Christian Fiction & Literature, Thrillers, Police Stories

An Absence of Light

Name: An Absence of Light
Author: David Lindsey
ISBN: 9780307567079

by David Lindsey

Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Overview

From a best-selling author who's been compared to Le Carre and Graham Greene, a taut, literate thriller of a dubious death in Houston that leads to a former Mossad legend turned arms merchant -- and master criminal.

From the Paperback edition.

An investigator for Houston's Police Department is found dead, an apparent suicide. But Marcus Graver hires an outsider to investigate. 6 cassettes.

Synopsis

“A multilayered thriller that races to an explosive conclusion.”—People

Captain Marcus Graver, working out of the Houston P.D.’s Criminal Intelligence Division, has made a career of collecting other people’s secrets. But it takes a bullet to the brain of one of his own investigators to reveal the darkest secrets of all.

Officially the death of Arthur Tisler is a suicide. But Graver’s seen the files of Tisler’s last case and he refuses to bury his questions with the corpse. His instincts tell him that Tisler was onto something big—big enough to cost the investigator his life. And the more Graver digs, the more he’s convinced that the trail of corruption leads back to his own command.

Now he must do the most dangerous thing any cop can do: go outside the department. He must enter a shadowy labyrinth of lies and deception where he can trust no one, not even his closest friends and colleagues. And waiting at the center of the maze is a mysterious, sadistic genius, a pair of beautiful assassins, and a thread of clues that will lead to a dark rendezvous with the truth—and death.

“Relentlessly paced and adroitly imagined . . . sure to win [David] Lindsey numerous new fans—and thoroughly satisfy his current ones.”—Publishers Weekly

About the Author, David Lindsey

David Lindsey is the New York Times bestselling author of eleven highly acclaimed novels including Mercy, The Rules of Silence, Body of Truth, The Color of Night, and An Absence of Light. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Relentlessly paced and adroitly imagined, Lindsey's latest thriller (after Body of Truth ) opens with the apparent suicide of Arthur Tisler, a detective in the Criminal Investigation Division of the Houston police. Marcus Graver, in charge of the internal investigation into the death, discovers information implicating Tisler in CID corruption and making his suicide look suspicious--especially when other cops in Tisler's unit start dying. Next, Graver uncovers evidence that links his friend and fellow officer Dean Burtell to the shadowy figure of Panos Kalatis, an ex-Mossad agent who has spent years planning some illicit multimillion-dollar operation. Graver must apprehend this assassin in five days or the operation will be closed down and Kalatis will undoubtedly disappear with the money. Along with deft plotting and abundant surprises (including a socko finish), Lindsey offers suspense shrewdly balanced by a number of thoughtful meditations on the nature of betrayal and deceit. Particularly refreshing is the high degree of verisimilitude: readers can readily sense that the novel's events are beyond the ken of its protagonists and that a sinister world truly exists beyond normal perception. Sure to win Lindsey numerous new fans--and thoroughly satisfy his current ones. (May)

Library Journal

When a member of Houston's Police Intelligence Division turns up an apparent suicide, a chilling chain of events is triggered, unveiling the compromise of highly sensitive data, a sophisticated drug smuggling scam, and the relocation of vast sums of money. To avoid publicity and scandal, Capt. Marcus Garver hires an old friend in the ``intelligence-for-profit business'' to assist him and a tight crew from the force in the pursuit of the wily kingpin of the enterprise. As Garver's team closes in, pillars of the community drop right and left while the stealthy ``Greek'' closes down his operation and prepares to drop out of sight. As literate and polished as it is compelling, this should rank among the best in the thriller genre. Working in a style reminiscent of John le Carr, Lindsey (Body of Truth, LJ 4/1/92) is a master of articulate, involving suspense. Highly recommended. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/94.]-Susan Clifford, Hughes Aircraft Co. Lib., Los Angeles

Joe Collins

A lengthy cop thriller that starts out slowly but picks up speed en route to a spectacular conclusion, "An Absence of Light" is an entertaining look at problems within the Houston Police Department's Intelligence Division. When a cop in the division suspiciously kills himself, brooding Marcus Graver is brought in to determine whether or not it really was a suicide. Graver recruits an elite undercover organization to help him when more cops begin turning up dead, and things start to speed up when Graver figures out that drug runner Panos Kalatis is behind it all. Lindsay's style is wordy, but there's enough sophisticated bugging techniques, Uzis with silencers, and layer after layer of plot twists and turns to overcome that. The ending is not what the reader would expect, which is both good and bad (good because it's unexpected, bad because it's a little less than satisfying). Nonetheless, a good page-turner.