The Burning Wire by Jeffery Deaver

A couple of months ago I was introduced to Jeffery Deaver’s writing via the wonderful standalone “Edge”, a bold and imaginative thriller, and haven’t looked back since. With Deaver’s “Carte Blanche” hitting the bookstores next month what better way to prepare for Bond’s latest adventure than read the latest instalment in the Lincoln Rhyme series – “The Burning Wire”!

I’m not quite sure what planet I’ve been living on but given that I’ve never encountered Lincoln Rhyme before, not in the book form anyway, it came as a complete shock to me that the hero of “The Burning Wire” is a quadriplegic. I vaguely remember watching Denzel Washington star alongside Angelina Jolie as the bed ridden and intelligent criminologist in the movie “The Bone Collector”, but for some strange reason when I began reading this novel I didn’t connect the two immediately.

Despite a typically efficient portrayal by Denzel, reading “The Burning Wire” had more of an effect on me – but isn’t that what books do best? Challenge the mind and allow the imagination to run riot? You choose the set, the colours, styles and the visualisations – although written by someone else, books allow you to live a story through your own eyes, you own mind – if the book is that good. The Burning Wire is all that and more, Deaver does not disappoint.

“New York is being held to ransom. Manhattan’s electricity grid has been the victim of a horrific attack . . . and more are planned.

While the FBI and Homeland Security try to determine who’s behind the carnage, Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs race to decode the forensics in order to prevent the next assault.

But all is not what it seems. Electricity can be as lethal as it is vital, and Lincoln Rhyme soon finds he’s up against a merciless killer with a unique weapon – one that can be found in everyone’s home and office.

And in the meantime, one of the few criminals to have ever slipped Rhyme’s net is under surveillance in Mexico. The deadly assassin known as the Watchmaker has set his murderous sights on innocent victims, whose identity is as yet unknown. . .

Lincoln Rhyme must race against the clock, juggling the two investigations, as they hurtle headlong toward their deadly outcomes.”

The initial attack on the Manhattan electricity grid is both powerful and disturbingly sagacious! In fact it sets the tone for the entire novel – setting off a game of cat and mouse where a new and deadly foe threatens the local populous – it’s up to Lincoln and his support team to bring the attacker to justice.

The one thing that stood out in this title for me was Deaver’s intensely descriptive narrative. An incredibly taut thriller from beginning to end, his imagination is infectious and hooked me in as soon as I finished reading the first paragraph:

“Sitting in the control center of Algonquin consolidated Power and Light’s sprawling complex on the East River in Queens, New York, the morning supervisor frowned at the pulsating red words on his computer screen. Critical Failure”

You just know something bad is about to happen – and it does!

Enter Rhyme: Deaver’s narrative held my attention throughout but not only that, he somehow managed to place me firmly in Rhyme’s wheelchair – figuratively speaking. It’s as if I breathed every breath, saw what he saw and analysed the forensics until I too reached the final scene – so much so that by the time I’d finished the book I felt as if I’d been living in Rhyme’s townhouse for days, working in his lab alongside Homeland Security and the FBI! It’s almost impossible not to be swept away.

Characterisation is interesting. My first real introduction to Lincoln Rhyme I was initially taken aback with his paralysis – as I mentioned earlier. However, slowly but surely, his personality takes over and I loved his no nonsense approach to his team and how he allowed little time for weakness and words of comfort. He may have thought it but he never lets his guard down.

The rest of the team receive equal billing but you can’t help but have an affinity for Rhyme’s caregiver Thom. He’s constantly at Rhyme’s side, protecting his friend and boss at all times and Deaver leaves you in no doubt the role Thom plays in supporting Rhyme on a daily basis. One other character stood out for me – Charlie Sommers, the inventor who has a penchant for eating corn chips and writing on napkins – a brilliant and enigmatic character that held his own.

Police procedural is tight but it’s the world of forensic investigation that steals the show for me. Everything is processed and laid out – you follow the leads as they happen and the clues are listed in black and white following the conclusion of each team briefing – nice touch.

Jeffery Deaver introduces numerous twists and turns along the way with a few red herrings thrown in for good measure. The Burning Wire is as good as it gets. An intelligent and electrifying novel, Lincoln Rhyme is back.

Published by Hodder & Stoughton “The Burning Wire” is available from Amazon