Murder in New York City

Jeffery Deaver writes thrillers which are fast paced and full of action. He is especially known for the twists he adds to his plots but, unlike some other writers, he doesn’t make the twist the whole point of the story at the expense of good characterisation. Here is a review of one of his books I read a couple of years ago.

The Midnight Lock is a novel featuring the author’s best known characters Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs – there have been a large number of books about them and I have read most of them. Lincoln is an expert in forensics but is also quadriplegic, and Amelia is his life and professional partner. They mostly work for the police or other law enforcement.

In this story there is a criminal called “The Locksmith” who is a killer who enters homes all over New York – it seems that nothing can keep him out. Lincoln is called in to try and find forensic evidence and track the killer but an older case of his is in court and doubts are being cast on his integrity. Lincoln needs to solve the crime but also rescue his reputation.

This book is told in alternate chapters between the killer and the investigators which definitely adds to the tension. The killer seems to have unbelievable and unnatural powers but Lincoln and his team have an amazing ability to find very small pieces of evidence and gain a huge amount of evidence from them. This is all a bit over the top but once you’ve accepted it then it makes the story very enjoyable and there are plenty of twists and turns in the plot to engage the reader.

This is all very entertaining and well done. It is, of course, highly improbable but if you can suspend your disbelief it’s a good read.