What do You think about The Bone Collector (1998)?
Forensics was definitely the main plus-point of this book. Its graphic scenes of torture were definitely its biggest drawback. It was far too much, everyone in the book club felt the same way. The rat scene in particular was atrocious. I still baulk and shiver thinking about it now. Ugh. It's a shame as the author clearly did a lot of research into forensics and some of that was interesting (although it still wasn't water-tight, there were some little mistakes). But there were other problems too, such as with characterisation; I know this is never usually a priority in these types of book but I feel like the author was trying to humanise his characters but failed, and I also thought a lot of the drama related to Lincoln and whether he would or wouldn't attempt assisted suicide was pointless when the book cover screams out to us that this is the first book in a whole series of Lincoln Rhyme. I did really like the twist at the very end, but it was too little too late I'm afraid. The graphic descriptions of torture were just too much and, though I like a good mystery this has reinforced to me that I shall have to tread warily in this genre from now on. I have definitely been put off reading this particular author again.
—Evangeline
Deaver captures New York's distinctive bustle in a single snapshot. Ten thousand visitors are converging for a UN peace conference. Patrolwoman Amelia Sachs eagerly anticipates her new posting in the Public Affairs department. Tammie Jean Colfax rushes home from the airport after a long business trip. And famed criminalist Lincoln Rhyme is eagerly awaiting the visit of a very special kind of doctor. Everyone has plans. All of these plans are about to be disrupted by a bizarre serial killer.The plot of this suspense thriller focuses on a grisly series of events about to unfold. Not only has a serial killer planned to dispatch his victims in particularly prolonged and horrific ways, but he is leaving a trail of clues to challenge the speed and acumen of the police. These are not blatant clues, but minute traces that only someone with Rhyme's expertise might decipher. Rhyme, however, suffers from a singular handicap: Quadriplegia. It's the result of an accident three and a half years ago, while investigating a crime scene, and in addition to the paralysis, Rhyme has been suffering from seizure-like episodes which could someday lead to a stroke. The character of Lincoln Rhyme might remind some readers of the TV medical drama “House” when it was in its prime. Like House, Rhyme is irascible, rude, manipulative and brilliant. The resemblance would not be a coincidence. Deaver discloses that he was inspired by Sherlock Holmes in creating the character of Lincoln Rhyme. Deaver pairs Rhyme with Amelia Sachs, daughter of a life-long beat cop. Commandeered into the forensics investigation by Rhyme, she is the human element the reader can identify with. Like the reader, she is filled with revulsion at the crime scenes, and outraged by some of Rhyme's demands. Rhyme keeps her on task by exploiting her sense of duty and intelligence. Deaver controls the suspense by interspersing detailed technical passages — explanations Rhyme provides in an impassive clinical voice to Sachs: The characteristics of asbestos, how to reveal latent prints with a vacuum metal depositron (VMD), how to fluoresce protein traces (like blood) with the PoliLight, how to narrow a bit of dirt to a specific locale with the Density Gradient test (D-G test) thanks to an extensive catalog compiled by Rhyme in his active days. Rhyme cites Edmond Locard, a late 19th century student of forensics and formulator of the precept that when two humans come into contact there is ALWAYS an exchange of trace, be it blood, dust, skin cells, fibers, or metallic residue. Deaver tells his story through rapid intercuts. Rhyme is in the makeshift lab set up in his apartment by a tech and some assisting detectives. Amelia walks the crime scene grid with Rhyme instructing her by audio. There are scenes of the terrified victims reacting with increasing panic. Finally, Deaver visits the mind of the unknown subject (unsub). It's the mind of a madman, wavering between delusion and meticulous calculation.There is little exposition. Instead, almost all of the scenes are filled with conversation and occasional introspection. In Rhyme's apartment there is the abbreviated short-hand exchanges of the cops. A pair of canvasing specialists come to report their non-findings, finishing each other's sentences like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The result is a unique suspense story with plot twists, unusual details about the geography of historic New York, and engaging characters. The subsequent movie with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie failed to do the book justice.
—Ms.pegasus
Reviewed at JudgingCovers.co.ukLike many book-to-movie adaptions, the film version of The Bone Collector cannot be compared to the terror Jeffery Deaver creates in this chilling novel.The Bone Collector is the first in a series of books about Lincoln Rhyme, a forensic criminalist who had to leave his beloved job in the police force after an accident left him paralysed from the neck down.Depressed by his life as a quadriplegic, Lincoln is planning his suicide… until his old partner calls him with news of a murder. The killer has a mind for forensics, and he leaves staged clues at the scene of every crime that point to the location of his next victim. Once the best in his field, Lincoln is the only person with a chance of solving the puzzles in time to save their lives.Unable to leave his bed, Lincoln overcomes the hindrance of his disability by using Amelia Sachs, a street cop, to act as his eyes at each crime scene. She ‘walks the grid’ (that’s police talk for ‘looks for evidence’) and reports back to Lincoln, who has to unravel the mysteries from his home. We learn a lot about these two characters throughout the book – neither are particularly happy people – but their interaction is a fascinating subplot, and the way their relationship develops adds a lot to the story.This book is incredibly fast-paced once the murders get going, as the team race against the clock to find the next victim before it’s too late. Deaver creates an incredible tension as each grisly death is described in detail. I won’t lie, this is a scary read. The murderer kidnaps his victims using a taxi and drives them to the middle of nowhere, before causing their death in some elaborate and grotesque way… I now have a mild phobia about getting into a taxi alone. Oh, and he likes to cut out a piece of bone as a souvenir. Just in case you were wondering about the title.If you’ve seen the film, I suggest you disregard it. The movie has less victims, different crime scenes, different characters… even the eventual identity of the killer is not the same as the book. I love crime thrillers, and whilst it’s been years since I first read The Bone Collector, it remains to be my favourite. With plenty of twists and turns throughout, this is a must-read for any fan of the genre.
—Nikki
