About the author:
Born: May 6, 1950, Glen Ellyn, IL
Education: B.A. Journalism–University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO
J.D. Law–Fordham University, New York, NY
Awards: Winner of the 2009 Lovey Award for Best Series (Lincoln Rhyme)
Website: http://www.jefferydeaver.com/
Thriller Sub-genre: Forensic Thriller
Publishers: Signet, Simon & Schuster, Grand Central Publishing
The series future: The latest book in the series is entitled The Midnight Lock which was released on 11/30/2021.
Review of the latest in the series- The Cutting Edge
The Simon Review
When I first read a description from Jeffery Deaver’s first novel in the Lincoln Rhyme series, The Bone Collector, and read that the main character was a quadriplegic, all I could think of was ‘NO WAY’, how could a person that cannot move be a good forensic detective? Oh, how I was so wrong. Lincoln Rhyme is clearly one of my most favorite characters in the forensic thriller genre. His disability actually reminds me of the old Ironside episodes starring Raymond Burr as a paraplegic detective. Lincoln Rhyme is a brilliant yet lovable ‘smart-ass’ curmudgeon with a great sarcastic sense of humor, just my kind of a guy. Rhyme’s difficult personality would not be as endearing if it weren’t for the fact that his disability keeps his egotism in check. Both his physical and emotional vulnerabilities are in constant conflict with his tough no-nonsense approach to solving a crime which makes his character stand out and holds a special place in the literary world.
Even though most of the mystery solving in this series involves brain power, there is still a considerable amount of leg work that is required, so therefore we are introduced to Lincoln Rhyme’s ‘eyes, ears, and legs’ and eventual lover, Amelia Sachs. Sachs is a beautiful policewoman whose stoic behavior masks a layer of both physical and mental pain. Under the surface, Sachs suffers from anxiety exhibited through her constant nail biting and head scratching and endures sometimes excruciating pain from rheumatoid arthritis. Even though Rhyme is the main protagonist of the series, Amelia Sachs characters is so intertwined with Rhyme’s character, they seem to act as one unit. It is unclear, however, what the future for Amelia Sachs may hold. With the introduction of Ron Polaski in the later novels, many of Sachs forensic duties, such as ‘walking the grid’, are being taken up by Polaski. Additionally, Rhyme and Sachs relationship is complex with both of them feeling that they don’t deserve the other. It will be interesting to see how their relationship develops as the series continues.
Once you start reading a Lincoln Rhyme book, it is tough to put it down. Deaver’s use of the ticking clock scenario as a literary tool is very effective in giving a high adrenaline rush. I highly recommend this series.
Though the technical aspects of the series may not be up to the standard of Kathy Reichs or Aaron Elkins, there is enough food to feed the technical mind of the forensic thriller fan. As for reading the series in order, the first novel, The Bone Collector, really needs to be read first as it introduces Rhyme and Sachs to each other which sets up the foundation for the rest of the series. The rest of the books could be read as standalones. The main benefit of reading them in order is the development in Rhyme and Sachs relationship and also Rhyme’s improvements with his disability.
Simon’s pick:
Most Favorite Novel in the Series- The Broken Window, because I was very captivated at the abilities of a killer using data mining to cover his trail.
Least Favorite Novel in the Series-The Empty Chair, this was a difficult choice because I like all of the Lincoln Rhyme books but I chose this one because of the friction that occurs between Sachs and Rhyme.
What about the science?
Deaver is a lawyer by training and admits that he has no direct experience with the laboratory details in his novels, however, he is good at researching for information and, in general, gives a fairly realistic approach to the science related material. The only exception is on the timeline of how scientific investigating occurs. For example, Mel Cooper immediately puts a piece of evidence in the scanning electron microscope and ‘poof’ there is a detailed image of a particular type of pollen grain. In reality, the material that would go into this type of microscope must be prepared properly before placing in the SEM which usually takes hours to complete. However, if Deaver made the science too realistic, he would probably lose a lot of his fans.
