's legal and she pays for it. Cole's character list includes many wonderfully drawn people, none of them either all "good" or really "bad." He also accurately tackles the politics of gun culture in US society. I particularly liked Laura's friends Meg Arizana, the anti-gun activist, and Rey Villaneuva, a one-time Border Patrol officer who struggles with his inability to keep violence out of his life. The Killing Maze is a rare find for me and a perfect example of first-rate fiction, not just what some people like me might have dismissed as a genre book (a mystery). I've already ordered Butterfly Lost, Cole's first book, and can't wait for his next.

Don't start this book unless you have allowed yourself ample reading time because you won't want to put it down, even for dinner. The Killing Maze by David Cole never lets up. It is exciting from beginning to end. I found myself thinking about it at times when I couldn't read it. The characters are interesting and the story is suspenseful with unpredictable twists. The author's insight about computers is awesome. It is one of the few books that I will read again because it is top-notch.