Reviews

This is the 4th book in the Lincoln Rhyme series. I have vague memories of having read this quite a few years ago but I couldn't remember the ending (which was good as the ending is great!). A 'snakehead' (people smuggler) from China sinks the ship he was sailing on with the intention of killing everyone on board rather than getting caught. Unlucky for him though, some of the refugees are saved. Now that they are in America though, the snakehead (known as 'the Ghost') must track them down and kill them so that they don't give away his identity. Rhyme and Sachs are called in to work on the case. In one terrifying scene, Sachs has to dive into the wreck of the ship to search that crime scene. It's actually quite interesting reading this book now, with some basic knowledge of Mandarin. The Mandarin for America translates as "beautiful country" and the author makes a really big deal of this, mentioning it several times throughout the book. My understanding though, is that this translation is simply because 'mei' (beautiful) sounds like 'America'.

elena117's review against another edition

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3.0

αμερικανιά

animemiz24's review against another edition

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3.0

I like this one, it dealt with illegal immigration. So it was spooky, and exciting like all of Mr. Deaver's other books.

lillianwlz's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This is a Chinese story, and as a Chinese I am grateful that Jeffery Deaver had created those lovely Chinese characters (though sometimes they can still be stereotyped). It’s very interesting to see a foreign writer trying to explain the concepts in Chinese culture and Jeffery definitely did very good research.
But having read four of his books, I do find that his writing can be “homiletic” and unnecessarily informative.

bobbelena's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

honeylemon's review against another edition

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4.0

Another great Deaver book. As always, strong story and great emotion. The only problem I had was I had a small inkling of who the killer was the whole time. Which is a rarity for Deaver.

zarco_j's review against another edition

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2.0

Short on plot.

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