Well before Deaver became hugely popular with his now reknown Lincoln Rhyme series, he published two rather obscure three-book series (featuring an odd, inquisitive woman named Rune; and a movie company location scout named John Pellam) as well as a few standalone thrillers, some published under the pseudonym William Jeffries. “Lesson”, a 1993 novel, is indeed an early non-series thriller, mostly a police procedural featuring leading man detective Bill Corde. A co-ed from a fancy local private college has been found murdered on the muddy banks of a local lake, with evidence of post-mortem sexual activity. Bill takes an almost fanatical interest in solving the case, somewhat at a cost of neglecting his family, his finances, and his career in the process. His daughter Sarah, who suffers from rather severe learning disabilities, is featured in a major sub-plot, and eventually her escapades connect with the bigger story, but it takes an awful long time to get there. Moreover, several red herrings to the solving of the crime occupy 50-100 pages each, so we’re a little worn out by the time this 517 page tome makes its grand exit.There are a couple more deaths before the real perp is caught; and both of those are most unfortunate, creating consternation on the parts of both the fictional players as well as we readers. Finally all is revealed – but loose ends with Bill’s wife, his daughter Sarah, his son Jamie (who also has some unwilling involvement in all this), as well as those trying to solve Sarah’s disabilities, mar the tidying up of the crimes.We’re glad Deaver’s efforts improved in later books. It’s not that “Lesson” is unacceptably bad – rather, it takes too many pages and too many diversions to get to where it needed to go, tiring and frustrating us all in the process.
I won't write a full review, because this book doesn't seserve such treatment. The main grips about this book was: it's lenth, the stereotpical brilliant killer, and uneven writing. Let's not forget that this was one of his earlie works, came right around Silence of the Lambs was being a movie craze, and that the trope had not saturated as a total trope like it has today. Well, no, it hasn't .. those books are still being churned out by the metric ton,. smacks myself, this is a book review, and not a rant on formulaic fiction.What, nothing good to say about the book? Interesting subplot with the little girl, and her learning disability. Honestly, she interested me more than the actual case itself. Moderately fleshed out characters and supporting cast that wasn't totally a discredit. Tipical twists that are indicative in his later work.If you've not read this author, don't make this your first. If you have read him, I'd steer clear unless you're a diehard fan of any suspense that comes along.
What do You think about The Lesson Of Her Death (1994)?
I'm still reading this one. I am entertained by Jeffrey Deaver but this one is a bit difficult for me. The subject matter is about college co-eds being raped and murdered, the language is a little more harsh than Deaver usually writes, and I am not really pleased with how many characters there are in the book and how he jumps from one persons mind to another's so often. I keep having to say - "who is this person that is talking? Is that the professor or the grad student or the dean or an officer . . ." I am certainly interested enough to keep reading though.Well I'm finished and though I was entertained, I still have the same thoughts as above - it was difficult to follow in times, he tried too hard to lead the reader down too many false paths and it got annoying for me. I got to the point where I was just saying "get on with it already!"
—Melissa
517 pages are a lot of book, and it is hard to maintain the intensity of the story with all of that. The characters in this novel by Jeffery Wilds Deaver are not always what they seem. There are at first, two murdered college girls. There are several men who have been intimate with one or more. The main focus is on Bill Corde and his family--a usually faithful wife, athletic but brooding son, and a daughter who may be learning deficient. Not everyone can be trusted to do what he or she is supposed to do. There are several other deaths before the book is ended.
—Marti
Again, Deaver delivers. Extremely well written. The characters, plot, sub plots are completely in sync. Everything in the book is very well connected and the end result is a very absorbing book which u have to complete once u start. As usual Deaver completely foxed me with the ending and left me feeling “O, of course! I did not see that coming”.This is one of the books that, after finishing it, u end up thinking about the people in the book and “what next” for them. I highly recommend this book.
—Sadiq Shah Mohamad
