The Bone Collector: Amazon.co.uk: Jeffery Deaver: Books

Amazon.co.uk 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. --Amazon.com

Review

'Sophisticated chiller... compulsive reading' Guardian

'Engrossing, entertaining and fizzing with energy, this is a suspense thriller to keep narcolepts awake' Val McDermid, Manchester Evening News

'Those who were gripped by Deaver's last novel, A Maiden's Grave, will not be surprised at the double-double-take finale, but I am willing to bet they still won't get it. Another genuinely compulsive chiller from the best psychological thriller writer around' Peter Millar, The Times

‘Superlatively plotted novel, rich in reversal and false endings’ The Sunday Times

'Deaver marries forensic work that would do Patricia Cornwell proud to a turbocharged plot that puts Benzedrine to shame' - Kirkus Reviews

'Deaver's villains are often intelligent as well as violent and, in his latest yarn hae has created a most unusual hero, plus his most inventive killer...the plot twists dramatically' Middlesborough Evening Gazette

'Take Patricia Cornwell's forensic investigation, add Thomas Harris and serial killers and mix in the tension that made Deaver's last novel A Maiden's Grave such a gripping read and you have THE BONE COLLECTOR, with the added bonus that it features one of the most original investigators in the history of crime fiction' Shropshire Star

'Truly gripping' Peterborough Evening Telegraph

'Deaver has made a very good fist of scaring the pants of his readers. One to be read during daylight hours, and definitely not in a taxi' Irish Times

'Full of twists and turns, building up to a nail-biting climax' Yorkshire Evening Press

'A suitably bizarre hero for a flamboyantly grotesque thriller...The Bone Collector craftily blends aspects of several recent trends in crime fiction. This breakneck thrill-ride reads like a movie, but there's some admirable writing' Wall Street Journal

'Jeffery Deaver has produced one of the most explosive thrillers of the year. Don't miss it' Liverpool Daily Post

'Undeniably effective, but ultra-grisly. Approach with care' Literary Review

‘The contemporary psychological thriller doesn’t get any better than this, the stunning and ingeniously-wrought tale... This is a sensational thriller, brilliantly researched, chilling and almost unbearably gripping to the very end’ Northern Echo

‘Unsettling stuff with a surprisingly heart-warming ending’ Dorset Evening Echo

'Sophisticated chiller... compulsive reading' (Guardian )

'Engrossing, entertaining and fizzing with energy, this is a suspense thriller to keep narcolepts awake' (Val McDermid )

'Those who were gripped by Deaver's last novel, A Maiden's Grave, will not be surprised at the double-double-take finale, but I am willing to bet they still won't get it. Another genuinely compulsive chiller from the best psychological thriller writer around' (Peter Millar, The Times )

‘Superlatively plotted novel, rich in reversal and false endings’ (The Sunday Times )

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

Brilliant 20 May 2005

By S. Hill

Format:Paperback

The first of the Lincoln Rhyme books, and the second one I read. The main character is a "criminalist", a forensic expert. He used to be head of NYPD's forensics department but was badly injured at a crime scene and is now paralysed from the neck down, apart from one finger. In this book he is near to achieving his aim of committing suicide but his interest in life is rekindled by a fascinating case and a female police officer. Will it be enough to keep him going?

The book tells the story of the Bone Collector, a murderer who has a particular interest in peoples' bones. He kidnaps people in his taxi or goes out to find them, basing all his actions on an old book about a killer in the last century. At each crime scene he leaves clues leading to the next one - can Rhyme and the rest of the team get there in time to save the next victim? And can they use the evidence he accidentally leaves to catch him rather than just following in his footsteps? The twist in the tale is one of the most memorable I've come across but I can't say any more without ruining the story! A highly recommended read.

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

Is it realistic? I don't know, I don't care! 28 May 1999

By A Customer

Like every other reviewer so far I have to agree that this is a 5* read. Jeffery Deaver blows Patricia Cornwell out of the water. This is the first Lincoln Ryme novel - Lincoln starts the book as a Quadriplegic with a death wish - trying to find a doctor who will grant his wish to put him out of his misery. Along come a string of really sick murders designed to tax Lincoln's forensic skills and lateral thinking. With the unwilling help of Amelia - the beautiful policewoman who stumbled on the first of the crime scenes, he takes us into the mind of the killer with only the smallest amount of physical evidence. Right to the end you will NOT guess who the killer is. You will forget his disability and be carried along by the sheer brilliance of his deductive reasoning. As for whether or not the plot is really feasible or realistic and whether they can really do stuff like this - you really won't care. His next book, the Coffin Dancer is also excellent and sufficiently different to suggest that he won't become too formulaic

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

Edge of your seat terror 9 Jun 2009

By BookBliss TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE

If I could give it more I would, although I have marked a number of other books 5 stars (if books aren't good I can't finish them which makes me think I'm not worthy of reviewing them) there are very few authors out there that compare to Jeffrey Deaver. This man is a master of his craft. This is the first of Deaver's novels to feature Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs and I would recommend that you start with this book to get an understanding of how their relationship forms. There are times when this novel is positively gruesome and you do wonder how Deaver manages to think up some aspects of the plot as well as complete what must be huge amounts of meticulous research across a wide range of subjects to make this book so believable (in an unbelievable serial killer kind of way).

I bought this book after seeing the film and while the adaptation of this was far better than of the James Patterson novels, it is another example of how the detail in a book will far surpass what they are able to put into a film. Deaver's plots are complex and full of twists, this is a novel that although you can read quickly, due to the fact it's brilliant, you do need to actually concentrate on it so that you don't miss something vital or any of the complex information. It's a real grown-up thriller!