The Man in the Moon
A Lindsey Scott Mystery by Tom Tancin
Review: Tom Tancin introduces Detective Lindsey Scott in The Man in the Moon, a serial killer mystery. Although Scott works out of Washington D.C., she is called all over the country to solve crimes that seem to be unsolvable. She is a divorced woman with two children who live with their father in Northampton, Pennsylvania. The story takes place in and around Pocono.
Twelve students have already been killed. The first two were found at the bottom of the lake locked in their car; the coroner concluded they accidentally drowned. The next four (two couples) were found on the grounds of a local college campus in the apple orchard near the biology lab. They had eaten toxic berries, although investigators could find no berries on the grounds. The next three couples were found shot to death in the field where the yearly October Harvest had been. No gun or bullets were found anywhere in the field. These crimes have nothing in common yet reflect a serial killer at work. The “solver of the unsolvable”, Lindsey Scott is brought in but before she cracks the case, eight more students are poisoned.
The identity of the serial killer in The Man in the Moon, dubbed the "man in the moon", is obvious from the earliest pages, so the appeal here is in the investigative process. The clues to the pattern of the murders are quite clever and Tancin's narrative keeps the story suspenseful. The most significant problem with the book is in the character of Lindsey Scott and the introduction of her dysfunctional family that detracts greatly from the story. Scott's dedication to her job may be admirable, but her lack of love or interest in her children is appalling.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Man in the Moon.
Acknowledgment: Tom Tancin provided a copy of The Man in the Moon for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Location(s) referenced in The Man in the Moon: The Ponconos, Pennsylvania
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The Man in the Moon by Tom Tancin
Publisher: Destifire Books
Format: Trade Paperback
ISBN-10: 0-9797635-0-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-9797635-0-2
Publication Date: October 2007
List Price: $12.99
Synopsis (from the publisher): After twelve Pocono University students are murdered, the local chief of police decides to call on the services of the number one crime solver in America. Dubbed the 'solver of the unsolvable', Lindsey Scott is the best in the field. Lindsey begins profiling the victims and the killer to solve the case before more bodies accumulate. She starts to get visits from a professor at the local university. The professor helps her find clues she missed and the clues lead her to the next murder site. With a stakeout setup, Lindsey is certain they will finally capture the 'Man in the Moon'. The killer however, is a no show and, apparently, has outsmarted Lindsey with another murder.
Eight college kids are found dead, bodies stacked one on top of the other forming a dam in a creek. Lindsey recalls a college lecture on pareidolia, the phenomenon in which we mistake an image for something it is not. She remembers that the 'Man in the Moon' is an example of pareidolia and uses that to start reevaluating the killer. With twenty college kids murdered, Lindsey must use all of her skills, and the resources she obtains from the investigation, to demystify the 'Man in the Moon' and prevent him from killing again. Can she solve the case to uphold her reputation as the 'solver of the unsolvable' and release a town from the hands of terror?