A huge adrenalin shot of a book!!, 25. Juli 2008

After reading the rather lacklustre "Twelfth Card", this was what I needed! "The Cold Moon" is a real adrenalin shot of a thriller that confuses you no end. As usual, Deaver packs in as many twists and turns as he can manage so you may as well give up trying to predict how the story is going to turn out because you'll never do it!Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are on the trail of a murderer and his assistant, a murderer who calls himself the "Watchmaker". The Watchmaker leaves a clock with each of his victims and a chilling rhyme. What is the connection with the victims and why does he begin to mess up with victim number 3?Meanwhile Sachs is also working another case, her own case, into the suspicious death of a wealthy businessman. There could be dirty cops involved and her own career is on the line. Suddenly she is being followed by shadowy men in dark Mercedes cars while senior police officers do their best to avoid her. The tension is getting to her and it is also affecting her relationship with Rhyme.Oh and Kathryn Dance makes an appearance as the LA Bureau Agent who's an expert in interrogation (kinesics?). That also made the story highly interesting.This is an EXCELLENT addition to the Lincoln Rhyme series. One of the very best. Highly recommended.

       Very intricate, but brilliant!, 12. Juli 2008

There have been great and not so great books in the Lincoln-Rhyme series. My favorite used to be "The Bone Collector", but the seventh installment in this series - "The Cold Moon" is equally great:Amelia Sachs has her first homicide case as a lead detective, which she is reluctant to give up in order to assist Rhyme and his team with the latest serial killer investigation fulltime: A killer, calling himself the Watchmaker, is on the rampage in NYC. He seems to have picked his victims randomly and leaves taunting clues for the police. The Watchmaker is deadly brilliant and just as meticulous as Rhyme. Rhyme's case, difficult as it was from the get-go, gets even more complicated due to facts emerging during Amelia's investigation...Although Rhyme only believes in hard evidence, a kinesics expert, who happens to be in town, is called upon to consult on the Watchmaker case. Do you happen to know about kinesics? I didn't until I read "The Cold Moon". Kinesics - roughly put - is the interpretation of body language. A fascinating addition to Rhyme's hard-facts-team.Characters from previous Rhyme novels are being re-introduced as well as new characters added, which could be of interest for Rhyme novels yet to come. Sachs's personal life also plays an important role in this one, which made it even more interesting for me.Although a few twists less wouldn't have done any harm and the consulting expert was nearly too darn good at it , I just went along with the flow (the twists that is ;-)) and could not put "The Cold Moon" down - even though the twists & their outcomes during the last 80 pages were a bit too convenient for my liking.Result: Despite of my minor complaints "The Cold Moon" is a terrific page-turner! Indulge yourselves in a copy, it is most definitely worth it!

      Rhyme is back, 31. Mai 2008

Ein Serienkiller mit der Präzision eines Uhrwerks hält New York in Atem. Der seit einem Arbeitsunfall an den Rollstuhl gefesselte, stets grantige Ex-Detektiv Lincoln Rhyme hat in seinem Apartment ein forensisches Labor eingerichtet und unterstützt das New York Police Department bei der Suche nach dem Mörder. Ihm zur Seite steht seine attraktive Lebensgefährtin Amelia Sachs, deren Aufgabe es ist, die Tatorte abzusuchen und Beweismaterial einzusammeln. Rhyme, der sich sonst nur auf die gefundenen Spuren und seine Kombinationsgabe verlässt, erhält diesmal Unterstützung von einer Expertin für Körpersprache, die die Aussagen der jeweiligen Zeugen analysieren soll. Sie finden bald heraus dass der Täter seine Opfer nicht zufällig ausgesucht hat, es wäre aber nicht Jeffery Deaver wenn der Fall nicht weitaus komplexer wäre. Wie immer bei Deaver gibt es einige überraschende Wendungen und falsche Fährten, wobei die Story auch diesmal etwas zu konstruiert wirkt. Wen solches stört sollte daher lieber die Finger von seinen Büchern lassen. Für alle anderen gilt: zurücklehnen und die Spannung genießen. Da mir die Geschichte um den Uhrmacher weit besser gefiel als die sich am Ende herauskristallisierende, kann ich diesem Buch leider nur 3 Sterne abgewinnen. Mein absoluter Jeffery Deaver-Favorit: Der Insektensammler/The Empty Chair, der bis auf den etwas zu übertriebenen Schluß sehr spannend und unterhaltsam ist. Eine weitere Empfehlung: The Stone Monkey.

       The best of the series!, 10. Januar 2008

You may know a little bit about lunar calendars and the names associated with the full moons therein like the Harvest Moon, the Hunter's Moon, the Green Corn Moon, the Sprouting Grass Moon etc. Well the Full Moon closest to the Winter Solstice is called the Cold Moon. That works well in the northern hemisphere which is convenient since this book is set in New York City which is currently located in that hemisphere. Many people seem to think that the Cold Moon is the moon of death. That also works well with this book since murder is the apparent main theme of this tale. This is a real page turner with multiple plot twists which I will not tell you about since that is the fun part of reading this book!! If you missed reading Tino Georgiou's masterful novel--The Fates, I'd highly recommend reading it. Truly an enjoyable read!

       The best of the series!, 20. Dezember 2007

You may know a little bit about lunar calendars and the names associated with the full moons therein like the Harvest Moon, the Hunter's Moon, the Green Corn Moon, the Sprouting Grass Moon etc. Well the Full Moon closest to the Winter Solstice is called the Cold Moon. That works well in the northern hemisphere which is convenient since this book is set in New York City which is currently located in that hemisphere. Many people seem to think that the Cold Moon is the moon of death. That also works well with this book since murder is the apparent main theme of this tale. This is a real page turner with multiple plot twists which I will not tell you about since that is the fun part of reading this book!! If you missed reading Tino Georgiou's masterful novel--The Fates, I'd highly recommend reading it. Truly an enjoyable read!