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| The Broken Window: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel (Lincoln Rhyme) | 
 enlarge | Author: Jeffery Deaver
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy Used: $10.32
You Save: $16.63 (62%)
New (51) Used (41) Collectible (8) from $10.32
Avg. Customer Rating:  63 reviews
Sales Rank: 1139
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.4
ISBN: 1416549978
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781416549970
ASIN: 1416549978
Publication Date: June 10, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: FEW BENT CORNERS Used - Good Default Text
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Product Description
Bestselling master of suspense Jeffery Deaver is back with a brand-new Lincoln Rhyme thriller. 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. 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 58 more reviews...
 Feints, old villians and new discoveries June 13, 2008
27 out of 30 found this review helpful
I have been a fan of the Lincoln Rhyme books from day one. The brilliant Detective, who suffered the same type of injury as the late Christopher Reeve, has now gone through some experimental work that has more feeling in his fingers, and body, but is still dependant on his electric wheelchair. His lady, cop Amelia Sachs, is his feet and body as she searches for clues by 'working the grid' of crime scenes and their love for each other transcends a man who cannot walk and a young lady who can try to be part of helping and learning as well as loving this man.
The Broken Window deals with Identity Theft. If you've never been touched by Identity Theft, count yourself lucky - it is a terrible violation and you have to spend a lot of time getting your life back in order. A brilliant villian, slowly takes over the lives of respectible men and women and he plays with them like a spider with a fly in her web. He can take their identities, ruin their credit, discredit professionals so they cannot practise their arts, even drive them to suicide. Oh yes, he also likes to kill them too.
So starts a game of cat and mouse with Rhyme and co. and a brilliant mastermind. What we learn is maybe TMI - too much information about the subject - we are numbers - everything we purchase on the Internet can be accessed and information sold/given to others to contact you to be interested in their products. You get on mailing lists and then get really weird junk mail and you find it all ties back to a purchase you made on the Internet. It sounds like I'm talking about John Twelve Hawks, in the Traveler, but it's Deaver's crafty touch.
He also does not let us forget 2 major projects of his - the continuing saga of The Watchmaker, and he gives us several healthy doses of references to Kathryn Dance, the kinesthics specialist in California that was introduced in a Rhyme book.
The book was as always excellent, dealing with this person tossing, Lincoln's once close cousin into a tailspin accused of murder, and Rhyme's memories of their closeness, and what happened that makes Lincoln continually think - what might have happened if...?
The reason I give it 4 stars is Deaver goes into SOOOOO much information on the subject that it is almost overwhelming. Yes you get the point. But I am not writing a paper on the subject.
It is a fascinating, frightening subject, and again, another fine Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs adventure.
Just keep an eye on your credit rating!
 A 'Learning' Experience June 18, 2008
19 out of 21 found this review helpful
In the newest of the Lincoln Rhyme novels, Jeffery Deaver explores the world of identity fraud and the fact that there are people out there learning things about us that we are unlikely to want them to know. At the same time, he shows the ways in which they are doing this--the security issues which they face, the volume of computer memory required for the task and the precise sorts of information which they seek. Needless to say, this is as creepy as it is contemporary.
There are two villains at work--one at the periphery of the story, a man faced by Rhyme in the past, and one at the center, known to Rhyme and the members of his team as 522 (who recently struck on 5/22). Since he refers to all of them by number as well, this is appropriate.
The focus here is on forensics and computers, with a dash of abnormal psychology. The villain is plausible, nasty, and in for a major confrontation, though not quite the confrontation he might have expected. Amelia is in danger and Linc must rush to her aid in the only ways open to him. The world of the data-mining company is very nicely realized and just as weird, alienating, and plausible as we might fear. This is prime Rhyme, with a driving plot, an excellent ensemble cast, and even the chance to learn more about the private Rhyme, since his cousin Arthur is one of 522's victims. Linc must save everyone--relatives as well as loved ones--in this case. Structurally, the ending is different from what we usually expect in a Deaver novel, but I will save the details lest I spoil it for readers. Highly recommended.
Someone knows "everything" about you.... June 12, 2008
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
Rhyme and Sachs follow evidence. However, a clever killer finds out all he needs to know about his victim and his "fall guy" and "plants" conclusive evidence that wrongly convicts the innocent, the latest "murderer" being Arthur Rhyme, Lincoln's estranged cousin.
Killer "522" is brilliant. He has Amelia, Lon Selitto and Ron Pulaski all fighting for their careers and their family. He picks apart the team, one at a time. "522" knows everything about them; including how to hurt them, and their family. Endless virtual data leads to a real killer, who knows how to turn the pressure on those who are hunting him.
Like every Rhyme/Sachs book, this book also contains subplots; including one clever nemesis who escaped Rhyme, but continues to taunt him. Hopefully, there will be sequel and a final confrontation.
You will not be able to put this book down.
Information is power June 25, 2008
9 out of 13 found this review helpful
I've read all of the novels in the Lincoln Rhyme series, and this may be the best of the lot. The really good mystery/thrillers are about something other than just serial killers. This one is about identity theft and invasion of privacy.
