This is psychological suspense where the horror is subtle and comes from everyday and unexpected sources.
Ross Marteau is an American living in Paris, where he makes a decent living as a sculptor. After a particularly nasty breakup with his girlfriend of several years, he decides to return to his home in Texas and work from his studio in the art-friendly city of San Rafael. There he settles into a routine of working in the mornings on his next project and sharing conversation and a beer in the afternoons with his friend Amado Mateos. It is during one of these afternoon meetings that he notices a newcomer to the town.
Celeste Lacan is a beautiful woman who soon approaches Ross with a proposition. She would like to offer Ross a commission to sculpt her sister. Ross demurs--he already has a commission--but Celeste asks him to meet her sister before refusing, and when he does, he understands why Celeste is so insistent. Leda is not only the most beautiful woman Ross has ever seen, she is also the ugliest, and as a sculptor Ross knows that he will learn something new about beauty. As Ross begins working with Leda and meeting Celeste in the afternoons, he becomes obsessed with the two sisters. Life is about to become a living hell for Ross Marteau, and the ending of this story about art and love is breathtakingly horrifying.
Ross Marteau is an American living in Paris, where he makes a decent living as a sculptor. After a particularly nasty breakup with his girlfriend of several years, he decides to return to his home in Texas and work from his studio in the art-friendly city of San Rafael. There he settles into a routine of working in the mornings on his next project and sharing conversation and a beer in the afternoons with his friend Amado Mateos. It is during one of these afternoon meetings that he notices a newcomer to the town.
Celeste Lacan is a beautiful woman who soon approaches Ross with a proposition. She would like to offer Ross a commission to sculpt her sister. Ross demurs--he already has a commission--but Celeste asks him to meet her sister before refusing, and when he does, he understands why Celeste is so insistent. Leda is not only the most beautiful woman Ross has ever seen, she is also the ugliest, and as a sculptor Ross knows that he will learn something new about beauty. As Ross begins working with Leda and meeting Celeste in the afternoons, he becomes obsessed with the two sisters. Life is about to become a living hell for Ross Marteau, and the ending of this story about art and love is breathtakingly horrifying.
Starts out as a simple tail of a sculptor who is comissioned to do a sculpture of a beautiful girl that has a severe physical deformity. Her sister has come to town to be with her throught this posing. Where does love come in? Which lover from his past is the mother of this girl? And the ending will knock your socks off. Book is NOT overtly sexually graphic although there is some sex in it.
This book was written exceptionally well. If you like murder, mystery, and suspense this book is a good one. David Lindsey did a good job when writing this book.
Famous nude sculptor Ross Marteau has a bad habit of getting into relationships with his models and they usually end badly. I guess we could expect no less when Celeste Lacan enters his world especially when she introduces her beautiful but deformed sister, Leda as the model.
This is a suspenseful novel though only in the final third. The remainder of the book sets the stage for the ultimate betrayal. I listened to the audiobook of this and the narrator was terrible - strange inflection and weird pauses between words.
This is a suspenseful novel though only in the final third. The remainder of the book sets the stage for the ultimate betrayal. I listened to the audiobook of this and the narrator was terrible - strange inflection and weird pauses between words.
Lots of weird twists and turns in this one.
Very slow start w/even slower story development. Too many words for such a short story. Unable to wade thru entire book...boring.