The Lincoln Rhyme Technical Word in Review: Brisance, is the ability of an explosive to shatter the material surrounding or touching it as a result of a shock wave produced during the explosion. To determine brisance of an explosive, the explosive is placed into a lead block and filled with sand. When the explosive is detonated, the resulting shock wave will crush the sand and leave a cavity that can be measured; the larger the size of the cavity, the higher the level of brisance. This called a Trauzel test.
When a forensic scientist finds pieces of casing to an explosive, the size of the shattered material will give insight into the type of explosive material that was used.
-See those fragments? That pile of aluminum on the left? The metal is shattered, not bent. That means the device had a high brisance-”.
“High” Sellito asked.
“Brisance”. Rhyme explained: “Detonation rate. But even so, sixty to ninety percent of a bomb survives the blast. Well not the explosive, of course. Though there is always enough residue to type it. Oh, we got plenty to work with here.”-The Coffin Dancer
Books in the Series by Order:
Vote for your favorite Forensic Thriller on the Forensic Fiction List on Goodreads Listopia.
Goodreads Forensic Fiction Best List
Most Favorite in the series: The Bone Collector with a score of 4.19
Least Favorite in the series: The Burial Hour with a score of 3.88
Based on overall ratings from Goodreads, Amazon (US & UK), and Library Thing
#1- The Bone Collector – 1997
Winner of the 1999 Nero Wolfe Award
Listed #2 out of 121 on Goodreads Forensic Fiction Book List
Listed #51 out of 172 on Goodreads Best Science Thriller Book List
First Line:
She only wanted to sleep.
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme: A forensic scientist or ‘criminologist’ as he would prefer to be called was paralyzed below the neck as a result of an accident that occurred on the job. In the beginning of the series, Rhyme contemplates committing suicide but a turn of events makes him realize that it is his mind, not his body, which solves the crimes. Rhyme is a lovable ‘smart-ass’ curmudgeon with a great sarcastic sense of humor.
Amelia Saks: A beautiful policewomen that becomes Lincoln Rhymes’, ‘eyes, ears and legs’, to help solve his crimes. Saks and Rhyme eventually become lovers and form a formidable team. Saks demeanor, for the most part, is stoic, however, even though she appears like she has it together, underneath she suffers from anxiety displayed by her compulsive nail biting and head scratching. She loves fast cars.
Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins: Rhyme’s gay caregiver that shares a love-hate relationship with Rhyme, however, both men share a mutual respect for the other. Thom’s sarcastic sense of humor is on par with Lincoln Rhyme.
Detective Lon Stilleto: Is a homicide detective that has worked with Lincoln Rhyme for years. Stilletto is an excellent detective that has a love for food and it shows.
Mel Cooper: Cooper is Rhyme’s leading forensic technician and has worked with Rhyme before his accident. Loves ballroom dancing.
The Setting
New York City
Lincoln Rhyme was once a brilliant criminologist, a genius in the field of forensics — until an accident left him physically and emotionally shattered. But now a diabolical killer is challenging Rhyme to a terrifying and ingenious duel of wits. With police detective Amelia Sachs by his side, Rhyme must follow a labyrinth of clues that reaches back to a dark chapter in New York City’s past — and reach further into the darkness of the mind of a madman who won’t stop until he has stripped life down to the bone.
“It was these dark designs that prompted the journalists of the day to Christen Schneider with the name by which he was forever after known:- The Bone Collector.”
Erin from Goodreads gave Jeffery Deaver’s The Bone Collector a one star rating.
Boring. This is supposed to be a murder mystery novel and as such should clip along at a pretty good pace. I got 150 pages in and gave up.
This was a Reader’s Choice at my library. I have hated every single Reader’s Choice, this might be a clue that I need to stop reading them!
