Customer Reviews

The Vanished Man (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel)

5 star:		(86)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Okay, so this should really be considered a 4.5 star review. Deaver is an amazing writer, skilled in the ways of writing truly engrossing mysteries. He gives the reader enough to figure out the mystery, but he doesn't really give the whole mystery away until the last word of the book. Kudos to Deaver for that. Deaver has become my favorite fiction writer, bar none. He's just that good.

But that said, the reason this review should be considered a 4.5 star review rather than a 5 star review is because of a couple of problems with this text. This story was much more engrossing than his previous Rhyme book, The Stone Monkey (a great book, nonetheless). The villain in this book is downright spooky and fantastically evil. The murders are grotesque yet not quite over the top. And the character development, especially the Rhyme/Sachs dynamic, is good for Deaver.

It should be said, however, that if you've never read a Deaver book before, this shouldn't be your starting point. And also don't read his books for tremendous insight into the human character. His books are plot driven, and, as a result, characters often develop too quickly in time to be wholly believable. But if you can suspend your disbelief, and it's usually easy to do that with Deaver, then you should have no problems enjoying his books. Scratch that. Reverse it. You should LOVE his books if you get past that point.

No plot spoilers here, but my biggest problem with the book is his big twist. His GOTCHA moment. While the twist made sense, I didn't feel that the twist had been properly developed to be truly believable. It didn't detract from my interest, though, and I enjoyed the hours I spend living in Deaver's fantasy that is The Vanished Man. As soon as I finished, I gave it to a friend to read.

Finally, if you've never read Deaver before, the following books should be your starting point, in my mind:
1) Read the Rhyme series in order (Bone Collector, Coffin Dancer, Empty Chair, Stone Monkey, Vanished Man).
2) Read non-Rhyme books: my favorites are The Blue Nowhere, The Devil's Teardrop, A Maiden's Grave.

Just when I thought Jeffery Deaver couldn't put any more twists and turns into his Lincoln Rhyme books, his villian is an illusionist whose expertise is twists and turns. The story begins with a violent death which only serves to accelerate the reader into a continually frenetic journey as Rhyme and Amelia Sachs try to discern reality from illusion as they chase the Conjurer - quite possibly the best villian yet in the Lincoln Rhyme series.

Readers will also love Kara, a fledgling illusionist herself, who Rhyme has enticed into helping the quadripeligic forensic detective and his partner/lover. Just like Sonny Li in The Stone Monkey, Kara holds her own against Rhyme and adds her own illusionary twists in the quest to capture the Conjurer.

The Vanished Man quickly jumped up my personal list of the best all-time reads. The book is 400 pages of frenzy and chaos. Just when you know the direction that the book is taking, you have to take an about face and start sprinting in the exact opposite direction. What great fun! Keep up the great work, Mr. Deaver...but you definitely have your work cut out for you to meet or eclipse The Vanished Man.

Jeffrey Deaver has shown a tendency to overwork the same plot mechanisms in his previous volumes, causing me to have a few second thoughts about buying and reading this volume. Nor am I a big fan of the kind of suspense story where we are introduced to the villain of the piece immediately and the only mystery is which way the plot will twist next.

So I was surprised when 'The Vanished Man' caught my interest from the onset and kept it to the end. Part of the spell comes from the subject matter - stage magic and it's mysteries. Deaver shows an unexpected mastery of the subject - the tricks, the psychology, and the personalities. He introduces a you magician in training, Kara, to the investigative team, and she holds her own against the strong personalities of Amelia Sachs and the paralyzed Lincoln Rhyme.

When most murderers leave glaring clues they are asking to be caught. But as Rhyme and Sachs investigate a string of gruesome crimes it becomes obvious that a skilled stage artist is dragging them through a trail of misdirection - cold-bloodedly setting a grandiose trap. It is up to the team to try to pinpoint the real object of the crimes before the last grim strike. Not without a lot of help from Kara as well.

