The Broken Window

I devoured this book. Seriously. Read it in a day. I have yet to be disappointed by a Lincoln Rhyme novel and Deaver has written an excellent one in Broken Window. Great pacing, enough plot twists and hints that fooled me into thinking I new who did it only to be proved wrong. And enough factual

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details that pretty much scared me into wanting to erase any information on my computer, hide from the internet, destroy my wallet, and seek refuge in a bunker off the grid. Damn good read.

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Book Description:
Lincoln Rhyme and partner/paramour Amelia Sachs return to face a criminal whose ingenious staging of crimes is enabled by a terrifying access to information....

When Lincoln's estranged cousin Arthur Rhyme is arrested on murder charges, the case is perfect — too perfect.

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Forensic evidence from Arthur's home is found all over the scene of the crime, and it looks like the fate of Lincoln's relative is sealed.

At the behest of Arthur's wife, Judy, Lincoln grudgingly agrees to investigate the case. Soon Lincoln and Amelia uncover a string of similar murders and rapes with perpetrators claiming innocence and ignorance — despite ironclad evidence at the scenes of the crime. Rhyme's team realizes this "perfect" evidence may actually be the result of masterful identity theft and manipulation.

An information service company — the huge data miner Strategic Systems Datacorp — seems to have all the answers but is reluctant to help the police. Still, Rhyme and Sachs and their assembled team begin uncovering a chilling pattern of vicious crimes and coverups, and their investigation points to one master criminal, whom they dub "522."

When "522" learns the identities of the crime-fighting team, the hunters become the hunted. Full of Deaver's trademark plot twists, The Broken Window will put the partnership of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs to the ultimate test.

My Thoughts:
Wow. This story was quite a twisty suspense thriller. One thing I love about Deaver is how he connects his books and stories to one another. Some facet of a story is left trailing to be picked up in another story. He absolutely does a masterful job making connections.

I won’t go into the story because the description provides a wonder teaser to whet a readers literary appetite.

However, I will say that the story was totally captivating. The true criminal mastermind (UNSUB 522) behind all the death and misdeeds was brilliant. It was very scary how he could screw with and screw up so many lifes…without much effort.

Character Honorable Mentions:
A secondary character who deserves an honorable mention is Pulaski. The patrol officer really showed his metal in this story and you could really see his development as a character. He is beginning to think like a criminalist. Another one of Rhymes protégés like Amelia.

A tertiary character who deserves an honorable mention is Jorgensen. The man’s life was totally destroyed my 522. His career…GONE. His finances…GONE. His family…GONE. His life…SCREWED. Amelia originally thought he was unbalanced and he might have been. Who wouldn’t have been after their life was upended. But Jorgensen saved the day and saved Amelia’s hide from 522. Granted, he was more geared to get revenge against 522; nevertheless, he saved Amelia’s life in an interesting twist of events.

Although this book is a work of fiction, it's quite possible that someone could worm into your life to do something like this if they had a mind to. What a sobering thought.

Suspensful. Thrilling. Scary. Brilliant. Just a few adjectives that describe the book.

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Lincoln Ryhme is a quadriplegic forensic specialist working with the New York Police. His cousin, Arthur, is arrested for a rape and murder that he did not commit. When Arthur’s wife asks Lincoln for help, he and the team of police and other specialists that Rhyme can command soon uncover a trail

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of identity theft that has ramifications for more than one supposedly solved crime. The scope of data that is created and kept about average citizens by governments and private corporations, and the damage that someone with evil intent and access to that data can do, is fully explored here.

There is a decent yarn buried in this book but I’m getting a little tired of 500 page books that contain 300 page stories. It’s particularly ironic in the case of The Broken Window because one of its continuing themes concerns the concept of signal to noise ratio. A good third of this book is noise rather than signal. Partial threads of minimal interest (such as the one about a completely different case that took place in a previous book and will, presumably, return in a future one) are interruptions and never form a sensible part of the narrative.

The plot’s other problems stem from the factual inconsistencies. For example, the investigative team has access to some of the most sophisticated technology barely invented but had never heard of something called RFID which I happen to know has been around for decades and even in my little back water of the world moved from shadowy government applications to mundane things like tracking library books, recording road toll payments and making sure surgeons don’t leave implements inside their patients way back in the 1990’s. I only notice things like this when I’m not completely engaged by a story.

