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I was aware that David Lindsey had written several novels; I was somewhat surprised though to find that his latest, THE FACE OF THE ASSASSIN, is his thirteenth. It wasn't until MERCY --- not necessarily Lindsey's best book, but arguably the one for which he is best known --- was published that Lindsey began to receive the attention that more writers earn than actually receive. MERCY is generally thought of as Lindsey's first novel, but it's actually his sixth. He certainly hit his stride with it and has never looked back.
Which brings us to THE FACE OF THE ASSASSIN, a complex but riveting thriller set primarily in Mexico City. It is full of twists and turns, practically from its rather gory beginning (if you are in the habit of eating while you read, you might want to forego the deli food for the first few pages of this one, my friends), to the last few paragraphs. The primary protagonist of THE FACE OF THE ASSASSIN is Paul Bern, a forensic artist residing in Austin, Texas. Bern is slowly but surely adjusting to life as a widower when his life is turned upside down by a new client, a mysterious woman who gives him a skull that she has smuggled out of Mexico. The woman tells Bern that she believes the skull is that of her estranged and missing husband. As Bern begins the artistic reconstruction of the skull's face, he slowly comes to the realization that the face is his own --- and that the skull is that of his twin brother, a brother who he never knew he had.
A nightmarish enigma named Vincente Mondragon contacts Bern almost immediately thereafter on behalf of the CIA. Mondragon informs Bern that his twin brother had been a CIA agent working on a clandestine operation against a terrorist group --- and Mondragon wants Bern to take the place of his twin brother, the brother he never knew he had. Bern resists the idea but is blackmailed into doing so. He is almost immediately thrust into a world with which he is totally unfamiliar and where his life is in constant danger. He also must act with the knowledge that his success or failure will make the ultimate difference to the thousands of people who are the target of a multilevel terrorist attack and whose lives hang in the balance as a result.
Lindsey is a magnificent storyteller. His ability to weave unforgettable --- and in the case of Mondragon, REALLY unforgettable --- characters into a fascinating plot has never been so well displayed as they are in THE FACE OF THE ASSASSIN. I'm not just talking about Mondragon here, either. There is a 17-year-old girl named Alice who, as the result of a brain injury, experiences a cognitive disconnection with respect to the ability to recognize and understand the meaning of words. Alice's appearances bookend THE FACE OF THE ASSASSIN. I initially was very disappointed that her appearance was so limited. It wasn't until I had finished the novel and was reflecting upon it that I fully realized that Lindsey knew exactly what he was doing. Alice's condition manifests itself in such a dramatic manner that it would have ultimately hijacked the novel. Less, in this case, was enough.
THE FACE OF THE ASSASSIN may well supplant MERCY as the novel for which David Lindsey is best known. There has got to be a film version in this book's future to help it along as well. This is a compelling work by a writer who continues to get better and better.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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