Looking for reviews of The Bone Collector? Check out:
Battered, Tattered, Yellowed, & Creased
A Word Nerd’s Book and Film Reviews
Amazon Rating-US: 4.37 out of 5 stars based on 777 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.36 out of 5 stars based on 274 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 4.19 out of 5 stars with 134,364 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 4.00 out of 5 stars based on 939 ratings
Total Score 4.19 (updated 11/29/18)
#2- The Coffin Dancer – 1998
Listed #28 out of 121 on Goodreads Forensic Fiction Book List
A Sample Audio Clip
First Line:
When Edward Carney said good-bye to his wife, Percey, he never thought it would be the last time he’d see her.
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Saks, Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins, Detective Lon Stilleto, and Mel Cooper
Fred Dellray: A tall, black FBI agent that works on a number of cases with Lincoln Rhyme. He has an adversarial roll in the beginning of the series but becomes a staunch advocate for Rhyme.
The Setting
New York City
NYPD criminalist Lincoln Rhyme joins his beautiful protégé, Amelia Sachs, in the hunt for the Coffin Dancer — an ingenious killer who changes appearance even faster than he adds to his trail of victims. They have only one clue: the madman has a tattoo of the Grim Reaper waltzing with a woman. Rhyme must rely on his wits and intuition to track the elusive murderer through New York City — knowing they have only forty-eight hours before the Coffin Dancer strikes again.
“tells them how he’s going to do the job.” “The Dancer?” Percy asked. “That’s the name we have for the killer, the Coffin Dancer…”
Looking for reviews of The Coffin Dancer? Check out:
Amazon Rating-US: 4.40 out of 5 stars based on 418 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.46 out of 5 stars based on 177 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 4.16 out of 5 stars with 39,532 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.86 out of 5 stars based on 506 ratings
Total Score 4.16 (updated 11/29/18)
#3- The Empty Chair – 2000
Winner of the 2001 British WH Smith Thumping Good Read Award
Listed #34 out of 121 on Goodreads Forensic Fiction Book List
A Sample Audio Clip
First Line:
She came here to lay flowers at the place where the boy died and the girl was kidnapped.
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Saks, Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins, Mel Cooper and Fred Dellray
Garrett Hanlon: The insect boy
The Setting
North Carolina
A quadriplegic since a beam crushed his spinal cord years ago, Rhyme is desperate to improve his condition and goes to the University of North Carolina Medical Center for high-risk experimental surgery. But he and Sachs have hardly settled in when the local authorities come calling. In a twenty-four-hour period, the sleepy Southern outpost of Tanner’s Corner has seen a local teen murdered and two young women abducted. And Rhyme and Sachs are the best chance to find the girls alive.
The prime suspect is a strange teenaged truant known as the Insect Boy, so nicknamed for his disturbing obsession with bugs. Rhyme agrees to find the boy while awaiting his operation. Rhyme’s unsurpassed analytical skills and stellar forensic experience, combined with Sachs’s exceptional detective legwork, soon snare the perp. But even Rhyme can’t anticipate that Sachs will disagree with his crime analysis and that her vehemence will put her in the swampland, harboring the very suspect whom Rhyme considers a ruthless killer. So ensues Rhyme’s greatest challenge — facing the criminalist whom he has taught everything he knows in a battle of wits, forensics, and intuition. And in this adversary, Rhyme also faces his best friend and soul mate.
“Sachs turned to the doctor. “What are you going to do? This empty chair test?” Dr. Penny glanced at the lawyer, who nodded his okay to explain. “It’s not a test. It’s a type of Gestalt therapy- a behavioral technique that’s known for getting very fast results in understanding certain types of behavior.”
Looking for reviews of The Empty Chair? Check out:
Amazon Rating-US: 4.27 out of 5 stars based on 534 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.38 out of 5 stars based on 141 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 4.06 out of 5 stars with 20,699 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.85 out of 5 stars based on 456 ratings
Total Score 4.06 (updated 11/29/18)
#4- The Stone Monkey – 2002
Listed #42 out of 121 on Goodreads Forensic Fiction Book List
A Sample Audio Clip
First Line:
They were the vanished, they were the unfortunate.