For fans of this series all the usual elements, and characters, are present. I’ve always enjoyed some of the minor players in Rhyme’s world, such as his acerbic aide Thom and the gruff Detective Lon Sellitto, and I enjoyed meeting up with them again. The solid forensic detail, including the whiteboard lists that regular readers would be familiar with, and the frenetic pace (the story takes place over only 2 or 3 days) are present in abundance. In this book some of Rhyme’s childhood is explored which I don’t recall happening before, and it was interesting to see part of Rhyme’s life before the accident that made him a quadriplegic.

I should have really liked this book. Identity theft and personal privacy in modern times are subjects I am very interested in both professionally and because they appeal to my inner conspiracy theorist. But somehow Deaver managed to suck some of the suspense and intrigue out of these subjects by including lots of unnecessary filler and I didn’t become nearly as engaged in the ‘what if’ as I would have liked. The last third of the book is a pretty good thrill and there’s lots of good stuff for the fans but it’s not my favourite Lincoln Rhyme novel.

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A Disabled sleuth and Mummy's recomendation is what drew me to book and Mum has a reliable authorative Library of both Novels and Philosphy.

Too technical and not smoothly written at all. I listened to it on audio and even the narrator was unappealing. Do yourself a favor and skip this one!

Another great face paced adventure with Rhyme and Sachs. Knowledge is power- and scarily it seems there is so much out there for general consumption -a real big brother is watching you feeling!! If this is all true is it in our favour or not- or is this just hyped up for a great novel?!

A heck of a page-turner, as usual with Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series. This one is all about data-mining, identity theft and other scary-as-hell-brave-new-world stuff that is probably more realistic than I want to know. Still, Rhyme and Amelia prevail.
December 31, 2011

Whew! Like all the Jeffrey Deaver Lincoln Rhyme novels, I was guessing right up to the last page. Identity theft, RFID, and meta data all play a part in this fast paced suspense novel. I can't wait for the next installment!

Criminologist, quadriplegic Lincoln Rhymes has been estranged from his cousin Arthur for years. When Arthur is arrested for the murder of a young woman, Arthur’s wife implores Lincoln to help. The forensic evidence against Arthur strongly links him to the murder, but Lincoln’s paramour Amelia

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Sachs is suspicious that everything is so clear-cut and suspects Arthur has been set up. She and Lincoln, with the aid of NYPD, learn Arthur isn’t the first person who has been framed for a murder he didn’t commit. Their investigation takes them into the world of data mining and identity theft and pits the duo against a psychopathic serial killer who manages to stay one step ahead.

This thriller hits on a subject some may find a bit disturbing, the ability of computers to follow us on our daily journeys and pinpoint our location at any point in time. Deaver offers the reader a look into Lincoln’s past family life, as well as his present relationship with Amelia. Forensics are exceptional and the plot filled with suspense and terror. Another great addition to this excellent series.

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Loved this book! Couldn't quit reading it. The implications are very scary and seem very possible!

The latest in Deaver's sries about Lincoln Rhyme, noted forensics expert who is paralyzed from the neck down.

In this book, Lincoln's cousin Arthur is arrested for theft and murder. To Lincoln's trained eyes, the evidence seems too perfect. So he and his team go looking for similar murders and find

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two. So who could have access to all the information that the murderer must know about both the victims he kills and the people he frames? Their eyes turn to one of the world's largest data mining companies, SSD. The killer soon learns they are aware of him and strikes back using all of his resources.

Deaver is a master of plot. He is well known for his fake outs, sending he plot into unexpected directions over and over. Sometimes they don't work as well, as one gets used to the device. Here they worked quite well. His plots are also more logical than many writers are able to manage. For example, in this book the major female character is in jeopardy, but what happened fits the character and story and doesn't come across as simply a device to get her in danger. True, she didn't get sufficient backup, but that too fits the character and she had no reason to think the lead she was following would be that dangerous.

Along the way Deaver provides a rather shocking education about how much data is being gathered on each of us and how it can be misused.

Good read, highly recommended.

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Although I found it slow and rugged going at first, I found that I was utterly fascianated about 1/3 of the way through. This book is about identity theft, and it is really scary! We all know that all kinds of information is out there about each and every one of us, but I don't think we realize the

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scope of this, and we certainly don't realize the dangers! In this book Lincoln Rhyme is after a particularly devious killer that uses information and identity theft as part of his arsenal to gain power. It is not an easy book to read since some of the stuff that occurs is particularly frightening (as in how easy it is to set a completely innocent person up as a scapegoat or to steal everything that person has). This is the ultimate conspiracy theory book, and it's frightening in the fact that it does hit so close to home. Trust Jeffery Deaver to open up our eyes on this very timely issue! I highly recommend reading this book if you are a lover of thrillers because it will keep you guessing until the end.

