Tangled Web UK Review August 2006
The Cold Moon by
Jeffery Deaver
pbk out May 07
(Hodder)
at £6.99
This is the seventh Lincoln Rhyme novel – good going when you think that
Deaver had considered killing Rhyme off at the end of the first book, 'The Bone
Collector'. Everything about Deaver is known already, I guess. Born in 1950, and
writing since he was eleven, Deaver practised law, and turned full-time writer in 1990.
He has written twenty-one novels – though by the time you read this review, that piece of
information will probably be wrong – and rarely disappoints.
This is another classic, not to say classy, Lincoln Rhyme story. Everyone must be
familiar now with the paraplegic solver of murders, if only through his cinematic
manifestation in the persona of Denzil Washington. He is, as ever, surrounded by
assistants who act as his hands, and at the crime scene, eyes. Amelia Sachs has
progressed in the stories to Lincoln's lover, and remains so here, though this time she is
distracted by her own murder case. An issue for Rhyme, who doesn't believe she can
give her full attention to his case. However, her boss, senior policewoman Marilyn
Flaherty trusts her to handle both, even though the case involves police corruption. And
she is helped in the Watchmaker case by rookie Ron Pulaski.
Rhyme is pursuing the identity of a serial killer, called the Watchmaker, because
he leaves old-fashioned clocks at the scene of his killings. We, the readers, are privileged
to get an insight into the world of the Watchmaker, and know that he is teamed up with a
nasty piece of work called Vincent who has a history of abusing women. As their murder
spree progresses, Rhyme's investigation of the forensic evidence, with the usual help of
Mel Cooper and Lon Sellitto, brings him closer to the man's identity. But not everyone
is who they seem, and Rhyme makes use of a visiting FBI expert called Kathryn Dance,
who specialises in understanding the dynamics of interrogation, and kinesics. She can
see through a false cover, and boy, is she needed.
Naturally, Deaver doesn't give us a straight-forward story. His plot is so full of
twists and turns that you have to hang on to a firm surface before you get too dizzy. The
Watchmaker is not who he seems, and Deaver cunningly peels back layer after layer of
deception, until we are no longer sure even of the allegiance of the central characters.
Amelia's own loyalties are questioned, as her past involvement with a corrupt cop come
back to haunt her. She even contemplates resigning. And at the same time it is no
coincidence that Deaver deliberately toys with our feelings over the introduction of the
attractive and intelligent Kathryn Dance, and Rhyme's reactions to her. He has always
said he has no long term plans for his characters, and can always change things. He does
now say he plans to give Kathryn Dance her own series soon, however. As for 'Cold
Moon', is it over-cooked? I was maybe a little irritated at the amount of turn-arounds in
the story, but they still did not distract from me having felt I had enjoyed a good read by the
end of the book. And I am sure Deaver fans are looking forward to the next Lincoln
Rhyme. It is bound to be worth picking up from the bookshelf.
(
Ian Morson
Author of Falconer books and short listed for 1999 Ellis Peters Historical Crime Dagger)
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