The Broken Window - After six or seven books, most series start to get a bit thin. The characters are doing the same things over and over and the plots get stretched. However, this eighth novel featuring quadriplegic forensic expert Lincoln Rhyme is one of Deaver's best. Same characters, but the plot, built around identity theft, is riveting. The case for Rhyme, for the first time, is close to home, allowing the author to provide more insight into the background of Lincoln Rhyme. The main premise for the book is "Data Mining". Data mining is the industry of the 21st century. Commercial companies collect information about us from thousands of sources—credit cards, loyalty programs, hidden radio tags in products, medical histories, employment and banking records, government filings, and many more—then analyze and sell the data to anyone willing to pay the going rate. Some people approve, citing economic benefits; others worry about the erosion of privacy. How he takes this subject and turns it into such a scary murder mystery is beyond imagination. If you've even been worried about "identity theft" and all the info an online hunter could uncover about you, this is one scary novel. Everything in it seems as plausible and easy as buying a purse on eBay. Deaver has really outdone himself. Connie read this one before me and one thing we both agree on is, "Why didn't they make more of this series into movies?" We both gave it [4-1/2 Stars]
DESCRIPTION: A psychotic killer with access to the country's biggest data miner—Strategic Systems Datacorp—is using detailed information to work his way into the lives of victims, rape, rob and kill them and then blame unsuspecting innocents for the crimes. The killer's voluminous knowledge of the victims and his ability to plant damning evidence mean that even the most vocal protests of innocence go ignored by the police and juries. The perp has, in short, found a perfect means to literally get away with murder—until one of his fall guys turns out to be Lincoln Rhyme's cousin. His cousin, Arthur, has been arrested for murder and the forensic evidence against him is solid. In fact, it's perfect, so perfect that it can't all be real; no one could leave all that trace behind at a crime scene. But that's Rhyme's riddle. The police are satisfied and Arthur is in jail awaiting trial. It doesn't take Rhyme and his partner/lover, Amelia Sachs, long to find out that the evidence against Arthur has been artificially planted. The problem is how and by whom? The trail leads to a huge multinational corporation with information on millions of people, and eventually to a killer so clever he can turn the tables on Rhyme and Sachs as they search for him. ,
Master Post Date 09/29/2008; 7:52am
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