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Lincoln
Rhyme - Wheelchair bound forensic specialist
and
Amelia Sachs - Assistant and girlfriend New York, New York "The Stone Monkey"
To the human smugglers --- the snakeheads --- who carted them around the world like pallets of damaged goods, they were ju-ju, piglets." After a long time of nightmarish rafting, a few survivors get to shore. They steal a van and head to New York city, depending on the maze of buildings and crowds of people to hide them from the Ghost. The Ghost is not dissuaded, and decides to track each one down. They are too dangerous to him, for these few refuges are members of a very elite society --- a group of people who know what he looks like. He can not afford to let them live, and he begins a ruthless and bloody quest to get them. Lincoln Rhyme is a consultant with the New York police department. The INS and FBI have heard of his reputation, and come to ask him for help. They have lost the Ghost's trail in Russia, and are hoping that Rhyme can help. He figures out where the Ghost is probably landing, and sends his girl friend and assistant CSI Amelia Sachs along with the FBI and the INS to the probable spot of his landing. While collecting evidence from the blown up ship, she discovers a live witness clinging to the rocks. Sung fills her in on events, providing her with the names of fellow survivors. She and Rhyme use this information to attempt to track them down, knowing that the Ghost will be doing the same. One of the most fascinating aspects of the story is the Ghost. He lives up to his name perfectly --- incredibly frightening, and about as easy to catch. After a time you really begin to hate him, as he is too lucky, always just steps ahead of the people who would capture him. He is cruel and completely with out conscious. This makes the book hard to put down, because you're constantly hoping that someone will find him before he finds the survivors, especially the Changs. The Changs are very nice, honorable, brave, well written, and the thought that the Ghost might kill them honestly worried me. Fortunately, the Ghost has met his match in Rhyme and Sachs. Rhyme is incredibly intelligent, and well versed in all aspects of crime scene investigation. An accident has forced him into retirement, but his wheelchair bound state doesn't make him less effective, rather it makes him more, because he turns his energies into inspecting every aspect of the clues before him, while his assistant Amelia goes to the scenes and brings more facts, more clues for him to probe. He has a very Sherlock Holmes feel, but Amelia is no Dr. Watson. She is his equal, able to discover things that others can not, and they work together with the precision of a well cared for watch. They make an interesting and believable couple. Following the Ghost's trail and trying to find the survivors before he does makes for an exciting and interesting story. |
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This
is not Deaver's first Lincoln Rhyme novel, and I certainly hope that this won't
be the last. I think that the book stands alone fine, and reading this before
the others will not detract from the story in any way. (Reviewed
by Cindy Lynn Speer 06-26-02) Amazon readers
rating:
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Bibliography (with links to Amazon.com):Lincoln Rhyme/Amelia Sachs series:
Rune series:
Other:
Writing as William Jefferies (Location Scout John Pelham Mystery series):
Movies from Books:
(back to top) Book Marks:
(back to top) About the Author:
At this point, he is the author of seventeen suspense novels, including The Bone Collector, which was made into a feature film by Universal Pictures starring Denzel Washington. He has been nominated for five Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America and an Anthony Award, is a two-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Readers' Award for Best Short Story of the Year. In 2001 he won England's W.H. Smith Thumping Good Read Award for his Lincoln Rhyme novel The Empty Chair. A Maiden's Grave was made into a film rattled Dead Silence, starring James Garner. Jeff is divorced, has no children, just one very large German Shepherd dog, Gunner. They live in Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C., and in California. |
©1998-2003 MostlyFiction.com |
from 42
reviews
Jeffery
Deaver
was born outside of Chicago in 1950. Deaver wrote his first book —
which consisted of two entire chapters — when he was eleven, and
he's been writing ever since. An award-winning poet and journalist, he
has also written and performed his own songs around the country. After
receiving a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri,
Deaver worked as a magazine writer, then, to gain the background needed
to become a legal correspondent for The New York Times or Wall Street
Journal, he enrolled at Fordham Law School. After graduation he decided
to practice law for a time and worked for several years as an attorney
for a large Wall Street firm. It was during his long commute to and from
the office that he began writing the type of fiction he enjoyed reading:
suspense novels. In 1990 he started to write full time.