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Saks, Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins, Detective Lon Stilleto, Mel Cooper and Fred Dellray
The Setting
New York City
Famed criminologist Lincoln Rhyme and his beautiful protégé Amelia Sachs have been recruited by the FBI and the INS to help perform the nearly impossible: track down a cargo ship carrying two dozen illegal Chinese immigrants and the notorious human smuggler and killer known as “the Ghost.”
“But Rhyme’s glare silenced him. “Okay, okay, Loaban.” Pecking crows, stone monkeys, and The Register of the Living and the Dead…”
Mike from Goodreads was a bit disappointed in Jeffery Deaver’s The Stone Monkey:
I thought this said stoned. Now I’m less interested in reading it.
Looking for reviews of The Stone Monkey? Check out:
Amazon Rating-US: 4.20 out of 5 stars based on 270 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.31 out of 5 stars based on 128 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 3.95 out of 5 stars with 14,998 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.74 out of 5 stars based on 378 ratings
Total Score 3.95 (updated 12/4/18)
#5- The Vanished Man – 2003
Listed #32 out of 121 on Goodreads Forensic Fiction Book List
First Line:
Greeting Revered Audience, Welcome.
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Saks, Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins, Detective Lon Stilleto, Mel Cooper, and Fred Dellray
The Setting
New York City
It begins at a prestigious music school in New York City. A killer flees the scene of a homicide and locks himself in a classroom. Within minutes, the police have him surrounded. When a scream rings out, followed by a gunshot, they break down the door. The room is empty.
Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are brought in to help with the high-profile investigation and to ferret out a master illusionist they’ve dubbed “the conjurer.” As the fatalities rise and the minutes tick down, Rhyme and Sachs must move beyond the smoke and mirrors to prevent a terrifying act of vengeance that could become the greatest vanishing act of all.
“Again Rhyme asked, “Would only a limited number of people know it?” “Nope it was a famous trick, even more famous than the Vanished Man. Anybody with the slightest knowledge of magic history’d be aware of it.”
Looking for reviews of The Vanished Man? Check out:
Amazon Rating-US: 4.27 out of 5 stars based on 489 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.35 out of 5 stars based on 161 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 4.09 out of 5 stars with 16,848 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.85 out of 5 stars based on 426 ratings
Total Score 4.09 (updated 12/4/18)
#6- The Twelfth Card -2005
A Sample Audio Clip
Listed #41 out of 121 on Goodreads Forensic Fiction Book List
First Line:
His face wet with sweat and with tears, the man runs for freedom, he runs for his life.
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Saks, Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins, Detective Lon Stilleto, Mel Cooper and Fred Dellray
Ron Polaski: A rookie cop that becomes Saks forensic assistant
The Setting
New York City
A nail-biting suspense about why a professional hit-man would target a brilliant high-school girl, who is digging into a 140 year old mystery about her ancestor & his shocking secret.
“Rhyme disconnected and looked over the main evidence board, on the top of which was taped the twelfth card in the tarot deck, The Hanged Man.”
Looking for reviews of The Twelfth Card? Check out:
Totally Biased Book and Movie Reviews
Cosmos Mariners: Destination Unknown
Amazon Rating-US: 4.13 out of 5 stars based on 322 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.42 out of 5 stars based on 144 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 3.98 out of 5 stars with 13,492 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.78 out of 5 stars based on 418 ratings
Total Score 3.98 (updated 12/4/18)
#7- The Cold Moon – 2006
Winner of the Mystery Writers Association of Japan Book of the Year Award
Winner of the 2007 Japanese Adventure Fiction Association Grand Prix Award
A Sample Audio Clip
First Line:
“How long did it take them to die?”
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Saks, Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins, Detective Lon Stilleto, Mel Cooper, Fred Dellray and Ron Polaski
Kathryn Dance: Is a special agent with the California Bureau of Investigation. Skilled in interrogation and kinesics. Deaver’s later develops this character into her own series.
