The Kill Room. Finished audio 5-28-14, rating 4.25/5, thriller, pub. 2013

Lincoln Rhyme series #10 (1 The Bone Collector) (2 The Coffin Dancer) (3 The Empty Chair) (4 The Stone Monkey) (5 The Vanished Man) (6 The Twelfth Card) (7 The Cold Moon) (8 The Broken Window) (9 The Burning Wire)

Unabridged audio 13.5 hours. Read by Jay Snyder, January LaVoy, Edoardo Ballerini

It was a “million-dollar bullet,” a sniper shot delivered from over a mile away. Its victim was no ordinary mark: he was a United States citizen, targeted by the United States government, and assassinated in the Bahamas.
The nation’s most renowned investigator and forensics expert, Lincoln Rhyme, is drafted to investigate. While his partner, Amelia Sachs, traces the victim’s steps in Manhattan, Rhyme leaves the city to pursue the sniper himself. As details of the case start to emerge, the pair discovers that not all is what it seems.
When a deadly, knife-wielding assassin begins systematically eliminating all evidence–including the witnesses–Lincoln’s investigation turns into a chilling battle of wits against a cold-blooded killer.

(from Goodreads)

Quadriplegic forensic specialist Lincoln Rhyme is back with his girlfriend Amelia Sachs along with a few of our favorite friends and this case couldn’t be more timely.  A targeted killing of a US citizen by the US government.  Ring a bell?  Only the victim was a vocal dissident, not a terrorist.  Who would dare (aside from the 24 hour news channels if it suited their targeted audience) stand up to this injustice?  Enter ADA Jance who is ready for battle.  I liked the moral quandary that was explored , even if the guys in charge were the bad guys with very little nuance.

It was great to see Lincoln outside the country, at a tourist location no less!  It gave him a new locale where he might come to harm, difficult for a quadriplegic.  He befriended a local policeman in the Bahamas and I hope  we’ll see more of him in the future.  And I love that Amelia was able to bond with another woman, for too long she’s been lacking a good girlfriend and I see potential in Jance.

I know that no one wants to jump into a series on book 10, BUT I want to say as loud as I can without shouting in all caps, that this is one of the most consistently good series that I have read.  I haven’t rated any of these less than a 4 on Goodreads.  So, start with The Bone Collector (or watch the movie if you want to take a shortcut to the series) and enjoy 🙂

A note about the audio production: I loved the three readers. Having a real voice for Rhyme and Sachs made the audio so much more enjoyable than if it had just been a single narration. Well done.

I checked this out of the library.