Most of the story is Amelia's, Rhyme's active counter part. She has developed quite a bit from being the foil of a brilliant quadriplegic investigator. Her character has a fluidity that makes her a vibrant character with issues of her own - independent of the challenges facing Rhyme himself. If anything, it is Rhyme who has flattened out a bit, becoming something of a caricature of himself.

The story's only fault is that their opponent is a little too good and a little too lucky. Be that as it may, it is excellent reading. Between the magical overtones and a plot that never goes in the same direction for more than a chapter or two, there is enough depth to keep a readers attention. The story stands well by itself, as all of the volumes of this series do. If you haven't looked into them, and like intricate procedurals, it is time to start.

Deaver's books are like movies waiting to happen in that his characters aren't all that well developed, but his plots are ingenious. Live actors give the characters dimensions the novelist hasn't provided, and the picture is more satisfying than the book.

This books rocks along pretty well for awhile, but finally the incompetence of the police and the improbable good luck of the villain become a bit much. Deaver's basic cast of characters is its usual self, though, with Amelia Sachs still suffering arthritic knees and racing about Manhattan in her Camaro and Lincoln Rhyme still snapping at everyone. The author has assembled a good deal of research into sleight of hand and illusions, and some of it is interesting enough. The premise of the book is that by misdirecting your pursuers' attention and wearing makeup, one can escape from any situation. I mean, this villain goes around killing people while wearing two layers of clothing (e.g., a suit under a bellhop's uniform) and carrying all sorts of makeup, with which he manages to transform himself on the run in ways that defy detection by supposedly sharp-eyed cops who are actually trying to apprehend him. And when they do nab him, they're totally out of their depth. To wit: Our heavy is put in cuffs and taken to the Tombs, where he retrieves a lock pick from under a band-aid on his thigh and opens the cuffs. All this while being transported by police. He then grabs a revolver from a cop (do the cops carry guns in the cells?) and fires it, simultaneously triggering an explosive squib, which he has previously concealed under his hair. This propels a baggie full of bone and stuff onto a nearby wall so that it appears he's blown out his own brains, an illusion heightened by fake blood he manages to apply to the other side of his head. So not only has he picked a lock unnoticed, but he's wearing an explosive device taped to the side of his head, with a couple of electrical connections hanging off it, no doubt. Didn't they search this guy at all? Anyway, a squib of this sort covered with a bag of bone fragments, would probably, to quote Dirty Harry, blow your head clean off, since the overlying material would direct the explosion into your skull. And during the excitement he also manages to put drops in his eyes that make him look deader. The outcome of this improbable scene, by the way, is that the cops simply leave him lying in the cell, without checking closely for wounds or life signs, until an accomplice claiming to be from the medical examiner's office carts him away.

A prestigious music school in New York City is the scene of the crime. The killer locks himself in a classroom and within minutes a scream is heard, followed by a gunshot. The police break down the door to find the room completely empty.

Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are brought in to help with the investigation. The clues are few and far between, and the killer disappears as into thin air, but Rhyme and Sachs are determined to catch the killer.

Dubbed "the conjurer" the killer is meticulous at planning, and changing his identity. He carefully picks his victims, kills them by using famous magic tricks (think sawing a body in half, escape from a water chamber, etc.), and taunts the police with each new body.

Rhyme and Sachs realize they must move fast to catch "the conjurer" because each new death is growing more gruesome, and its all leading up to the ultimate "magic trick."

The Vanished Man is EXCELLENT! A shocking murder grabs hold of you on page one, and un-bearable suspense keeps you turning 400 more thrill-packed pages. Take a complex plot, thrown in gruesome murders, put in tons of plot twists, add the hunt for a twisted killer, and you have The Vanished Man, an up-all-night page-turner that will keep you guessing.

Jeffery Deaver has written great page-turners in the past, but he outdoes himself with his latest novel. After a few mediocre novels, Deaver comes full- force with a roller coaster, shock filled book that surpasses his best efforts; The Bone Collector & The Empty Chair. Fans of the Lincoln Rhyme series are in for a real treat, for this is easily, one of the best thrillers to come out in some time.

