Reasonable read not one of Deavers best novels. Plenty of gun action if you like that sort of thing. ( )

Deaver creates a fast moving mystery with an extra twist at the end in this mystery featuring Parker Kincaid, a documents expert recently retired from the FBI. Parker is asked to help find an extortionist/killer who is gunning down Washington DC residents every 4 hours. The only clue the FBI has is the extortion note. Parker is asked to analyze the scrape of writing. He is reluctant to get involved because his ex-wife has initiated a child custody suit and he is afraid of losing his kids if he gets involved in something tht could endanger them. Lots of bodies pile up while Parker and the FBI work out the clues. Deaver adds depth to the story by incorporating two motifs—one about children and a second about puzzles and puzzle solving. The story is marred by a weak ending which includes the use of a deus ex machina to insure that Parker lives to solve another case. The multilayered puzzles and the fast pace—Parker has less than 12 hours to solve his puzzle—make this book fast read. ( )

A wild, demonic, and relentless ride describes Jeffery Deaver's new thrill machine, The Devil's Teardrop, to its bone-jarring core. Two men have a horrific and bloody plan. One is a robotlike assassin with no remorse, no compassion, no fear. The other is the avaricious, severely demented ringleader, the only man who can call off the other's bloody assault. But when the one falls victim to a freak fatal accident, the other continues, unabatedly, to do what he does best — kill.

The final day of the millennium may also be America's darkest when a methodical killer begins to wreak havoc inside the nation's Beltway. At 9am, 23 men, women, and children are gunned down at a D.C. Metro station. Shortly after, the mayor receives a letter claiming that this madman, known only as the Digger, will strike every four hours unless $20 million is left at a designated location. But when the brains behind this hellish scheme dies in a freak accident, no one remains who can reveal the assassin's identity, let alone call him off.

Enter Parker Kincaid, ex-FBI agent and single father of two. At the urging of local and federal law officials, Kincaid — widely regarded as the top forensic document examiner in the country — attempts to find the rampant madman before he kills again. The only evidence he has is the original letter. With time running out, with more innocent people sure to die, the end has never felt more near.

Jeffery Deaver does it again!

As usual for this wonderful novelist, his characters come to life, each with his or her own personality and quirks, etc.

The plot was intricate and deep, with enough turns to keep the reader guessing but not so many that it seems cheesy.

Oh, and I squealed like a "fangurl" when Lincoln Rhymes made a cameo appearance. ;D ( )

The first 2/3rds of this book were good. I thought it would be an interesting thing to see how they would solve this and catch the Digger with the accomplice dead. Then, when the real mind behind it all was revealed, things started to fall apart. Things just seemed to come together a bit too magically for Parker and the rest of the FBI. Like the Cage guy getting the news anchor to instantly shut up about Parker’s involvement right in the middle of the news broadcast. Just seconds before he was going to reveal Parker’s involvement. That just seemed a little too, you know? It wasn’t the first impossible situation the guy had fixed either and without explanation as to how, it didn’t seem even remotely possible. It was like magic. If I wanted magic I would have read Harry Potter. ( )