It was a "million-dollar bullet," a sniper shot delivered from over a mile away. Its victim was no ordinary mark: he was a United States citizen, targeted by the United States government, and assassinated in the Bahamas.
The nation's most renowned investigator and forensics expert, Lincoln Rhyme, is drafted to investigate. While his partner, Amelia Sachs, traces the victim's steps in Manhattan, Rhyme leaves the city to pursue the sniper himself. As details of the case start to emerge, the pair discovers that not all is what it seems.
When a deadly, knife-wielding assassin begins systematically eliminating all evidence—including the witnesses—Lincoln's investigation turns into a chilling battle of wits against a cold-blooded killer.
Publishers Weekly
In bestseller Deaver’s extremely timely 10th Lincoln Rhyme novel (after 2010’s The Burning Wire), Rhyme, partner Amelia Sachs, and other regulars conduct a highly irregular investigation that points up the moral ambiguities involved in what are euphemistically called STOs (Special Task Orders). At issue is the killing of a U.S. citizen, Roberto Moreno, who’s been operating as an anti-American crusader in the Bahamas. Shreve Metzger, the director of the National Intelligence and Operations Service (NIOS), a secret government organization, ordered the hit from NIOS headquarters in Manhattan. A.D.A. Nance Laurel is determined to prosecute those responsible for Moreno’s murder. Rhyme and Sachs engage in a continuously exciting game of cat-and-mouse with a host of adversaries, including sadistic killer Jacob Swann, at the same time they face important personal decisions. This is Deaver at his very best and not to be missed by any thriller fan. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents. (June)
From the Publisher
"Not even the brilliant Rhyme can foresee the shocking twists the case will take in this electrically charged thriller."—Publishers Weekly, (Starred Review) on The Burning Wire"A taut psychological thriller from a masterful crime writer, proving Deaver just gets better with each new novel."—June 2010 Indie Next List Great Reads list on The Burning Wire
"This eighth novel featuring quadriplegic forensic expert Lincoln Rhyme is one of Deaver's best...Deaver has outdone himself."—The Globe and Mail on The Broken Window
"Deaver's scarily believable depiction of identity theft in a total-surveillance society stokes our paranoia. A -."—Entertainment Weekly on The Broken Window
"One of the most unnerving of Deaver's eight novels featuring his quadriplegic forensic detective, Lincoln Rhyme."—New York Times on The Broken Window
"Rhyme is one of the mystery genre's most interesting and out-of-the-ordinary series leads...As always, Deaver's dialogue is exceptionally realistic, and his plotting is devilishly intricate. Recommended for fans of the Rhyme novels (naturally) and readers who like their thrillers laced with wit and sharp characterizations."—Booklist on The Broken Window
June 2010 Indie Next List Great Reads list on The Burning Wire
"A taut psychological thriller from a masterful crime writer, proving Deaver just gets better with each new novel."
The Globe and Mail on The Broken Window
"This eighth novel featuring quadriplegic forensic expert Lincoln Rhyme is one of Deaver's best...Deaver has outdone himself."
Entertainment Weekly on The Broken Window
"Deaver's scarily believable depiction of identity theft in a total-surveillance society stokes our paranoia. A -."
RT Book Reviews
"Deaver delivers a dark tale of espionage, patriotism and egos as his clever detective puts the pieces of an intricately drawn jigsaw together while a killer targets his investigation."
Associated Press Staff
"Jeffery Deaver has written an ace thriller to keep readers guessing and gasping with his latest Lincoln Rhyme thriller, "The Kill Room." A master magician with words, Deaver misdirects with one tale while what's really going on is just off the reader's radar...The numerous twists and turns in "The Kill Room" are so fast and furious that by the novel's end, the reader will be dizzy - and clamoring for more."
The Huffington Post
"If this contemporary story doesn't get your pulse racing, your head spinning and your adrenaline pumping then nothing will....If you are a person who enjoys a tight, twisted, terrific crime thriller which also has a personal story woven into it then you have to read Jeffery Deaver. He is one of the best writers on the scene today. His talent will knock your socks off."
The Military Press
"The Kill Room is very powerful in its exploration of current issues...This book is a page-turner with nothing as it seems to be, culminating in many surprise endings."
New York Times on The Broken Window
"One of the most unnerving of Deaver's eight novels featuring his quadriplegic forensic detective, Lincoln Rhyme."
Booklist on The Broken Window
"Rhyme is one of the mystery genre's most interesting and out-of-the-ordinary series leads...As always, Deaver's dialogue is exceptionally realistic, and his plotting is devilishly intricate. Recommended for fans of the Rhyme novels (naturally) and readers who like their thrillers laced with wit and sharp characterizations."
Library Journal
Lincoln Rhyme and partner Amelia Sachs investigate a controversial, politically charged case involving the assassination in the Bahamas of a U.S. citizen at the behest of the director of the National Intelligence and Operations Service (NIOS). Although Moreno, a New York City resident, long harbored hatred for the U.S. exploitation of the Central and South American economies, Nance Laurel, the New York assistant district attorney, will not permit the U.S. government to abuse, ignore, and avoid the law; hence, the extensive search for witnesses. However, NIOS director Shreve Metzger learns of the investigation and, in turn, orders his assassin, Jacob Swann, to systematically minimize and/or eliminate anyone aware of his Special Task Order. Using his unique and deadly knife-wielding skills, Swann willingly assumes his task—turning the search into a cold-blooded battle of revenge. Readers may wonder: Who will become Swann's next victim? VERDICT Particularly in this 11th Lincoln Rhyme thriller (after The Burning Wire), fans will appreciate Deaver's customary detailing of each plot sequence, thereby heightening their anticipation of the upcoming clincher. Thriller aficionados will be lining up for this one. [See Prepub Alert, 12/14/12.]—Jerry P. Miller, Cambridge, MA
Kirkus Reviews
Lincoln Rhyme goes geopolitical. A mile away from a high-caliber rifle, anti-American activist Roberto Moreno falls dead in his Bahamas retreat, along with his guard and a reporter who was interviewing him. Nance Laurel, the New York assistant district attorney who's convinced that the assassinations were the work of an undercover government agency, invites quadriplegic criminalist Lincoln Rhyme and his NYPD lover, Amelia Sachs, to investigate. As usual, the case poses special challenges. The murder scene, presumably awash in forensic evidence, is over a thousand miles from Rhyme's wheelchair, and the Bahamian police aren't eager to share their information. The sinister National Intelligence and Operations Service has already issued orders to liquidate its next target in only a week. NIOS hireling Jacob Swann and another unnamed killer are methodically eliminating evidence and witnesses before they can tell their stories. Even when Rhyme improbably decides to fly to the Bahamas and into a far more generic sort of adventure than his usual--getting stonewalled by uncooperative cops, getting waylaid by hired killers, getting suntanned--the rewards are slim, for he finds crime-scene tape gone from the room where Moreno and the others died; it is being cleaned and painted as he watches (a nice touch). And of course, Deaver, who can't resist any opportunity for ingenuity (XO, 2012, etc.), keeps mixing fastballs, curveballs and change-ups. Even though there are so few suspects, and the guilty parties are so obvious, veteran readers won't trust a single fact until it's been triple-checked, and maybe not even then. Deaver's sleight of hand, so effective on the homefront, carries less weight in a world of international counterterrorism in which it's a given that everybody's trying to kill or discredit everybody else. It's still magic, but it's harder to care when everyone is a magician.
Read More