Gerald Duncan: The “Watchmaker”
The Setting
New York City
NYPD detective Lincoln Rhyme and his assistant, Detective Amelia Sachs, are back to match wits with a criminal mastermind who works with deadly precision. This meticulous killer, dubbed the Watchmaker, leaves a clock at every crime scene. With each tick of these timepieces, urgency builds to stop a slew of threatened murders.
“The full Cold Moon is in the sky, shining on the corpse of earth, signifying the hour to die and end the journey began at birth.- The Watchmaker”
Looking for reviews of The Cold Moon? Check out:
Amazon Rating-US: 4.26 out of 5 stars based on 323 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.27 out of 5 stars based on 131 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 4.05 out of 5 stars with 14,459 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.73 out of 5 stars based on 409 ratings
Total Score 4.05 (updated 12/4/18)
#8- The Broken Window – 2008
Nominated for the 2009 International Thriller Award for Year’s Best Thriller
First Line:
Something nagged, yet she couldn’t quite figure out what.
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Saks, Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins, Detective Lon Stilleto, Mel Cooper, Fred Dellray and Ron Polaski
The Setting
New York City
When Lincoln’s estranged cousin Arthur Rhyme is arrested on murder charges, the case is perfect — too perfect. Forensic evidence from Arthur’s home is found all over the scene of the crime, and it looks like the fate of Lincoln’s relative is sealed.
At the behest of Arthur’s wife, Judy, Lincoln grudgingly agrees to investigate the case. Soon Lincoln and Amelia uncover a string of similar murders and rapes with perpetrators claiming innocence and ignorance — despite ironclad evidence at the scenes of the crime. Rhyme’s team realizes this “perfect” evidence may actually be the result of masterful identity theft and manipulation.
An information service company — the huge data miner Strategic Systems Datacorp — seems to have all the answers but is reluctant to help the police. Still, Rhyme and Sachs and their assembled team begin uncovering a chilling pattern of vicious crimes and coverups, and their investigation points to one master criminal, whom they dub “522.”
When “522” learns the identities of the crime-fighting team, the hunters become the hunted. Full of Deaver’s trademark plot twists, “The Broken Window” will put the partnership of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs to the ultimate test.
“Do you know the concept of the broken window in social philosophy?”
“No.”
“I learned about it years ago and never forgot it. The thrust is that in order to improve society you should concentrate on the small things. If you control those- or fix them- then the bigger changes will follow. Take housing projects with a high crime-problem. You can sink millions of dollars, put thousands into fixing the windows, painting, cleaning the halls. It may seem cosmetic but people notice. They’ll take pride in where they live. They’ll start to report people that are threats and who don’t look after their property.”
Looking for reviews of The Broken Window? Check out:
Amazon Rating-US: 4.43 out of 5 stars based on 461 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.44 out of 5 stars based on 168 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 4.08 out of 5 stars with 15,317 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.87 out of 5 stars based on 450 ratings
Total Score 4.09 (updated 12/4/18)
#9- The Burning Wire – 2010
A Sample Audio Clip
First Line:
Sitting in the control center of Algonquin Consolidated Power and Light’s sprawling complex on the East River in Queens, New York, the morning supervisor frowned at the pulsing red words on his computer screen.
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Saks, Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins, Detective Lon Stilleto, Mel Cooper, Fred Dellray, Ron Polaski and Gerald Duncan
The Setting
New York City and Mexico City
As Earth Day approaches, someone breaks into the power company and starts manipulating the electric grid in New York City to create “arc flashes,” 5000-degree sparks that leap from electrical outlets and kill anybody nearby. It can happen at anytime, anywhere . . . . Is it eco-terrorists, or a disgruntled employee of the utility, or some psychotic individual? Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Sachs and the crew from the prior Rhyme books have to race against time to find and stop the killer before more people die. Meanwhile, Rhyme is working with Kathryn Dance and a police official in Mexico to find and trap his nemesis, the Watchmaker, who is in Mexico City to assassinate a businessman. And Rhyme is finally confronting the question of dangerous surgery to improve his condition.
