Review - The Burning Wire

This week I review a Jeffery Deaver thriller featuring his beloved character Lincoln Rhymes for Thrill Week.  I will warn you upfront that I am a fan of Mr. Deaver.  I was so very fortunate to have dinner, at a writer's conference, with him and he was willing to answer the many questions the ten of us threw at him.  I don't know when he ate!  That was when I purchased this book.  If you haven't read Mr. Deaver, let me introduce you to his work.

Author: Jeffrey Deaver

Copyright: June 2010 (Simon &; Schuster) 432 pgs

Series: 9th in Lincoln Rhymes Investigations

Sensuality: n/a

Mystery Sub-genre: Suspense thriller

Main Characters: Lincoln Rhymes, quadriplegic criminalist

Setting: Modern day, New York city

Obtained Through: Personal purchase

There is somebody in New York City who accesses the Manhattan electrical power substation and tampers with it to create an arc flash that destroys a city bus - full of people.  This person soon starts sending demands to Algonquin Consolidated Power and Light or he will strike again. Forensic expert Lincoln Rhyme and his partner Amelia Sachs are brought into the case along with FBI and Homeland Security's special terrorist task force who believe the attack may be from a terrorist group.  The demands or outrageous and Lincoln and Amelia race to save lives from an invisible weapon that can strike in public or private without warning.

A subplot has Lincoln working on catching the Watchmaker long distance with the Mexican authorities.  The reader also follows Lincoln as his health deteriorates from the stress of the two cases.  Emotionally Lincoln's health challenges open old emotional wounds.

I love the characterization in this series. Lincoln is a difficult and demanding forensic expert and his health makes him even more testy as this tale advances.  Lincoln is complex, in some ways his being a quadriplegic adds to that complexity.  Amelia is a counter-weight to Lincoln's intensity with her personal touch she brings to police work. Despite her witnessing the worst of human pain and debauchery, she is able to empathize with people and their pain.  The combination is effective. I would have liked more Sachs though, she mostly ran and did what Lincoln directed.  Her sections could have revealed more of her personally, besides just the arthritis.  An unexpected standout character is undercover Detective Delray on the street trying to get a lead on who is behind this. The reader is routing for him.

This book, like Deaver's other Rhyme novels, captures NY city and makes it real to people like me who have never been there.  Everything from the exciting Big Apple side to the seedier aspects are in technicolor.

I felt this book caught me from the first paragraph and didn't let go. I was riveted throughout the twists and turns.  Deaver is known for providing good twists and I thought this was definitely on par.

The climax had surprises and suspense, played out (IMO) masterfully.  The wrap-up concludes all the various storylines and you feel a part of these characters lives until the next book.

I felt this was a great, strong thriller with Deaver's characteristic suspense and pacing. 

Ratings:  Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend.

Now for a short video with Jeffrey Deaver talking about this book.