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Title: Toros and Torsos

Author: Craig McDonald

Narrator: Tom Stechschulte

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 08-11-09

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Hector Lassiter is a gutsy crime writer who believes in the "write what you live and live what you write" mantra. Then Hector learns of another artist who follows this method - Âa serial killer who takes inspiration from art, leaving his victims in bloody vignettes of surrealist paintings. When a woman Hector knows becomes the latest work of art, he vows to stop the sadistic artist.

Critic Reviews:

"As a popular author, Lassiter interacts with such notables as Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles, whom the author skillfully animates. Other celebrities of the day make cameo appearances. Solidly grounded in such actual events as the Key West hurricane of 1935, the Spanish Civil War and Cuba's last days before Castro, McDonald's imaginative tale takes an enjoyably different approach to art and murder." (Publishers Weekly)

"This time Hec is palling with Hemingway in Key West and preparing for what proves to be the devastating 1935 hurricane. A young woman there is disemboweled, and her torso is stuffed with machine parts. Hec immediately connects the murder to surrealist art and journeys to the battlefront of the Spanish civil war, Hollywood, and Cuba in search of the artistic murderer. Orson Welles, Rita Hayworth, Salvador Dalí, and John Dos Passos all turn up in juicy cameos, and the details on the hurricane, the Spanish war, and surrealism are the product of careful research." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Loved It

Another in Craig McDonald's Hector Lassiter series( nine books with the tenth and final one soon to come). They are crime thrillers, historical fiction, literary fiction, and art and literary history all rolled up into one fantastically entertaining book. The novels,taken together, represent a cross section of the history of the United States, film , art, and literature, high and low, of the 20th century. I can't really describe these books but if you trust anything I say, give them a chance. You will thank me.

Not for the squeamish

Apparently I am able to read something as dark and cold-blooded as this, and keep it in a section of my mind that reminds me it is fiction. However, this book is interspersed with historical facts, and enough truth that it may not be a stretch to imagine the events may be more real that I want to think about.

I liked how deeply the author researched, and wove actual events of the era into the life of Hector Lassiter. I was fascinated to learn more of the events and people involved, but I have further developed my distaste of surrealism.

As another reviewer has noted, I don't want to do any spoilers, because it would ruin the anticipation the reader gets caught up in the story, waiting to see if they are a step ahead of Lassiter, or if they have been duped into another surprise twist.

If graphic, violent details upset you, or sex scenes and bad language offend you, then this is not the book for you. But if you are able to accept those things as necessary elements of a very well crafted story, this book may become one you will re-read over the years, always finding something else that is thought provoking.

A Great Thriller That's As Hard As It Gets....

While it does struggle juggling too many balls at the same time, this is a strong thriller featuring a number of real-life personages (and I am a big fan of mysteries/thrillers that involve real people).