Reviews

Patrol Officer Amelia Sachs comes across a body, and takes the initiative to secure the crime scene. Lincoln Rhyme, several years after the on-duty injury that paralyzed him, is waiting to meet the doctor who will finally help him … to kill himself. Their paths intersect in this case because Rhyme is still the best criminalist the New York Police Department has ever had. He uses Sachs to be his legs, eyes, ears, nose, as he coaches her in evidence recovery.

The pace is quick and Deaver doesn’t give the reader (or his protagonists) time to breathe. The time frame is only one weekend … from Friday at 10:30pm to Monday at 10:00pm. The action alternates between the killer and his deteriorating mental condition, and the police who are struggling to interpret the clues with which the Bone Collector taunts them.

Deaver creates a criminal who is brilliant, methodical, evil, and lucky … too lucky. When I sit back and look at the events over this short time frame, it just doesn’t seem possible that he could accomplish all he does; towards the end I found myself thinking “Really?” more often than not. Still Deaver kept me turning pages, and I was definitely surprised at the reveal. (NOTE: If, like me, you have previously seen the movie starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie, but have not read the book – get rid of those images in your head. The book is quite different – from the description of the characters, to the identity of the killer.)

But I love how Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are portrayed and develop through the book. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series and to watching how Deaver reveals their growing relationship.

bethmorvant's review against another edition

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4.0

Whatever you do, DO NOT listen to the audiobook. It brings the reading experience down several notches. So robotic. Monotone. Siri would do a better job at narrating it.

Otherwise, a great start to what I’m going to assume is a great crime thriller series.

benmcfc's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

4.5

blondierocket's review against another edition

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3.0

This movie is one of my favorites so I was very anxious to get a chance to finally read it after it’s been on my shelf for a long time.

The Bone Collector is the story of a serial killer with unusual and unconventional methods. When his first victim is found buried with only a hand sticking out of the ground along some railroad tracks, the police call the only person they can think of to help – Lincoln Rhyme, a quadriplegic, former cop who’s instincts and success rates are above average.

Rhyme calls upon the beat cop who found the first victim, secured the crime scene, and saved valuable pieces of evidence to be his eyes are ears at the crimes scenes that follow.

This was a great story and I have a feeling that I will be reading more Lincoln Rhyme stories in the future.

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