The Empty Chair

The Empty Chair by Jeffery Deaver

This is the third or fourth Lincoln Rhyme/Amelia Sachs novel.  They’re a rather odd crime solving partnership.  Odd, mainly because he’s a quadriplegic who can only move his neck and part of one of his fingers.  She’s a ravishing, riveting red-head cop who somehow falls for the guy.  So they solve crimes together with Amelia doing the legwork, and Rhyme doing the thinking and talking, usually through an earpiece guiding the beautiful Sachs.

As this story opens, the Manhattan based pair are in North Carolina.  It seems there’s a doctor who might be able to perform an operation on Lincoln that might give him some of his mobility back.  Of course it can also kill him as well.  Nothing in life is easy.    As soon as the pair arrive, however, the local police interrupt their intention.  It seems there’s been a series of killings in the swamp land of the rural community along with some kidnappings.  They need Lincoln to help capture the killer.  They know who the killer is, they just need to try to catch him before his kidnap victims become murder victims as well.

So Lincoln (and Amelia) reluctantly postpone the surgery, and set up a workspace to work their magic.  It won’t be easy.  This isn’t Manhattan, and the local yokel police don’t exactly know how to handle such complicated crimes.  So equipment is sparse, resources are limited, and mistakes are made by the well intentioned local police.  Still, though, Lincoln and Amelia plod forward.  They know who they’re chasing - 16 old Garrett Hanlon.  He’s an orphan living with foster parents whose definitely an odd character.  He’s one of those people that if you see him in public, you don’t make eye contact.  He’s just creepy.  He also loves insects.  He knows more about insects than most people, and even keeps a bizarre collection of various specimens.  He studies these creatures and their habits so intently, that he models his behavior when eluding his captors and for keeping his “prey”.  So this is what Lincoln and Amelia have to ultimately figure out - how to stay one step ahead of this kid by researching and quickly learning about  different kinds of insects.

This was actually a very solid part of the story.  You actually feel as though you’re a student of Entomology as you work your way through this story, and some of what you learn is not only interesting, but quite fascinating.

At first, I felt like I was reading a “regular” Rhyme/Sachs novel - the only difference being that this story takes place in the rural marshlands of North Carolina instead of the bustling streets of Manhattan.  Yet Deaver throws some nice twists and turns in the plot that actually make this one quite unique.  As always, he manages to come with a great ending that always manages to fool most, if not all of his readers.  The author also manages to catch you with your guard down at some points.  Usually, for example, if the “big climax” of the book is near the end, with about fifty pages to go, you assume that the rest of the book will be the main characters simply catching their breath, reflecting on the story, smiling, and congratulating each other on a job well done.  Deaver , however, manages to throw more turmoil at the reader during these last few pages, and it makes quite the thrilling ride.

I’ll also never look at any insect the same way again.