The Vanished Man (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel) (Hardcover)

by Jeffery Deaver (Author) "Greetings, Revered Audience..." (more)
Key Phrases: revered audience, red pignut hickory, black silk core, Cirque Fantastique, Lincoln Rhyme, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Presto! With a conjuror's flourish, the reliable Jeffery Deaver has pulled another winner out of his hat. The Vanished Man brings back Lincoln Rhyme, forensic investigator, and his sidekick Amelia Sachs, ex-model and beat cop, a team featured in four previous books. Their case begins with a murder in which the culprit, cornered in a locked room, seemingly vanishes into thin air. Rhyme soon realizes he's up against a master illusionist--and then acquires a conjuror of his own, a spunky apprentice magician, to advise him. The book is chock-a-block with magic lore and with details of the craft of illusion, which provide a fine complement to the engrossing forensic-science puzzles.

The characters, as usual with Deaver, are little more than cardboard cutouts. Even Rhyme himself, a brilliant quadriplegic and former head of NYPD forensics, seems more a collection of characteristics than a man. But Deaver's cutouts are sturdy and well-constructed, and the book's plotting and pacing--featuring twist upon twist and reversal upon reversal--are nothing short of dazzling, reminiscent of Agatha Christie at her best. Deaver proves himself an accomplished illusionist, misdirecting your attention with one hand while slipping a firecracker down your pants with the other. --Nicholas H. Allison

From Publishers Weekly
Fans of Deaver know that he works storytelling magic in his thrillers, not just the Lincoln Rhyme tales (The Stone Monkey, etc.) but also the stand-alones (The Blue Nowhere, etc.). It's fitting, then, that in his new, giddily entertaining story about quadriplegic crime fighter Rhyme, he casts as his villain a professional illusionist-and an apprentice magician as assistant to Rhyme and Rhyme's cop sidekick-lover, Amelia Sachs. The novel opens with the murder of a young female student at a music school on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Caught in the act, the killer vanishes from a sealed room. Forensic and eyewitness clues point to a culprit with magic training; looking for expert help, Sachs encounters an aspiring illusionist, who goes by the stage name of Kara, who agrees to help her and Rhyme. The villain-revealed in passages from his POV as "Malerick," soon identified as a world-class magician with a serious ax to grind-commits further mayhem (including an attack on Rhyme), which looks like steps toward an act of consummate revenge. A subplot about a white power demagogue's attempt to assassinate the Manhattan D.A. who's prosecuting him grows to involve Malerick, giving the storyline twists-and twists and twists, through Deaver's masterful sleight of hand. Further subplots concerning Sachs's attempt to attain a sergeant's ranking, and Kara's relationship with her stroke-addled mother, as well as the customary difficulties of Rhyme's condition, add ballast to the gyrating main story line, rich in magic lore and lingo. This is prime Deaver.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Number Iine 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 edition (March 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743222008
• ISBN-13: 978-0743222006
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (155 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #357,122 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 5 in The Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Fantastic!!!, May 17, 2003

By	Mark Wagenschutz (Battle Creek, MI USA) - See all my reviews

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.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now you see him..., August 23, 2003

By	Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Vanished Book, April 9, 2003

By	Dave (Ohio) - See all my reviews

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.