Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Deaver ha scritto davvero un giallo e si tratta di un'altra avventura di Lincoln Ryhme e Amelia Sachs nell'inquietante mondo del furto dei dati personali e dello scenario statunitense che dopo l'11 settembre ha lasciato la porta aperta ad Echelon e tutto quello che segue rispetto alla violazione dei dati personali. Bel giallo anche se parecchio inquietante La finestra rotta, ma a me i suoi libri piacciono sempre.
Very clever. Enjoyed the characters, setting, plot, premise. Didn't try to be too clever, satisfying conclusion. Could make you fearful about privacy and data, although things have moved on even further since this was dreamed up!
This book is definitely a whodunit story! I thought I guessed who it was but am actually disappointed at who the real killer turned out to be. Overall, another great work from Deaver!
Haven't read a Lincoln Rhyme book in some time. Like many series, the books seem to settle into a pattern (Deaver's pattern being twist after twist after twist--about twice as many suspenseful, oh-my-gosh-but-then-it's-OK twists as he needs to sustain a quick-flowing plot). I've been borderline disenchanted with Lincoln and Amelia since #5...
What pushed me over to five stars on this one was the subtext--human judgment vs. understanding behavior through the study of data. There were some totally--utterly--chilling aspects to the use of electronically collected data to solve crimes. We're not talking dust or soil or the random hair--the data available to be collected on humans, which runs to hundreds of pages per citizen.
Deaver writes guy-books--the tough, beautiful detective, the man so brilliant that his physical handicaps don't matter, the cast of cops, the clever crooks. This one was way above the norm, and left me with something to think about.
What pushed me over to five stars on this one was the subtext--human judgment vs. understanding behavior through the study of data. There were some totally--utterly--chilling aspects to the use of electronically collected data to solve crimes. We're not talking dust or soil or the random hair--the data available to be collected on humans, which runs to hundreds of pages per citizen.
Deaver writes guy-books--the tough, beautiful detective, the man so brilliant that his physical handicaps don't matter, the cast of cops, the clever crooks. This one was way above the norm, and left me with something to think about.
Well after a kick butt book #7, I had high hopes for book #8, instead this one floundered a lot IMHO. We also have Sachs in my opinion being a total nitwit for how she handles an inappropriate relationship with someone she is close to. And I have to say that this book was highly repetitive from beginning to end. I think that Deaver was trying to tell three stories in this one, and they all get pretty lost. The ending I found to be off and just setting things up for the next book in the series. At least I got off my butt and put out a hold request for the first book in the Kathryn Dance series though.
In "The Broken Window" we have Rhyme focused on a mysterious case in London. No you will have no idea at all what that is about until the end of the book so feel free to skim any references to that, I know I did. Of course I guessed at the reveal though of why Rhyme was so interested in this case, I just don't know why Deaver hid it (badly) from readers.
When Ryhme's cousin's wife (his cousin's name is Arthur) comes to visit him though, Sachs and Rhyme agree to look into Rhyme's cousin's arrest for a rape and murder he claims that he is innocent of. Within a few short chapters readers are then made hip to that fact as well. Though of course, Rhyme reveals something about his cousin that calls that all into question (not for readers though since we all get a POV of the guilty party in this one). This is what I mean by the book floundering.
It would have been cool to not reveal the POV of the killer in this one. It would have been nice if Deaver had the book segue back from the team investigating (Rhyme, Sachs, Pulaski) and Rhyme's cousin Arthur who is in detention and is pretty close to a nervous breakdown. Then readers can wonder about Arthur once we have Rhyme revealing something to Sachs about why Rhyme has not been in contact with his cousin in 10 years. The rush to show that Arthur is clearly being set up and Rhyme and Sachs just trying to catch the bad guy made the book boring to me.
We get the killer's POV in this one, and honestly I had a hard time with it. Besides being a murder and rapist he seems off the reservation entirely. I don't know how a person like this is able to do what he does in this book without anyone being able to stop him. I know that "The Broken Window" is a cautionary tale by Deaver about how everything is being digitized and if someone wanted to they could ruin your life, but this was way too much like "The Net" for me, but somehow more terrible....and yep, going to lower the star rating on this one again as I sit and think about that.
We also have the POV of the character of Pam in this one (and please let this be the last time). This is the teen that Rhyme and Sachs have a connection to due to the events in "The Bone Collector." Sachs has taken the girl under her wing and even though Pam has a foster family, she practically lives with Rhyme and Sachs at both of their places and Sachs looks on her like a daughter (a daughter that badly needs a lot of therapy). The story-line could have been okay, but when we find out that Pam is involved with a 40 year old man she loves and Sachs doesn't have the fool arrested I just shook my head. Readers definitely understand Pam's past, but I had a hard time with her telling this grown man that she would see him if he got divorced from his wife. He has two kids younger than Pam and ugh, I just maybe banged my head there and I have to move on. This whole story-line ticked me off and wrecked the flow of the book.
