"complex who-done-it"

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

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted April 26, 2005

Summary

Featuring Toronto antiques dealer Lara McClintoch, Lyn Hamilton's fascinating series immerses readers in the world's most exotic cultures. This time, the globetrotting Lara travels to Easter Island, where ancient mysteries spawn modern-day murder as the giant stone carvings known as the Moai draw a delegation of experts to the island-and a killer with vengeance on his mind.