The Cold Moon

The Cold Moon – by Jeffery Deaver

Another Jefferey Deaver book, another Lincoln Rhyme novel, another book with so many plot twists and turns that your head won’t be able to see straight upon completion of this book due to its constant spinning.  I’ve come to really enjoy the Lincoln Rhyme series of books along with the recurring cast of characters that help the surly quadriplegic solve some of the most gruesome crimes in Manhattan.  For the most part, this book is like all the others with a few new angles thrown in, along with, of course, the never ending surprises around every corner.

In this book we’re dealing with a pair of killers.  The biggest calling card is that one of these two seems to be obsessed by clocks and time.  His sinister nickname is “The Watchmaker”.  It really doesn’t make any sense for me to describe the plot any further.  If you’ve read any of the Lincoln Rhyme books, you know the drill.  We have a couple of side stories going on in this book that seem a bit of an unnecessary distraction, yet everything seems to wrap up nicely in the end.

The biggest asset to this book is a new character, an investigator from the west coast who comes to assist.  Her name is Kathryn Dance.  Dance has the incredible knack for having deep conversations with people (usually suspects) and she can immediately tell whether they’re lying or being truthful.  This woman seems much more reliable than a sophisticated polygraph machine.  Jefferey Deaver, being incredibly thorough and astute, describes to his readers in depth how such a skill is possible and we learn that nothing can slip by this woman.  Whether or not such an individual can really exist in the real world is beside the point.  What matters is that Deaver convinces us that such an individual can exist, so once we suspend our skepticism, the wild ride is quite fun.  In fact, he’s employed this tactic with the Lincoln Rhyme character as well throughout all his books.  No matter how complicated a case can be, Rhyme is always one step ahead of everyone else, usually uncovering the critical piece of evidence at the very last minute before the killer is about to execute “the big one”.  Again, it’s what makes these books entertaining.

I was also happy to discover upon conclusion of this book that Deaver has gone on to pen a few books with Kathryn Dance as the main protagonist.  I look forward to such adventures.   If you’re a fan of Lincoln Rhyme, this book will serve you well.  You could also argue that this particular story isn’t exactly “finished”, but I really shouldn’t say more than that.