No comments about The Coffin Dancer.

No comments about Roadside Crosses (UNABRIDGED).

5 comments about The Broken Window: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel.

1. I hadn't thought alot about all the information being gathered about us as individuals. It's pretty scary, this premise that there are corporations out there who gather all possible information which we very careless put in everywhere we go. Every time we buy something at the grocery store using one of the store cards (that give us benefits if we buy so much), every time we hop into the car, all the video recorders used by cops in traffics, all our hospital info, etc. It started out as the information age, but the very real possibility for misuse by government, by criminal enterprises, etc. is there. Even our DNA can be possibly kept on file if we are diagnosed with a disease which needs to analyze that DNA...then it is in the system, and can be used for discriminatory purposes.
   
   Every once in a while I need a break from textbooks and history and bioethics, so I turn to someone I know researches and creates an intelligent mystery. I can count on Deaver for that. My biggest complaint is that it always seems Amelia Sachs gets into trouble. How many times can she have run-ins with villains? And not get seriously hurt? I know we have to suspend our disbelief for such books, but it does get a little old.
   
   The information about data miners was new to me and interesting. I can see where people can get upset about privacy, but it is kind of 'the cat is out of the bag' at this point. I don't see how we can stuff all this information back into the Pandora's box. I'm not sure I want to since I enjoy access to all of this which wasn't readily available before. It's great for doing research. But Deaver brings up another more dangerous side of having too much information out there. Good reading.



2. This is another book I snagged from the shelves of the Wal-Mart during a fit of boredom. Deaver is the same guy who wrote "The Bone Collector" which was made into a movie with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Having read this book, it's fairly clear to me that Lincoln Rhyme is a white guy, which seems odd with a name like Lincoln who has a cousin named Arthur. I suppose it could just be my prejudice coming through, but it seemed odd to me that the movie character is of a different race than the character in the novel. I don't know why I even had to bring it up, but it nagged at me as I read the book.
   
   Also, nagging at me as I read the book, was the ridiculous portrayal of computer technology. Deaver couldn't write a "Hello World" program in TRS-80 BASIC. He just hasn't the slightest clue how computer systems work. I suppose reading this book for me would be a similar experience to the way actual crime scene investigators feel when they watch CSI on TV.
   
   I suppose the story was readable and engaging enough once you get past the terrible misunderstanding and misrepresentation of technology. I think I'd rather just read Neal Stephenson if I want believable technology in my stories.



3. This is my favorite book of the year. It is very current, without seeming to draw to much directly out of the headlines. If your at all worried about RFID tags, identity theft, or anything of the sort this novel will certainly increase those fears. However it does this with a terrific plot that's not bogged down with to much irrelevant information. I loved it, and would highly recommend it to anyone, less the adult themes may make it inappropriate for younger readers.



4. Have you ever considered thought of what it would be like if you ran into a stranger who knew everything about you? Imagine that person knowing your whole lifestyle, everything from your passionate hobbies to what you typically buy at the grocery store. They would go about various tactics into getting your information; they would do so from collecting personal possessions from newspapers to the smallest items you would drop on the street. This deadly compulsion of theirs makes you ask the biggest question of all: how do you stop the one person who knows everything?
   
   That is the one question that the forensic tag team of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs have to ponder as they investigate yet another case in THE BROKEN WINDOW. In the eighth and latest installment of Jeffery Deaver's bestselling crime series, Lincoln, the heroic quadriplegic, has to solve a case like none other, one that involves his own family. The book begins with him receiving a call from Judy, the wife of his long lost cousin, Arthur Rhyme. She pleads Lincoln into investigate a murder where every piece of evidence perfectly points directly to Arthur. While he and his partner/lover, Amelia, begin to investigate, they later come to realize that a master manipulator in identity theft has done this "perfect" evidence. By digging deeper into the case do the duo later realize that this same thief might also be responsible for other killings, in addition to framing innocent people for these acts. Through the next three days, Lincoln and Amelia come to realize that they might've faced their match.
   
   THE BROKEN WINDOW can be considered as a toss-up read. Despite the fact of it may not being the greatest entry in the series, there are a variety of strong elements that Deaver contributes into the story. For starters, the author has yet again created a likeable villain that is fresh and innovative, in comparison to the fifth entry THE VANISHED MAN. Many readers will find the description of the killer's obsession into collecting to be rather bone chilling. He has also deftly made his readers to sympathize with the villain regarding the losses and setbacks that the villain endured in his past. Of all of the many pros, the biggest one in this book involves the way the author ties the elements of the story to what we have read in today's headlines, those involving the world of identity theft.
   
   Despite of all of the numerous strengths, the book nonetheless has some critical flaws, ones that Deaver has made in some of his recent works. For starters, as he did so in the last two Rhyme novels with THE TWELFTH CARD and THE COLD MOON, readers will question the credibility of the events leading up to the mystery of the story. Such a mistake by the author will have readers struggling to finish the story. Another mistake that readers will find bothersome involves Amelia's acts into catching the killer. As he has previously done in some of the other recent Rhyme entries, he has made a few of the action scenes by Amelia appear to be cartoonish.
   
   This entry in the Lincoln Rhyme series can be considered a fun and enjoyable read. It will be well liked by those who enjoy action-adventure stories along with those that involve today's technological world. Nevertheless, the elements of the story might also cause some controversy by some of the readers who may not like the book.



5. Our dependency and blind faith in strings of 0s and 1s is a little bit scary, but what can we do? Could you imagine our life without computers, the Internet, etc.? What if someone abuses the system? Better not to think about it.
   Otherwise the thriller is unremarkable.