The Empty Chair

It seems that, instead of getting repetitive, each of the Lincoln Rhyme/Amelia Sachs thrillers is getting better. In this one, Rhyme and Sachs are asked to assist a small town North Carolina police department in a volatile murder/kidnapping by an odd local teen known as the Insect Boy. (Rhyme is at a nearby UNC campus for experimental spinal surgery.) By taking them out of the "safety" and familiarity of New York, this book takes a fresh look at the forensics the pair use to track down criminals, and provides new challenges.This story takes more twists and turns than any of the prior Rhyme/Sachs tales. Every time I thought things were about to slow down, there was another bizarre turn of events. Read this if you want a fun page-turner, which you will find difficult to put down!

Lincoln Rhyme is on the roll again, with a crazed phsyco killer around every corner. Just when know where this book was going, it takes a turn that jerks you out of your seat! If you can figure out the ending before the last page you are a better guesser than i am.The insects were a nice touch, though a little too reminicent of "Silence of the Lambs". His characters are unpredictable and realistic. To bad we have to wait another year or more for his next effort. If you enjoyed "The Bone Collector", buy this one. It is not your typical thriller.I also recomend: "A Tourist in the Yucatan" an excellent thriller/mystery you probably never heard of.

What a page turner! As the book starts out you get a funny feeling about some of the characters. Well, you are right, but keep reading. The characters unfold and the plot twists and then twists again, and you are left wondering just what is the truth and who can you believe. I love stories that keep up the action while throwing curves at you to keep you guessing until the very end. This is the third book in the Lincoln Rhyme series, and in my opinion, is the best to date.

Quadriplegic Lincoln Rhyme knows he is wheelchair bound for the rest of his life, but refuses to recognize any physical limitations. Instead he depends on his protégé Amelia to serve as his extremities on criminal cases they investigate for NYPD. She gathers the evidence that he analyzes. Together they have captured several felons.The wily criminologist is always willing to participate in any cutting edge research in the hopes that a way will be found to at least lesson his paralysis. Accompanied by Amelia and his caretaker, Lincoln travels to North Carolina so that he can be tested for a new medical procedure. However, before he even checks in, the county sheriff asks Lincoln to help them find a missing teenage girl who has been abducted. Lincoln finds the kidnapper and his victim. However, Amelia breaks the boy out of jail, leaving Lincoln with the need to find them before the authorities kill them.Jeffrey Deaver has written another compelling police procedural starring a powerful protagonist who rejects any notion that he is crippled. The audience will not pity Lincoln because they will admire his intelligence and fortitude. THE EMPTY CHAIR contains a fast moving plot and a wonderfully developed cast of heroes and villains. The romance between teacher and pupil is beautiful and a realistic triumph of the human spirit.Harriet Klausner

Lincoln goes to North Carolina for experimental surgery to hopefully give him more mobility. In a way he is a fish out of water in this new area not his familiar NYC but he soon learns his way around. As he did in The Bone Collector, Deaver picks a character's quirk, and in this one it is Bugs Boy fasination with insects, and makes it a intregal part of the story. As his usual, Deaver grabs your interest in the first chapter and doesn't leave you go till the end. Has Deaver's usual plot twists and turns. Enjoyed the developement of Lincoln's and Amelia's relationship even though most of the story they were apart. The action at the beginning isn't fast but the next 2/3 of the book makes up for it. Read it in 24hrs. and will reread as soon as all my friends get a chance to read it.