Missing in Mexico


Fiction - Mystery - General
274 Pages
Reviewed on 08/27/2011
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Author Biography

Stuart Gustafson began writing in earnest after taking early retirement from the corporate world in 2007. His professional life involved travel and so it was natural for him to want to continue traveling once he didn't have to travel as a job. Now when he travels, it's for fun; it's for pleasure; it's to see new places in the world. The way he has chosen to combine his love of travel and writing is to write mystery novels set in exciting locations around the world where he likes to go.
His debut mystery novel Missing in Mexico is set in San Jose del Cabo at the tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula, a charming location where he has spent 2-6 weeks each year for the past eight years. This is how Stuart researches his books, by immersing himself into the culture of the area, and getting to know the people and their charm. The best compliment Stuart has received was at a local event in San Jose del Cabo and some of the residents told him that Missing in Mexico was indeed about their town and would he please consider writing another book about San Jose or at least about Cabo.
His second mystery novel, set in Sydney, Australia, is underway, and Stuart took five trips to Sydney in 2010 to conduct research of the area to once again ensure that the book contains authentic details. Publication date for that book is set for early 2012.
Stuart has been married for 37 years to Darlene and they have a daughter and a son.
Stuart and Darlene currently live in Boise, Idaho.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Lynette Fowlston for Readers' Favorite

In Missing In Mexico by Stuart Gustafson, nineteen-year-old Sarah Johnson, her parents and her best friend, Mary, take a trip to Mexico for the Christmas holidays; but when it's time to return home, Sarah's bags are on the plane, but she isn't. The Johnsons hire Private Investigator, Stan Walkorski, to find her, but he thinks it's more a case of a runaway, rather than an abduction. Sarah had put Mary's name on her bags, drawn money out of her savings account and kept several items that should have been in her bag...all clues that she had planned this getaway. Will Stan be able to locate Sarah and bring her home, or does she have herself so well-hidden that he will not be able to find her? One clue that Mary told Stan stood out to me. Can you catch it as you read?

This is quite an interesting read. The chapters are written in Spanish and English with the correct pronunciation and meanings, so we not only get a lesson in Spanish, we also get a mini vacation to Mexico. With the descriptions of the town, the restaurants and bars, the Art Center and the beaches, the author takes us on a sightseeing tour of Las Cabos, Mexico. I was a little disappointed in Sarah's parents, or more so her father who seemed he was all business, and I felt like he wasn’t really worried about his daughter. This is a cleanly written book with a touch of romance in it but no harsh language or sexual scenes. I feel like this book can be read by any age from the teenager on up.