The Bone Collector (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel) (Hardcover)

by Jeffery Deaver (Author), R. Ed. Cameron (Author) "She wanted only to sleep..." (more)
Key Phrases: stockyard tunnel, yellow knapsack, bone collector, Lincoln Rhyme, New York, Amelia Sachs (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The hero of Jeffery Deaver's thriller The Bone Collector is Lincoln Rhyme, a forensic scientist known to his peers as "the world's foremost criminalist." Rhyme will need all his reason--and his considerable stock of high-tech tools--about him to solve this latest brain-twister: a serial killer with method to his madness. In tried and true thriller fashion, the killer's crimes are described in lurid detail, as is the astounding technological equipment with which Rhyme examines the evidence--everything from an energy-dispersive x-ray unit to a mass spectrometer.

Every fictional detective has his or her gimmick, from Sherlock Holmes's violin to Nero Wolf's orchids, and Rhyme is no exception. He is a quadriplegic who can move nothing but a single finger. Gadget-philes will be in seventh heaven reading about Lincoln Rhyme's tools; other readers might feel the book could do with a few more plausible characters and a little less technology. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Deaver (A Maiden's Grave) is too fond of gimmicks. They range in this novel from the extreme (his detective here, Lincoln Rhyme, is a quadriplegic who can move only one finger) to the moderately eccentric (beautiful policewoman Amelia Sachs, who acts as Rhyme's arms and legs, suffers from arthritis). And his villain, a serial killer who models his crimes on ones he finds in a book on criminal life in old New York, has an uncomfortable way of slaying each of his victims in ways guaranteed to stop the heart or turn the stomach: buried alive, flayed by high-pressure steam, eaten by hungry rats, burned alive, attacked by mad dogs. All this takes place in the course of one busy New York weekend as the killer helpfully leaves playful little clues as to where he's going to strike next and Rhyme uses his immense savvy (and a battery of computerized testing tools) to figure it out. The whole affair, in fact, is incredibly silly, though the headlong narrative, with Sachs arriving in the nick of time (driving at 80 mph through New York streets) to perform rescues that seem to belong in a comic strip rather than a novel, never lets up, and there is plenty of genuine forensic knowledge in evidence. There are dramatic switcheroos up to the very last page, and a climactic battle to the death that might make even teenage boys wince. For it seems to be at that kind of readership?uncritical and doting on violence?that the novel is aimed. 100,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo; film rights sold to Martin Bregman and Universal Pictures; simultaneous Penguin audio. (Mar.) FYI: An HBO movie of A Maiden's Grave, starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, will air in January 1997.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Viking Penguin Inc; First Edition ~1st Printing edition (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0614206464
• ISBN-13: 978-0614206463
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (296 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,236,811 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 1 in The Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WALKING THE "GRID" WITH LINCOLN AND AMELIA, June 17, 2000

By	Nancy Martin (Pennsylvania (orig. NY)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bone Collector (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel) (Hardcover)

In The Bone Collector, the first in a series featuring Lincoln Rhymes, we are introduced to probably one of the best criminalist minds that have ever been written about. Perhaps it's because the main character, Lincoln Rhymes, does not have the day to day trivialities that cloud up one's mind on a daily basis. Rhymes is a quadriplegic and can only move one finger. He is a former NYPD criminalogist whose spine was severely injured while working a crime scene. Now he is confined to his townhouse apartment in Manhattan where, with the help of some state of the art electronics and equipment, he is still able to help the NYPD solve some gruesome crimes.

Enter Amelia Sachs, a beautiful policewoman, who becomes Lincoln's protege, possible love interest and eyes and ears on upcoming crime scenes. I read this book after the movie trailers were out so it was easy to picture Denzel Washington as Rhymes and Angelina Jolie as Sachs. Deaver is a master at explaining and detailing police procedure and is so adept at analyzing a crime scene that by the time I was finished, I felt as if I could "walk the grid" and "bag the evidence". The homicidal maniac in this book is as evil as they come but Lincoln is able to stay one step ahead of him. If there is a book that can honestly be termed a "page-turner", this is it. Upon its completion, however, I don't know if I'll ever be able to ride in a NYC cab and, if I do have to and I see some little toy hanging from the rear view mirror, "I'm outta here".

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For those who truly like the gruesome and creative, May 16, 2000

By	Andrea Egger, author of Grave Accusations (Gallup, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bone Collector (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

Wow-- a top forensic police officer working from his bed as a quadriplegic. Such a great idea that has NEVER been thought of before!

And from the very beginning, where police find a man buried alive with one hand sticking out of the ground, a finger shaved of skin and wearing a woman's ring, the depraved of New York City shine through this book about a serial killer/kidnapper. A beautiful woman must help our "crip," as he calls himself, solve each crime, for which the killer leaves clues to the next victim, before the victim dies.

A great suspense novel, one which I wanted to read before I saw the movie with the gorgeous Denzel Washington playing the quadriplegic and newcomer Angelina Jolie playing the red-headed "partner" for this forensic, bedded genius.

Deaver has created two superb characters who work together with superb sexual tension between them. Readers should check out the next book, "The Coffin Dancer," which features the same players. Hopefully Deaver has more coming for us.

Deaver is Patricia Cornwell caliber, a hard task to accomplish!

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will Blow You Away!, February 15, 2000

By	Karen Bierman Hirsh (White Plains, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Bone Collector (Lincoln Rhyme Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

Jeffery Deaver is one the great writers of today -his thrillers are wonderfully twisted, intelligent and fast paced.

This was recently made into a movie which did not do the book justice. Lincoln Rhyme, the NYPD's best and considered to be the world's foremost criminalist - is paralyzed in an accident and seeks solace in silence yet the police desperately need him.

Walking the beat, Amelia Sachs discovers a body buried beneath an overpass (all but his ring finger) and she seals the area off in hopes of salvaging what clues might be left. This action brings her to the attention of Lincoln. The NYPD teams them up to hunt down what might be the cities most deranged killer.

This book was fabulous - but it had a major flaw -it ended! I fell in love with Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs and I couldn't put the book down. It was thriller through and through - and as a bonus it was well written and the characters were so real that you almost felt like you were there with them.

I can't wait to see where Jeffery Deaver takes us next