Looking for reviews of The Burning Wire? Check out:
The Diary of the Depressed Zombie
Amazon Rating-US: 4.18 out of 5 stars based on 428 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.32 out of 5 stars based on 177 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 4.04 out of 5 stars with 14,543 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.71 out of 5 stars based on 262 ratings
Total Score 4.04 (updated 12/4/18)
#9.5-A Textbook Case – 2013 A Novella
A Sample Audio Clip
First Line:
“The worst I’ve ever seen,” he whispered.
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Saks, Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins, Detective Lon Stilleto, and Mel Cooper
The Setting
New York City
When a young woman is found brutally murdered in a parking garage, with a veritable mountain of potential evidence to sift through, it may be the most challenging case former NYPD detective Lincoln Rhyme has ever taken on.
Looking for reviews of A Textbook Case? Check out:
Amazon Rating: 4.13 out of 5 stars based on 568 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.11 out of 5 stars based on 213 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 3.89 out of 5 stars with 2,321 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.53 out of 5 stars based on 31 ratings
Total Score 3.94 (updated 12/4/18)
#10- The Kill Room – 2013
A Sample Audio Clip
First Line:
The flash of light troubled him.
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Saks, Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins, Detective Lon Stilleto, Mel Cooper, Fred Dellray and Ron Polaski
The Setting
New York City and Bahamas
Robert Moreno, an American citizen living in South America, is shot in the Bahamas by a sniper. The killing was commissioned by the U.S. government, who received a tip-off that Moreno was planning a terrorist attack on a U.S. oil company headquarters. But this intelligence was fatally incorrect: anti-American Moreno ordered a protest at the oil company, not an attack.
Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are drafted in to investigate. While Sachs traces Moreno’s steps in New York, Rhyme travels to the scene of the crime in Nassau, where he finds himself on a dangerous path trailed by the sniper himself. As details of the case start to emerge, the pair discover that not all is what it seemed. Can they achieve justice and escape with their lives intact?
“Rhyme was looking at the double doors to suite 1200, the Kill Room– the crime scene that presumably had been marked with police tape and strident warnings not to trespass, duly stated.”
Looking for reviews of The Kill Room? Check out:
In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel
Amazon Rating-US: 4.25 out of 5 stars based on 787 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.24 out of 5 stars based on 329 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 3.86 out of 5 stars with 10,525 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.85 out of 5 stars based on 152 ratings
Total Score 3.90 (updated 12/4/18)
#11- The Skin Collector – 2014
Click here for my review of the Skin Collector
A Sample Audio Clip
First Line:
The basement.
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Saks, Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins, Detective Lon Stilleto, Mel Cooper, Fred Dellray and Ron Polaski
The Setting
New York City
A new type of serial killer is stalking the streets of New York – one more devious and disturbing than ever before.
They call this butcher The Skin Collector: a tattooist with a chamber of torture hidden deep underground. But instead of using ink to create each masterpiece, the artist uses a lethal poison which will render targets dead before they can even entertain the prospect of escape . . .
Drafted in to investigate, NYPD detective Lincoln Rhyme and his associate Amelia Sachs have little to go on but a series of cryptic messages left etched into the skin of the deceased. As the pair struggle to discover the meaning behind the designs, they are led down a treacherous and twisting path where nothing is as it seems. And with the clock rapidly ticking before the killer strikes again, they must untangle the twisted web of clues before more victims – or they themselves – are next.
That you could also dub Unsub 115 the Skin Collector wasn’t enough for Rhyme. There was more to his purpose, he sensed, than being the legacy of a psychotic killer stalking the streets of New York more than a decade ago.
Looking for other reviews of The Skin Collector? Check out:
In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel
Amazon Rating-US: 4.17 out of 5 stars based on 1,046 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.44 out of 5 stars based on 385 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 3.94 out of 5 stars with 10,528 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.79 out of 5 stars based on 114 ratings
Total Score 3.97 (updated 12/4/18)
#11.5- The Deliveryman- 2015 (A Novella)
First Line:
What’s the story Sachs?
