The Stone Monkey (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When a vicious smuggler known as the Ghost scuttles a ship filled with undocumented Chinese immigrants less than a mile from New York harbor, only a handful of survivors--and the Ghost himself--manage to escape the burning vessel. Lincoln Rhyme, the quadriplegic NYPD forensic detective first introduced in 1997's The Bone Collector, and Amelia Sachs, his partner and lover, must stop the Ghost before he murders the two families who made it to shore. The families have gone to ground in the all but impenetrable world of Manhattan's Chinatown, a fact that makes the pair's two allies--Sonny Li, a Chinese cop, and Dr. John Sung-- invaluable partners.

The group's race against time showcases Jeffery Deaver's many talents, particularly intricate plotting, plenty of surprising twists, and breakneck pacing. This is a real standout from a writer whose previous thrillers have earned him a solid following among mystery fans. --Jane Adams --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Hidden aboard the cargo ship Fuzhou Dragon, approximately two dozen illegal Chinese immigrants head for the promise of a better future in the United States. The ruthless man in charge of this cargo is a professional human smuggler and killer nicknamed the Ghost. When the Coast Guard tries to stop the ship and capture the Ghost, the ship takes on water, and the Ghost blows up the cargo hold. The surviving immigrants grab hold of a lifeboat and make it to land. Trying to start their new lives, they must remain in hiding because the Ghost is tracking them, determined to kill every single immigrant left. The task of stopping the Ghost before he accomplishes his goal falls to Lincoln Rhyme and his partner, Amelia Sachs, characters first introduced in Deaver's The Bone Collector. The mind game that follows will push Rhyme to the limit of his abilities and call into question the loyalty of the people working with him. With this elaborate thriller, Deaver has written his best book to date. He balances the complexities of Chinese culture with the page-turning suspense we expect. Highly recommended. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/ 02.] Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (January 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743437802
• ISBN-13: 978-0743437806
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,444 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 4 in The Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As Fine a Suspense Novelist as you will find!, March 13, 2002

By	JC "JC" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stone Monkey (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel) (Hardcover)

Simply put, Jeffery Deaver is one of the best suspense novelist writing today. No other author can match his plot twists or attention to intricate detail. Best of all, he seems to be improving with each novel he writes, particularly with his Lincoln Rhyme series of books. The Stone Monkey is no exception.

The Stone Monkey is the fourth book in the Lincoln Rhyme - Amelia Sachs series (the others are, in order, The Bone Collector, The Coffin Dancer, and the Empty Chair). Rhyme is a quadriplegic and a famous forensic scientist. His partner, Sachs, is a redhead who acts as Rhyme's legs, 'walking the grid' at crime scenes. Together, they make a formidable crime fighting team.

The Stone Monkey picks up with the Coast Guard closing in on a ship filled with illegal immigrants trying to enter the US. Rhyme has found the ship and the police are trying to apprehend the notorious human smuggler known as the ghost. After blowing up the ship and killing most of the passengers, the Ghost escapes. Rhyme must find him before he kills the two familes that survived.

From this point, the plot rides like a roller coaster. The trademark Deaver twist are present and nothing is as it seems. The characters are well developed and interesting. Sonny Li makes a great addition to the team and provides some comedic relief. As readers have come to expect from Deaver, the ending is great as well.

Highly recommended to fans of Jeffery Deaver, James Patterson, John Sandford, and anyone else looking for a suspenseful thriller.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than THE BONE COLLECTOR, November 19, 2002

By	Dave Schwinghammer "Dave Schwinghammer" (Little Falls, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Stone Monkey (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel) (Hardcover)

THE STONE MONKEY is by far the best in Deaver's Lincoln Rhymes series. The main plot line revolves around Lincoln's effort to stop THE Ghost, a notorious Chinese "snakehead" (human smuggler) from killing what's left of two dozen illegal Chinese immigrants. When the coast guard zeroed in on the ship carrying the "undocumenteds," The Ghost had dynamited the ship, killing most everyone on board, except for two families and an undercover cop who manage to make it to shore.
This is the best of the series because of the research Deaver did on Chinese culture, specifically smuggling of human cargo. The book is generously sprinkled with such terms as "ju-jia" or piglets, the derogatory term for the people in the hold of the ship; "Meiguo," Chinese for Beautiful County or America, and "bangshou," the lieutenant who helps The Ghost accomplish his task.
The book is also replete with solid characterization, the best of which is Sonny Li, a Chinese detective disguised as one of the illegals. He clashes with Lincoln by smoking unfiltered Camels at crime scenes and by taking a much more humanistic approach to crime detection, as opposed to Lincoln's emphasis on the evidence. Li's favorite expression is "Ten Judges of Hell" in reference to the Chinese myth that the judges of hell keep a record of everyone who has ever lived, their faults and good points.
I've had problems with Deaver's loosey-goosey approach to plotting in the past; however, in this work, he manages to keep it real for the most part, except for one minor glitch where he has the Ghost switch places with one of the Chinese dissidents. The dissident has police protection, since the Ghost is out to kill all of the survivors, but that doesn't stop Deaver from having him sneak out and get involved in a gun battle or two. Despite this slight quibble, I'd put Deaver right up there with Ed McBain as one of the best at police procedural. It's easy to follow the case as it progresses as Rhymes has his assistant Thom write the clues on a bulletin board. We see these several times throughout the book as Rhymes analyzes new crime scenes. This is a good one; you'll get your money's worth.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lincoln Rhyme with a twist., March 25, 2002

By	"atticus99" (Coon Rapids, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stone Monkey (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel) (Hardcover)

After I read the Bone Collector a few summers ago, I tore into everything else that Jeffery Deaver had produced. If you are just getting to know Deaver through the Lincoln Rhyme novels, some of his best fiction still awaits you. Praying for Sleep, A Maiden's Grave, The Devil's Teardrop, and many other equally devious books are in your future if you so desire. The Stone Monkey is an excellent detective story filled with intriguing forensic details and engaging characters. It also contains the Jeffery Deaver trademark twists and turns in the plot that will keep you guessing. If there is any weakness to Deaver's style it is that ALL his books have a major plot twist in them and so his fans are no longer surprised when the big knockout punch comes. Even knowing that about Deaver, as I read this book, I made my predictions and smugly assumed that I knew how this one was going to turn out...and while I did see one major event coming, I was certainly fooled by the big twist. If you loved the first three Lincoln Rhyme books you will not be disappointed. If you've only read the Lincoln Rhyme books, delve deeper into the other books of the Deaver library...there are plenty of twists lurking in their pages too.