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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Another one that I seem to always dread in the lead up and then thoroughly enjoy.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Investigators Lincoln Rhyme & Amelia Sachs are brought in to track down a dangerous human smuggler & killer known as the Ghost. He is currently onboard a cargo ship carrying two dozen illegal Chinese immigrants & Rhyme has pinpointed the ship's location, but the capture goes wrong & the ship starts to sink. Only two families & the Ghost survive the sinking, & they all disappear once reaching land - it's now a race against time for Lincoln & Amelia to track down the families before the Ghost silences them for good.
I thought this one was an improvement on the previous books. The plot was good, the pacing mostly worked, & Rhyme & Sachs are beginning to settle in as characters, however, I found the overuse of deliberate misdirection of the reader spoiled things a little as the reader begins to anticipate it. Overall, a more interesting storyline for this book bumps up my rating for this one to 3.75 stars.
TWs: racism, violence, injury detail, crime scene detail, sexual content.
I thought this one was an improvement on the previous books. The plot was good, the pacing mostly worked, & Rhyme & Sachs are beginning to settle in as characters, however, I found the overuse of deliberate misdirection of the reader spoiled things a little as the reader begins to anticipate it. Overall, a more interesting storyline for this book bumps up my rating for this one to 3.75 stars.
TWs: racism, violence, injury detail, crime scene detail, sexual content.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
After I was very disappointed by "The Empty Chair" this was definitely a slight return to form. The story was much more convincing and the twists didn't feel as ridiculous as they did in the previous entry to this series. Overall it was an entertaining-enough read, but it didn't get close to the heights of "The Bone Collector" which is easily my favourite book in the Lincoln Rhyme series so far. "The Stone Monkey" was tense and gripping at times but it was lacking in mystery. Introducing the main antagonist with his government name and a detailed description of his looks early in the first few chapters, aswell as giving away the main plotwist in the title of the book just doesn't make for a great mystery novel.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ktoś mi dwa dni temu powiedział, że w prawie każdej, dobrej serii trafiają się czasem robaczywe jabłuszka. Powyższy tytuł z pewnością robaczywką nie jest, bardziej takim subtelnym nagdryzieniem przez tegoż robaczka, jak już..
Nie bardzo potrafiłam się tutaj tak fajnie "wgryźć" w fabułę, tak jak to było w przypadku rewelacyjnego "Pustego krzesła" - czegoś mi tutaj ewidentnie brakło. Owszem, jest tu kilka ciekawych zwrotów akcji i finałowa dawka suspensu oraz zaskoczenia za sprawą głównego bohatera ale daje się też odczuć zwolnione tempo akcji w stosunku do poprzednich części. Wątek fabularny też nie wciągnął mnie tak dobitnie jak to było w przypadku "Pustego krzesła", a oczekiwałam, że tak właśnie będzie. I chyba pierwszy raz odkąd zaczęłam tę serię, coś mi zazgrzytało w zachowaniu jednego z głównych bohaterów ale nie chcę się już czepiać bo jednak lubię tę serię i mam w planach przeczytać ją całą. Następny w kolejności jest "Mag" i liczę, że tutaj będzie już bardziej "żywotnie".
Nie bardzo potrafiłam się tutaj tak fajnie "wgryźć" w fabułę, tak jak to było w przypadku rewelacyjnego "Pustego krzesła" - czegoś mi tutaj ewidentnie brakło. Owszem, jest tu kilka ciekawych zwrotów akcji i finałowa dawka suspensu oraz zaskoczenia za sprawą głównego bohatera ale daje się też odczuć zwolnione tempo akcji w stosunku do poprzednich części. Wątek fabularny też nie wciągnął mnie tak dobitnie jak to było w przypadku "Pustego krzesła", a oczekiwałam, że tak właśnie będzie. I chyba pierwszy raz odkąd zaczęłam tę serię, coś mi zazgrzytało w zachowaniu jednego z głównych bohaterów ale nie chcę się już czepiać bo jednak lubię tę serię i mam w planach przeczytać ją całą. Następny w kolejności jest "Mag" i liczę, że tutaj będzie już bardziej "żywotnie".
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My least favorite of the Lincoln Rhyme series so far, Monkey was unnecessarily long with too much repetition. “Bad news” from a doctor was brought up numerous times before the news was actually revealed, by which point my reaction was “what, that’s it?” Also repetitive were a handful of Chinese terms meant to illustrate certain characteristics of key players, but it got annoying. Deaver could’ve shaved 50 pages and made this one better.
There was a misdirection early on that took me too long to recognize (my bad), and another that held through most of the story that was pretty good. Even after some tedium, several of the main characters are good enough to bring me back to this series again; Rhyme & Sachs are probably my favorite crime-fighting duo since Sara Linton & Will Trent (Karin Slaughter), and Dellray is a joy to read. One of the this-book-only characters (but no spoiler) was also a lot of fun, and I wish they could return in a later book.
There was a misdirection early on that took me too long to recognize (my bad), and another that held through most of the story that was pretty good. Even after some tedium, several of the main characters are good enough to bring me back to this series again; Rhyme & Sachs are probably my favorite crime-fighting duo since Sara Linton & Will Trent (Karin Slaughter), and Dellray is a joy to read. One of the this-book-only characters (but no spoiler) was also a lot of fun, and I wish they could return in a later book.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the first book by Jeffrey Deaver that I’ve read. I liked the story and characters (my favourite was the Go playing Sonny Li, named after the character in the Godfather), but wasn’t so keen on the case note sections. Still, Lincoln Rhyme is an intriguing and unusual protagonist, and the Ghost made an implacable villain.