The writing got way too repetitive for me while reading. You will read a lot of references to Kathryn Dance in this one. I started to want her to make an appearance since I was sick of Rhyme talking about how Dance has shown him how to look at people to tell if they are lying. Also Pulaski is a fav or mine, but I am getting really tired of reading about how his ears burn when he gets upset or embarrassed. I really want to see some growth with this character. We get echoes of it here and there, but his POV's ultimately started getting on my nerves.
The ending just kind of happens and then of course jumps back to the case that Rhyme was interested in going on in London. I hope the next book brings things back up a notch.
In "The Broken Window" we have Rhyme focused on a mysterious case in London. No you will have no idea at all what that is about until the end of the book so feel free to skim any references to that, I know I did. Of course I guessed at the reveal though of why Rhyme was so interested in this case, I just don't know why Deaver hid it (badly) from readers.
When Ryhme's cousin's wife (his cousin's name is Arthur) comes to visit him though, Sachs and Rhyme agree to look into Rhyme's cousin's arrest for a rape and murder he claims that he is innocent of. Within a few short chapters readers are then made hip to that fact as well. Though of course, Rhyme reveals something about his cousin that calls that all into question (not for readers though since we all get a POV of the guilty party in this one). This is what I mean by the book floundering.
It would have been cool to not reveal the POV of the killer in this one. It would have been nice if Deaver had the book segue back from the team investigating (Rhyme, Sachs, Pulaski) and Rhyme's cousin Arthur who is in detention and is pretty close to a nervous breakdown. Then readers can wonder about Arthur once we have Rhyme revealing something to Sachs about why Rhyme has not been in contact with his cousin in 10 years. The rush to show that Arthur is clearly being set up and Rhyme and Sachs just trying to catch the bad guy made the book boring to me.
We get the killer's POV in this one, and honestly I had a hard time with it. Besides being a murder and rapist he seems off the reservation entirely. I don't know how a person like this is able to do what he does in this book without anyone being able to stop him. I know that "The Broken Window" is a cautionary tale by Deaver about how everything is being digitized and if someone wanted to they could ruin your life, but this was way too much like "The Net" for me, but somehow more terrible....and yep, going to lower the star rating on this one again as I sit and think about that.
We also have the POV of the character of Pam in this one (and please let this be the last time). This is the teen that Rhyme and Sachs have a connection to due to the events in "The Bone Collector." Sachs has taken the girl under her wing and even though Pam has a foster family, she practically lives with Rhyme and Sachs at both of their places and Sachs looks on her like a daughter (a daughter that badly needs a lot of therapy). The story-line could have been okay, but when we find out that Pam is involved with a 40 year old man she loves and Sachs doesn't have the fool arrested I just shook my head. Readers definitely understand Pam's past, but I had a hard time with her telling this grown man that she would see him if he got divorced from his wife. He has two kids younger than Pam and ugh, I just maybe banged my head there and I have to move on. This whole story-line ticked me off and wrecked the flow of the book.
The writing got way too repetitive for me while reading. You will read a lot of references to Kathryn Dance in this one. I started to want her to make an appearance since I was sick of Rhyme talking about how Dance has shown him how to look at people to tell if they are lying. Also Pulaski is a fav or mine, but I am getting really tired of reading about how his ears burn when he gets upset or embarrassed. I really want to see some growth with this character. We get echoes of it here and there, but his POV's ultimately started getting on my nerves.
The ending just kind of happens and then of course jumps back to the case that Rhyme was interested in going on in London. I hope the next book brings things back up a notch.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
A good fast paced thriller that looks at the very modern problem of data, its control and the power it can bring. Here we follow 522, a criminal with a knack for using that all important data to ruin his victims lives as well as to set up the innocent to cover his own crimes and collection obsessions. This is really well written and has you guessing the identity of 522 throughout (I'll admit I was way off with pretty much every one of mine!) as well as wondering where all the data from your own day to day living is going (try not to think on this too much...its a little scary).
This novel seriously made me wonder how far off from reality the author is. In an era of connectivity, and AI being progressively embedded in our digital culture, the "Big brother is watching you" is no longer fiction but fact.
Mr. Deaver has taken this trope to a terrifying level with how far one's personal data can be used, and abused by an individual with criminal intentions. It was quite the eye opener! This strengthens my love of the Lincoln Rhyme series!
Mr. Deaver has taken this trope to a terrifying level with how far one's personal data can be used, and abused by an individual with criminal intentions. It was quite the eye opener! This strengthens my love of the Lincoln Rhyme series!
Fascinating combination of crime fiction and thinking about the power of data collection and usage - including identity theft.
Great book. Intriguing. The probability of this really happening is a bit too close for comfort. Wonderful suspense and character development.