Deaver has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention, the Strand Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Raymond Chandler Lifetime Achievement Award in Italy. From what seems a rather disturbing but relatively minor crime for a Deaver book grows a tale of family feuds, Underworld Kingpins,hit men,undercover cops, murder, online fake news outlets, and much more. in true Deaver style the reader is continually thrown off course as event and people are often not what they seem. As a ,very,long term reader of Deaver's books who is always on the lookout for the red herrings he still gets me every time, in the case of this book several times. This being a Deaver novel, hardly anything is exactly how it initially appears and the plot twists and turns with each new revelation. We are treated to a whole host of corrupt politicians, corrupt cops, conspiracy theorists, media misinformation. Another great book in the series,it can get a bit confusing as there are several strands to the story and Deaver plays around with timelines occasionally to add to the fun and keep readers on their toes but it all comes together and you'll certainly get your money's worth with this one. Both plots become very twisted. At the conclusion you end up someplace you never you would go. The ending is such a surprise, I am usually able to come up with a prediction that’s at least close. I was no where near the mark on this one.

Mladá žena se probudí a uvědomí si, že zatímco spala, byl někdo u ní v bytě, hrabal se jí ve věcech, nechal jí podivný vzkaz a následně beze stopy zmizel, protože dveře jsou pořád zamčené bezpečnostním zámkem a alarm zapnutý. K podivnému případu je přivolaný věhlasný kriminalista Lincoln Rhyme společně se svojí partnerkou, inspektorkou Amélií Sachsovou.As this was my first of the Rhyme series, I can't commented much on the central characterization (their flex and growth) but to look personally into this standalone, I am pretty much invested with Rhyme's character. Brilliant and tough despite his inability, love his way in presenting the crime analysis, intriguing forensic details, also his relation with both Sachs and other detectives were quite admirable too.

HisThe Bodies Left Behindwas named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers association, and his Lincoln Rhyme thrillerThe Broken Windowand a stand-alone,Edge, were also nominated for that prize.The Garden of Beastswon the Steel Dagger from the Crime Writers Association in England. He’s also been nominated for eight Edgar Awards by the MWA. Harry Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer team up to exonerate a woman who’s already served five years for killing her ex-husband. The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot. Now I was really looking forward to reading this as I have loved this series, having read 12 of the previous 14 books. The other 2 books are waiting to be read. But sadly, this one well short of his usual high standard. At the same time Lincoln testifies in a murder trial. The defendant is found not guilty because of a supposed flaw in his testimony regarding mishandling of evidence going through his lab. NYC is up in arms and the Mayor decides there will be no more outside consulting.

In the end, everyone will agree that there’s no other detective under the midnight moon like Lincoln Rhyme. I think the story flowed very well and the 'surprises' were cleverly found and added to the plot. The only thing I just failed to understand was the political twist, but as a European, it's still very hard to understand US politics. There is even a new character introduced which I hope we will read more about in the next Lincoln Rhyme adventure. Criminalist Lincoln Rhyme is testifying in a trial in his role as consultant to the NYPD. He is providing evidence against a mob figure. The guy gets off due to a minor mistake Lincoln made and NYPD fires him - the best person they ever had helping the force, how dumb. But you know Lincoln is not going to let his cases go.