A guaranteed bestseller, The Vanished Man is a MUST read!

Nick Gonnella

The theme binding this book together is that of illusion - misdirection to make your audience look one way when the action is really happening the other way. Not only is the villain faced down by Lincoln Rhyme a master illusionist, so is the author himself. As with previous novels in this series, Deaver leads the reader down one false trail after another only to reveal that maybe the first trail was the right one after all... Or is it?

Unfortunately, The Vanished Man also falls victim to the one major flaw with Deaver's writing style: he is fond - very fond - of his research and makes sure that every reader knows it. The author does not seamlessly weave facts and intriguing tidbits into the fabric of the story. Instead, he showcases it in a manner all but lacking the blinking neon sign indicating "Research Notes!"

Nevertheless, fans of the Lincoln Rhymes novels will not be disappointed with the criminologist's latest adventure. The Vanished Man is full of fabulous forensics, interesting and favorite characters (Rhymes, Sachs, Bell, Thom), a formidable foe, and a serpentine plot.

It was a very enjoyable read, but looking back, the plot makes no sense at all.

--Spoiler alert. I give away some plot details below --
It turns out that the magician/criminal does most of his awful stuff as a way to distract the cops from the crime he really wants to commit. But if he just did that crime, the cops would never have been on his tail, so he would have had need to distract.

Deaver fans will LOVE this book. Like many of his previous books, this book is packed with lots of twists and turns. Even when you know who did it - you don't know who did it. It was an incredibly fast read and you will find yourself unable to put this book down.

Lincoln and Amelia are back in the spotlight in this book. That was one of my major complaints for the Stone Monkey - the book did not involve this pair that I have grown to know and love enough. The character of Kara is an excellent new addition also. Like many of Deaver's previous books, this book is based on the evidence and the "grid". This is the approach that I feel in love with in the beginning of the Lincoln Rhyme series.

This is a thinking person's mystery. You will be challanged to figure out how they are going to catch this kill and what is the killers real motive in all the violence that is taking place. It is one of Deaver's best. Mr. Deaver can not write books fast enough for me. Simply stated - Wonderful.

I have often said that I would not want to have Jefffery Deaver's dreams. His writing is so compeling and the stories so convoluted that I am sure I would wake in a cold sweat more often than not. The Vanished Man only adds to the mystique. The central theme of the book is magic - illusion - slight of hand - tricks - some used by the central character - some used by others as you will see. The story is an education into that world and as usual, it puts Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs to the supreme test in more ways than one in catching the killer(s). This is a book that has more twists, turns and seeming endings than the reader would think possible. But, as usual, Deaver does his thing and puts up another 5 star winner for all to read and enjoy. Don't pass on this one!

I began reading Deaver with "The Bone Collector," and his Rhyme books are still the best. But with this one, for the first time, I felt manipulated as well as entertained. For thrillers, the game used to be, "Can I create a villain as creepy as Hannibal Lector?" But now it's, "How many twists can I squeeze into one story? How many ways can I trick the reader?" Deaver has taken this lesson a little too much to heart. After a while, his unpredictability becomes predictable. When nothing is as it seems--as he tries to make it seem, in order to trick you just one more time--you come to expect it. You don't believe what he wants you to believe; you know he's only doing it to you again. This tends to kill the suspense (just as the suspense Dean Koontz works so hard to create is undercut by his always making sure that the right people survive and the wrong ones die; when you know going in that the hero is safe, you're not afraid for him). Deaver--and the reader--would be better off if at least some of his set-ups turned out to be real after all. By the end of this book I found myself wishing he'd stop trying to be so clever and just tell the story straight. He manipulates the reader every bit as much as his villain does Rhyme and Sachs, but we have paid for the privilege. And the entertainment value of a story is diminished for me when I feel that the author is just yanking me around to show how skillful he is.