Review and Giveaway: Missing in Mexico

Missing In Mexico

Author: Stuart Gustafson

Paperback: 271 pages (also available in various e-book formats)

Publisher: AITE Publishing (May, 2011)

Synposis:

Two girls enjoy a semester break in Mexico, head for the airport, go through customs and get in line for their flight. But only one girl arrives home in Seattle. Sarah is Missing in Mexico and her parents have called in Stan Walkorski, a private investigator to head to Mexico and find their daughter. Stan is up against a community of private people who worry he is the police or a criminal searching for the beautiful Sarah. Not to mention no one saw Sarah snatched away or can give him any reason why Sarah would want to disappear willingly into the anonymity of Mexico. And of course Stan’s command of the Spanish language is limited to friendly greetings and inquiries about the location of the bathroom. Where’s a PI to start?

Review:

Reading Missing in Mexcio I really felt like I was seeing the puzzle of the missing Sarah through the eyes of Stan, the private investigator. He plods steadily through the city, constantly tortured by more questions. There were so many possibilities for what might have happened.

Even though I love to read mysteries I couldn’t get ahead of the writing and guess what was going to happen. I had to let it unfold for me just as Stan did. About 2/3 of the way through the book all Stan’s snooping paid off and he finally began making significant progress. And what a surprise! Never saw THAT coming. Ditto for the additional surprise at the end of the book.

This is not a fast paced book but the pace mirrors the frustration of Stan. Gustafson seemed to portray the Mexican culture very accurately: the friendly but cautious attitude of the locals, his reserved romantic relationship with a Mexican woman, his beautiful descriptions of several Mexican spots. You can tell Gustafson loves Mexico because occassionally he goes overboard with his descriptions…although they are interesting they don’t do anything to advance the plot.

Overall I enjoyed Missing in Mexico and Stan. I wonder, will he return in Stuart’s next book that takes place in Australia?

Oops: I read the e-book of Missing in Mexico. Overall the formatting was good although there were a few “quirks”. Occassionally when dialogue continued for more than one line the second line would be indented also. Apparently this is a common problem that has to do more with Kindle than the author as I’ve heard from a few other authors and readers. There were also a few(three or four) Russian words that were replaced by question marks. Really not that distracting…just a blip. I would let those problems keep you from reading Missing in Mexico in e-format.

Stuart Gustafson is generously giving away a print copy of Missing in Mexico to one of my followers. Just comment below! And don’t despair if you don’t win…you can purchase a print copy at the Missing in Mexico website and pay NO SHIPPING(US Addresses only).

I read Missing in Mexico as part of a blog tour with Partners in Crime. You can find out more about Partners in Crime and the Missing in Mexico tour at their website.