Mystery Book: The Burning Wire: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel Reviews
The Burning Wire: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel
Lincoln Rhyme is back on the trail of a killer whose weapon of choice cripple New York City with fear. The weapon is invisible & omnipresent. Without it, modern society grinds into a halt. There is electricity. The perpetrator uses & manages huge arc flashes with voltage as high & Searing heat that steel melts & the victims are set on fire. When the first explosion occurs in broad daylight, a city bus is reduced into a pile of molten metal shrapnel-riddled, officials fear terrorism. Rhyme, a forensic criminologist world class for its successful acquisition of devious criminals known, is at present tapped for the investigation. Long a quadriplegic, he mounted detective Amelia Sachs, & NYPD officer Ron Pulaski as his eyes, ears & legs at crime scenes & FBI Agent Fred Dellray as his undercover man on the street. As the attacks on the city continue into appear at a dizzying pace, & terrifying demand letters begin, the team is working desperately against time & with small provocative forensic evidence into try into find the murderer. Or is it killer. . . ? Meanwhile, on another high-profile investigation Rhyme in Mexico have escaped Rhyme’s net with a coveted prey in his crosshairs advice: the assassin as the watchmaker, one of the few known criminals.
Juggling two massive investigations against a ticking clock takes a terrible toll on the health of Rhyme. Soon Rhyme is another front-and his determination into work despite his physical limitations threatens trip into his closest allies when he needs them most into fight. . .
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June 21st, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Review by J. Prather for The Burning Wire: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel
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I have read all of Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme books and have long felt that the duo of Rhyme and Sachs is one of the best in crime fiction. Having said that up front, I have to admit this was not one of my favorites. The author’s infamous attention to detail and his trademark methods of ratcheting up the suspense were still there, and there were parts of this book that I really enjoyed. One of the big attractions of this series for me has always been the relationship between Rhyme and Sachs and their interactions with each other. This was pretty much gone from this book. These characters experience no change or growth; Sachs was a ghost flitting through the book just going wherever Rhyme pointed. Rhyme has more interaction with Thom, his caregiver than he does with Sachs and that interaction was always virtually identical to what we have seen in previous books. How many times do we have to argue about whiskey? There are a couple of efforts to advance the personal aspect of the story, but they seem token attempts at best and are only there to set up a teaser ending.
It’s a common problem in series fiction that authors often spend too much time writing for readers that aren’t familiar with the characters. I can see their reasoning, but it doesn’t make things any less frustrating. I swear some of the dialogue in this book (in the beginning at least) is taken word for word from some of the previous books. The author spends alot of time going over things that followers of the series will already know. I’m not talking just about characters, I’m also talking about forensic basics I’d already learned from Lincoln Rhyme before! I don’t remember this being such an issue with earlier Rhyme books, but maybe that’s just my selective memory.
All of the information about electricity was certainly interesting. I learned quite a bit, however I sometimes felt that I was being lectured to by the characters. While I am a fan of learning, I am a bigger fan of a good strong narrative. The lectures and the narrative did not fit well together. Some of the dialogue here just did not work and had me shaking my head in disbelief. I wanted the characters to quit explaining things to me and talk to each other.
One thing that I felt was missing through most of this story was the presence of a truly creepy villain. A lot of the “drama” felt overwrought and manufactured; although on the flipside there were a couple of memorable moments at the end that I won’t spoil here. I can’t speak to the ending much except to say I was rather disappointed in the neat little package. Everything got tied up with a pretty little bow, but there is a teaser at the end that is sure to keep Rhyme fans coming back for the next one. I’m just not sure if I’ll be back for the next one or not. It barely gets a three star from me just because I have loved this series for such a long time. Proceed at your own risk!
June 21st, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Review by Oakleaf for The Burning Wire: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel
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I have loved the Lincoln Rhyme books for years. They were sharp, exciting, cerebral and made perfect use of forensic data to solve puzzles that ultimately undid the bad guy. Deaver was on my A+ list which is comprised of about 3 authors whose books I buy in hard cover. The books have been slowly getting worse and this one probably knocked him off my A+ list. Rather than being a hair ahead, Rhymes seems oddly distracted and ineffectual. And then there is the ending. Without giving anything away, it entails an enormous suspension of disbelief to buy the motive for all this mayhem. Far too complex. I gave it three stars out of product loyalty, but if it had been a new author for me it would have gotten less.
June 21st, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Review by Reacher Creature for The Burning Wire: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel
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I really wanted to like this. I’ve been a fan of the Rhyme novels, but the past few have had the “same feeling” to them. Someone kills someone else, Sachs goes and walks the crime scene. I’ve noticed that the crime scenes are getting longer and longer to read about. I mean, we’re again treated to the reason why Sachs and whoever is with her has to wear bands on their shoes and again it’s explained how and why they walk the grid (crime scene) the way they do. Do we needs this over and over and over again? I could only read a few pages at a time, then I’d get really bored reading it, and that’s not a good sign.
I will admit that it was interesting to see electricity as a weapon, very interesting, and I did like that part about the book. It was a nice touch, and the only thing I liked about it.
For me, it was “more of the same”
June 21st, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Review by richard scafonas for The Burning Wire: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel
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The new Deaver book is DULL. The characters are like stick figures that are isolated in their own box. I learned too much about electricity (over and over again). The author is getting like Grissum and Patterson, after the big $$ (?) and who cares about his readers. Possibly, the author should start a new series, with new characters, because this series is “flat”. Now if the author was kind he’d return my hard-earned-money.
June 21st, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Review by Julia Andrews for The Burning Wire: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel
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Readers (and for that matter moviegoers) familiar with Deaver’s earlier work, particularly “The Bone Collector” will be delighted at the return of Lincoln Rhyme. There is simply no other major character in a thriller series like Lincoln Rhyme. A brillant forensic criminologist (who just happens to be a quadriplegic) Rhyme’s assembles a crack team of investigators (including Amelia Sachs)to deal with the sabotage of an electricity grid substation, the subsequent lethal explosion and the threat of further, similiar acts of terror. At the same time Lincoln is deeply involved in tracking down an old adversary, an asassin known as the “Watchman”.
Deavers main gift as a writer is an ability to show the intricacies of a detailed complex investigation, including a substantial amount of fascinating background information without letting the story pace suffer. The subtleties of characterization are secondary to the action line. In saying this, I do NOT mean to suggest they are simple cardboard figures. I mean the underlying success of this book is the driving urgency of the plot.
Although a long time fan of Lincoln Rhyme another Deaver character, Kathryn Dance, comes in a very close second to him. If you have not already met her I highly recommend the previous two Kathryn Dance books The Sleeping Doll: A Novel and the most recent Roadside Crosses: A Kathryn Dance Novel. I have read that the Deaver’s next novel will feature her as the main character.
I would not hesitate to recommend this book to all thriller lovers. The book would translate effortlessly onto the Big Screen just as the “Bone Collector” did, fingers crossed to seeing in on a movie marquee in the future. My only question, who would play Lincoln? Would Denzil reprise the role?
Two other great summer thriller reads: Caught, not Myron Bolitar but absolutely terrific. If you are a Jack Reacher fan, try Lee Child’s newest 61 Hours: A Reacher Novel (Jack Reacher Novels).
Enjoy the read!