A COLD MIND

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SYNOPSIS

“…Haydon sets an ingenious, yet fragile, trap…”

When three of the most beautiful call girls who circulate in Houston’s exclusive haute monde die in bizarre, violent, but seemingly unrelated incidents, homicide detective Stuart Haydon suspects they are separate pieces of the same deadly puzzle. Medical reports on the women indicate the presence of a rare and mysterious virus, and Haydon launches an investigation that carries him from the shadowy wharves and warehouses of the city’s back streets to the exotic world of Houston’s wealthy Brazilian expatriate community — a closed society of extravagant living and well-guarded secrets.

Stuart Haydon is not a typical homicide detective. He’s independently wealthy, lives in one of the upscale old-money neighborhoods in Houston. He is married to a prominent architect whom he adores, and spends much of his spare time in his library with his old collie who loves to lap up all the wine Haydon will give him. Haydon is introspective, and he’s a homicide detective because it brings him face-to-face with all the contradictions and complexities of human nature that fascinate him.

And this particular killer is a prime example of that fascination. He continues to elude Haydon’s efforts to stop him as he leaves behind an ever-increasing trail of victims.  Until Haydon recruits the help of Judith Croft, a beautiful call girl–who keeps her own secrets until the last moments of the novel. Haydon sets an ingenious, yet fragile, trap for outwitting a killer whose life is as unimaginable as the death he administers.

As the pressure mounts to stop the continuing deaths, Haydon uncovers an underground slave trade in beautiful girls from the slums of Rio de Janeiro, and finally begins to fit the pieces together. But the stress of the investigation weighs heavily on him, and Haydon must do battle with his own inner doubts and secret weaknesses as he tensely plays out his scheme for outwitting a brilliant and cold minded killer whose obsessive crimes test the limits of Haydon’s understanding of good and evil.

AUTHOR’S COMMENTS

“… one of those books that just spilled out onto the page…”

A Cold Mind was one of those books that just spilled out onto the page, a one-of-a-kind novel that seemed to take on a life of its own from the opening words. It was my second effort at writing a novel, and the first book in which I introduce Houston homicide detective Stuart Haydon, a man who would become the protagonist of four more novels, and who began to develop a cult following from his very first appearance on page 7 of this novel.

I’ve always done a lot of research for my novels, and it was during my research for this book that I began working closely with several detectives in the Houston Police Department’s Homicide Division. It was a fascinating opportunity, because at that time Houston was booming, and it’s homicide rate earned it the dubious title of the “homicide capital of the nation.” I continued to work with the detectives in the homicide division throughout the ’80s and ’90s. I could write a book about that experience as well.

As for my fictional homicide detective, I still get asked the question: “Will you ever bring back Stuart Haydon?”