A man is murdered in a back alley. Renowned forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme and his partner Amelia Sachs are left with a veritable mountain of evidence collected from the trash-filled alley, and their only lead is a young eyewitness: the man’s eight-year-old son, who was riding along on his father’s delivery route.
But the murder victim may have been more than just a simple deliveryman. Rhyme and Sachs uncover clues that he might have been delivering a highly illegal, contraband shipment–which is now missing. And someone wants it back…
“I just found out why our deliveryman didn’t show. He’s dead. Got knifed in Midtown.”
Looking for other reviews of The Deliveryman? Check out:
Amazon Rating-US: 4.21 out of 5 stars based on 110 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.18 out of 5 stars based on 95 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 3.83 out of 5 stars with 1,234 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.50 out of 5 stars with 7 ratings
Total Score 3.88 (updated 12/4/18)
#12- The Steel Kiss – 2016
First Line:
Sometimes you catch a break.
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Saks, Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins, Detective Lon Stilleto, Mel Cooper, Fred Dellray and Ron Polaski
The Setting
New York City
Amelia Sachs is hot on the trail of a killer. She’s chasing him through a department store in Brooklyn when an escalator malfunctions. The stairs give way, with one man horribly mangled by the gears. Sachs is forced to let her quarry escape as she jumps in to try to help save the victim. She and famed forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme soon learn, however, that the incident may not be an accident at all, but the first in a series of intentional attacks. They find themselves up against one of their most formidable opponents ever: a brilliant killer who turns common products into murder weapons. As the body count threatens to grow, Sachs and Rhyme must race against the clock to unmask his identity–and discover his mission–before more people die.
Your lust for things, for objects, for trinkets will be the death of you all! You’ve abandoned true values and in doing that lost your precious ‘control’, that happens when you don’t use your data wisely. You have rejected the love of families and friends for the addiction of belongings. You must own more and more and more until, soon, your possessions will possess YOU, and with a cold, steel kiss, send you to hell. – The People’s Guardian
Looking for other reviews of The Steel Kiss? Check out:
In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel
Amazon Rating-US: 4.32 out of 5 stars based on 949 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 4.36 out of 5 stars based on 255 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 4.04 out of 5 stars with 9,804 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.90 out of 5 stars based on 68 ratings
Total Score 4.07 (updated 12/4/18)
#13- The Burial Hour- 2017
First Line:
Mommy.”
Characters
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Saks, Thomas ‘Thom’ Perkins, Detective Lon Stilleto, Mel Cooper, and Fred Dellray
The Setting
New York City and Italy
A traveling businessman is snatched off of an Upper East Side street in broad daylight–or so it appears to the eight year old girl who is the crime’s only witness. The perp leaves a token at the site of the kidnapping–a miniature noose. A crime scene this puzzling demands forensic expertise of the highest order. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are called in to investigate.
Rhyme and Sachs’ investigation takes an unexpected turn when a similar kidnapping occurs across the Atlantic in a small town outside of Naples, Italy. The killer’s M.O. is bizarre and frightening. Obsessed with music, the man records the final breaths of his victims, then uses a keyboard sampler to compose an otherworldly tune that is then posted online. The search for the killer will become a complex case of international cooperation–yet not all is as it seems, and soon Sachs and Rhyme find themselves playing a dangerous game with shadowy parties from across the globe.
Rania explained, “The title of a speech that a politician in Rome gave at some public forum. It has been widely reprinted. ‘The Burial Hour‘ refers to the asylum-seeker problem. Many of the citizens in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain, France, feel that they are endagered-they are being buried by the hordes and hordes of migrants pouring into their countries. Like a landslide, crushing them.
