Cover of THE COLD MOON
courtesy of Simon and Schuster
THE COLD MOON by Jeffery Deaver

There are two things you need to know before you start any Jeffery Deaver novel. (1) He is a genius. The man literally knows something about everything, and fills his stories with facts and trivia that will educate and enlighten at the same time he is entertaining you. (2) He is the best inventor of plots around. Reading a Deaver story is like peeling an onion. You take off layer after layer until you get to the very heart of the matter. This one two punch of genius and plotting make every Deaver novel a joy to behold. And his latest novel THE COLD MOON is just another joy out of many he has created.

Once again we are in the world of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs, and you can't find two more interesting people to hang out with at any time. Lincoln is the quadriplegic detective who is the brains of the team while Amelia functions as his body to explore the crime scenes. In THE COLD MOON, Rhyme has a case involving a serial killer known as "the Watchmaker." A major problem is that Amelia has a case of her own involving a suicide that she doesn't think was a suicide.

This means Amelia's time is split between the two cases so Rhyme begins to use rookie Ron Pulaski as his feet. Ron is not as competent as Amelia but he has potential. Still he is not Amelia and Rhyme misses her abilities both personally and professionally.

This case also sees the addition of Katherine Dance to Rhyme's team. She is a kinesics expert, which means she can tell whether a person is lying or not due to their body language and other intangible actions. Rhyme is at first distrustful of her abilities but he later learns to respect them.

In having a villain known as "the Watchmaker" in his story, Deaver takes the opportunity to introduce information about clocks, watches, and time in general. The Watchmaker is a formidable adversary for Rhyme and Amelia and when Deaver goes into detail about his traits and talents the readers learn something about the world of time.

The story is one of Deaver's most fascinating as once again, as in most Deaver books, nothing is as it first appears. There are shadows upon shadows and red herrings by the boatloads. Just when you think you have everything figured out it is time to go back to the drawing board.

But Deaver is not just about plots, he is also gifted in creating characters who grab our attention and hold on. The relationship between Rhyme and Sachs has been growing for books now and it is getting better and better. So good that the reader panics when Sachs announces she might be taking a job in private industry. Rhyme is a great character but he is only one part of the team.

THE COLD MOON is a book that will hold your interest from start to finish, but it is not a book that can be rushed. It is a book to be savored and that takes time. Jeffery Deaver is the master of his craft and his books are always highly anticipated. Well the wait is over one more time and it was well worth the anticipation his stories create.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of THE COLD MOON as quickly as possible. This is what the art of writing is all about, and his words are the stuff from which classics are created.

THE COLD MOON is published by Simon and Schuster. It contains 400 pages and sells for $26.00.

 

 

 

 

 

©2006 Jackie K. Cooper

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