When Lincoln Rhyme's cousin Arthur is accused of murder, Lincoln focuses on Strategic Systems Datacorp, a huge data mining company. They have files on over four hundred million people that include financial, communications (e-mail and phone records), lifestyle activities, criminal history, and geographical positioning. They can predict what a subject will do before the subject himself knows. A serial killer has gained access to the inner sanctums of SSD and is using its data base to frame others for the murders he commits. There are about a dozen possible suspects. I thought I had him zeroed in, but I was wrong and you will be too. Deaver is just too slippery to settle for the obvious. My pick was an elaborate red herring.
There's a subplot involving Arthur Rhyme and Lincoln, who were as close as brothers until Arthur was admitted to MIT and Lincoln wasn't. In the process of clearing his cousin, Lincoln discovers a secret involving his long-ago college application.
The Lincoln Rhyme series is probably the best police procedural out there since Ed McBain died, but I've always had a problem with Deaver's penchant for the wild and crazy twist. In this one, Deaver manages to control himself for the most part. Sure, there are one or two cliff hangers in which Amelia and the young patrolman seem to be in deadly trouble (Come on, Jeffery, we know you won't kill off Amelia), but the resolutions in these incidents are at least feasible.
I just loved the research Deaver put into this effort. He's got me believing there really is a giant corporation out there that can predict my every move. Deaver even has the FBI involved in the data mining, using terrorists as an excuse. That couldn't happen in real life, could it?
"People believe what computers tell us." June 22, 2008
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
The villain in Jeffrey Deaver's "The Broken Window" is "the man who knows everything." He has access to powerful databases that store incredibly detailed information about his victims. He uses the facts that he learns about the people he targets in a variety of ways: to track their purchases and interests, to trace their movements, to steal their identities, to frame them for crimes that he himself commits, and, in some cases, to murder them. His latest patsy is Arthur Rhyme, the estranged cousin of the renowned forensic consultant, Lincoln Rhyme. Arthur has been arrested for killing a woman he was allegedly dating. The real perpetrator, who used Arthur's name and identity to get close to Alice Sanderson, stabbed her and then stole a rare painting from her apartment. Although Arthur and Lincoln have not spoken for years, Arthur's wife turns to Lincoln in desperation, begging him to do what he can to free his cousin.
Rhyme, who lives in a Central Park West town house, has been a quadriplegic since his neck was broken years earlier in a crime scene accident. A very patient and long-suffering caregiver named Thom assists Lincoln with his everyday routines. Rhyme's high-tech voice-recognition system and computerized environmental control unit enable him to stay in close communication with his colleagues. In addition, Lincoln, who is divorced, is in a serious relationship with a beautiful detective named Amelia Sachs. Rhyme is a very busy man who has not allowed his paralysis to destroy him. He has a well-equipped forensic laboratory in his home. His sharp intellect and well-honed instincts make him a huge asset in the analysis of crime scenes. He also has a loyal cadre of people to do his legwork for him. Among them are Mel Cooper, a brilliant officer and lab work specialist, a young and eager patrolman, Ron Pulaski, and an experienced detective named Lon Sellitto. After Lincoln and Amelia take a look at the facts of the Sanderson case, they come to the conclusion that Arthur was most likely framed by someone who went to a great deal of trouble to set up a perfect crime. Eventually, Lincoln and Amelia learn that a mastermind is at work--someone who kills with impunity because of his skill at obtaining and using data. The person they are seeking has an uncanny ability to stage manage crime scenes to his advantage, leaving him free to commit further misdeeds.
"The Broken Window" is a chilling tale in which the author warns us that computers are not just a boon to our supercharged economy. In the wrong hands, the facts contained in hard drives all over the world can lead to a serious invasion of privacy and even the loss of our constitutional freedoms. Companies like the fictional one mentioned in Deaver's book, Strategic Systems Datacorp, "dig through data about customers, their purchases and houses and cars, credit histories, everything about them. They analyze and sell it." Data mining is a burgeoning industry in the twenty-first century. SSD's motto, "Knowledge is Power," says it all.
Lincoln Rhyme is an appealing protagonist; his cranky demeanor is softened only by his affection for Amelia and his passion for solving complicated mysteries. Unfortunately, Deaver hammers the same Orwellian message home repeatedly until it begins to grow tiresome. The criminal, who narrates a few chapters of his own, is a standard-issue psychopath and sadist who presents a face of normalcy to the world while he carries on his sick, secret life. Deaver inserts some realistic touches: the good guys do not always win and Rhyme and his colleagues are generally one or two steps behind the clever perp. At over four hundred pages, the novel is too long and talky; it is filled with superfluous characters and quite a few red herrings. The bloated narrative drags on until Deaver reaches his long-awaited conclusion. How much better this story would have been had it been streamlined and carefully edited, with the extraneous subplots and unnecessary padding eliminated. As it stands, "The Broken Window" earns a marginal recommendation for its insightful exploration of Lincoln Rhyme's past (we learn about Rhyme's once close relationship with his cousin, Arthur, which turned sour after Arthur betrayed Lincoln's trust), and its unsettling look at a brave new world where no one is safe from prying eyes.
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