A review by gabmc
The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver

4.0

This eighth installment in the Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs series is heavy with warnings of big brother and the power of data. Rhyme gets a phone call from his cousin's wife to let him know that his cousin, Arthur, has just been arrested for murder. All of the evidence points to Arthur's guilt but he is protesting his innocence. Rhyme agrees to look into the case and discovers that the evidence is all too perfect ... almost as if it had been planted. The team looks into other recent cases where defendants have been convicted on really good evidence but have pleaded not guilty. There seem to be several cases which fit this bill. They name the unknown subject '522' based on the date of the crime for which Arthur was arrested. They find a company who specialises in data mining and go there to ask questions ... several people in the company become suspects and the team are in a race against the killer to identify him before he strikes again. Such is the power of data though, that 522 manages to change the information in all kinds of databases to have the power switched off at Rhyme's townhouse, to have Lon Sellitto arrested for failing a drug test and to have Sachs' car impounded.
Really great, fast paced book.