Finished audio on 6-30-09, rating 4/5, mystery, pub. 2006

This is book 7 in the Lincoln Rhyme series.  Find list here.

“How long did it take them to die?”

first line of book

Lincoln Rhyme, the civilian paraplegic forensic specialist who works closely with the New York City Police Department, is called in to find the Watchmaker.  This killer and his accomplice are killing victims in the most horrific ways…letting them dangle from a ledge, struggling for respite, having the Watchmaker cut off their arms , is just one example.

Amelia Sachs, on her first case as lead detective on a homicide, is trying to prove a suicide is not what it seems.  And as she get s closer to the truth and old personal truth comes out of nowhere to shock her into questioning her life as a policewoman.

Lincoln is not happy that Amelia is running two investigations, feeling that his is getting the short end of her attention.  He relies more on Officer Pulaski and Detective Sellitto and a visiting expert.  This is the introduction of Kathryn Dance, a kinesics expert with the California Bureau of Investigation.  She can do with body language what Lincoln Rhyme does with trace evidence and the two form an unlikely alliance.  Kathryn Dance is first found in this book, but now has two books in her own series.  I’ve already bought the first one.

The Watchmaker and the suicude case finally come together in a surprising way, but nothing is what it seems.

This series is consistently good.  The twists and turns, the shocking reveals, and the perfectly villainous villains are all executed perfectly.  Deaver is a master at these thrillers.  Perfect for murder mystery fans, police procedural fans, and gritty mystery loves who love to try an outsmart the bad guys.  Good luck!

I listened to this on my car ride to DC and was entertained the whole way.  There were a few times I had to go back because I missed something important, so I might recommend reading the book.  But the audio was read by the wonderful actor Joe Mantegna and he does a fantastic job of bringing the story to life.