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Just as good as all of Deaver's books. Really, they're all incredible.

***Possible spoiler if you're really really picky**

The *only* problem I had with this book is that it was a bit hard to believe that Lincoln had never heard of RFID. Really? It's not all that new. I understand that Deaver needed

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a reason to explain it to the readers, but another method should have been used.

Similar to how seeing the documentary Super Size Me just made me hungry for a Big Mac, reading this book made me very interested in data mining and the related conclusions that could be made from the data... I think I missed my calling. lol.

The book also reminded me of another tenet I've held for a while -- if you don't want to be blackmailed, don't do anything you'd be ashamed by if others found out about it. Just a thought.

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This is the first Jeffrey Deaver/Lincoln Rhyme book I have read. (Although I did watch the Bone Collector, does that count? ;) I enjoyed the book. I was in suspense until the end when the identity of 522 was revealed - I didn't see that coming. It was a page turner and I could feel the frustration

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and desperation of the victims whose lives were derailed by 522. Good read, interesting topic, pretty scary in a realistic way - I would read another in this series.

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Very enjoyable fast-paced read. Sorry that I'm now caught up on the Licoln Rhyme series, I've enjoyed every book thus far and can't wait for the next installment. The one addressed identity theft and the Big Brother aspect of computers and the government - scary stuff to think about.

Another Lincoln Rhyme novel, jumping off the page and keeping the reader wanting to find out- what. happens. next! Sachs & Rhyme ( with help) track a serial killer, but not just any run of the mill serial killer. This brutal killer is also a information guru and hoarder. As always, Deaver keeps the

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suspense high and the wit dry.

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Have to say that this book absolutely terrified me detailing as it does the amount of information collected about us and held by various entities, from those wanting to sell us the right soap powder right through to various government agencies. Information which this book's criminal mastermind uses

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for his own nefarious ends. His first mistake is framing Lincoln Rhyme's estranged cousin for murder. In usual Jeffrey Deaver style the plot rolls along full of direction and misdirection, yet the perils that Amelia, Lincoln and their associates face from this foe are really scary, the monsters in the computer are more frightening that the ones that stalk the Manhatten streets.

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Another page-turner from Deaver. With a story dealing with data and technology, this book was still easy to read and incredibly entertaining. Of course, for those who love Deaver's characters from his series of Lincoln Rhyme books, this is an automatic must read. I would not recommend that first

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time Deaver readers start with this book, but it is certainly well worth the read, and gives great insight into beloved characters.

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I'm learning to like Deaver. This is the second book of his I"ve read...I liked it a lot.

Excellent summer read. Loved the Orwellian stuff and left plenty of food for thought. Page turner, ENJOY!

This thriller by Deaver is good enough to curl up with and read way past your bedtime. It will also make you think twice about all of that personal information floating around from each purchase your make.

As a fan of Jeffrey Deaver I was glad to get a hold of his new book but unfortunately found it disappointing. Too many story lines that really had no place in the main story and were just distracting and added nothing (except setting up Deaver's next book). Also, the way they finally found the

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killer was anticlimactic at best.

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Unlike a lot of thrillers where the danger seems remote and like something that could never really happen to the reader personally, Broken Window’s plot is uncomfortably close and very real. Identity theft and data manipulation. While I’ve never had anything so drastic as what happens in the

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novel happen to me, I have had to cancel credit cards due to fraud. A few covert keystrokes and an entire history can be wiped out or changed. That and the idea that data mining companies really do have all this information about me is pretty scary. I could be completely fucked with and pretty easily and whose to say it wouldn't stick?

The most harrowing part of the novel was at the end when the killer was coming unraveled and struck out at Rhyme’s team. Pulaski’s wife sent to detention by the INS. Siletto charged with substance abuse and put on suspension. Rhyme’s electricity and phones shutting off. Sach’s car repossessed and sold for scrap. The killer’s plans for Thom and Pam. That scared me most and made me flip pages like a crazy person.

Other than that, it was a fairly typical Rhyme novel. Lots of forensic detail. Charts. Lists. Bad guy arrogance. Relationship details. Annoying references to Kathryn Dance. And a tantalizing one to the killer who gifted a clock to Lincoln in the last novel.

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Lincoln Rhyme was his usual arrogant, obnoxious but intelligent and intuitive self. He also showed some of his failings. As usual, exciting read from Jeffrey Deaver.