Looking for reviews of The Burial Hour? Check out:
In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel
My Little Library In The Attic
Amazon Rating-US: 3.88 out of 5 stars based on 595 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 3.94 out of 5 stars based on 183 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 3.88 out of 5 stars with 7,104 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.47 out of 5 stars based on 53 ratings
Total Score 3.88 (Updated 12/4/18)
#14- The Cutting Edge- 2018
My review of the The Cutting Edge
First Line:
“Is it safe?”
Vimal Lahori, a twenty-two-year-old apprentice diamond cutter, living with his family in Queens, returns to the jewelry shop where he works on 47th Street in Manhattan to find that his mentor has been tortured and killed in a robbery. Also dead are a young couple, present at the store to pick-up their engagement ring. The killer appears from the back room, sees the young man and shoots and wounds him. Vimal escapes.
Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Sachs, Lon Sellitto and the other law enforcers they work with begin their pursuit of the murderer, who, they learn, has made off with five million dollars’ worth of unique “rough,” that is, uncut diamonds. They realize too that he’s trying to find and kill Vimal, the only witness to the horrific crime.
The motive for the murders soon surfaces when the self-proclaimed “Promisor”—the psychotic Vladimir Rostov—announces that he is targeting dealers and engaged couples for defiling diamonds by cutting them up into jewelry—to satisfy their vanity. In ancient religion these gems were thought to be the soul of the earth; it was a sin to cut and polish them. Rostov continues his search for Vimal and targets more victims, who have to pay for their iniquities. The madman also turns his attention, and his razor knife and gun, to the police who are pursuing him.
Rhyme and Sachs soon learn that the diamond world is a place that’s as mysterious and forbidding as it is glamorous, and is largely off-limits to outsiders, so they recruit a quirky, brilliant expert in the esoteric art of diamonds: Alan Ackroyd. He and Rhyme form a relationship that’s both professional and personal and, together with Sachs, they engage in a tense cat and mouse chase to find the man they have dubbed Unsub 47 . . . and to locate Vimal Lahori too, who, with reasons of his own for avoiding the police, has vanished.
As the case proceeds—and Rostov targets more victims—Rhyme also has to make a difficult decision: should he consult for the legal team defending the ruthless Mexican drug lord, El Halcon, who has been captured in the U.S. and charged with violent crimes. The man is unquestionably a cruel and dangerous criminal but his lawyers are positive he’s not guilty of the offenses he’s charged with; someone has manipulated the evidence in the name of justice to send him to prison. Please, they implore Rhyme, will he help them keep an innocent, if evil, man out of jail?
In their efforts to stop Unsub 47 before he kills again, Rhyme and Sachs and their team work relentlessly to find and make sense of clues throughout the New York area—from the Diamond District of Manhattan, to the Palisades in New Jersey, to Little India in Jackson Heights, to a geothermal site in Brooklyn, where drilling has not only resulted in the fiery deaths of local residents but makes Amelia Sachs’s effort to gather vital evidence a potentially lethal proposition.
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Amazon Rating-US: 4.31 out of 5 stars based on 335 ratings
Amazon Rating-UK: 3.88 out of 5 stars based on 53 ratings
GoodReads Rating: 4.07 out of 5 stars with 4,864 ratings
Library Thing Rating: 3.64 out of 5 stars based on 28 ratings
Total Score 4.08 (Updated 12/4/18)
#15-The Midnight Lock- 2021
When a woman arrives home to her Manhattan apartment to find that her personal items have been rearranged while she slept, police initially dismiss her complaint. Nothing was stolen, and there’s no sign of breaking and entering. But when the same woman turns up dead, Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are brought in to investigate the murder. The soon learn that the murderer calls himself “the Locksmith.” He is obsessed with locks, slipping into homes in the dead of night and tying his victims up with knots or locks, ultimately strangling them.
Their hunt for the killer is interrupted when an internal investigation in the police force uncovers what seems to be a crucial mistake in one of Rhyme’s previous cases. He is removed from the case, and must investigate the Locksmith in secret to untangle the mysteries behind the psychotic killer before he can set his ultimate trap.
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A-Thrill-A-Week 