The Empty Chair

The Empty Chair

I love reading about forensics.

Catching a criminal because of tell-tale threads of fibres or revealing smears of vital DNA is at the heart of shows like CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) and many a crime novel. There's something so compellingly CERTAIN about forensic evidence...even when competing criminalists are arguing that a piece of evidence supports two completely contradictory hypotheses, forensic science demands consideration. The evidence means SOMETHING.

So I was looking forward to reading more about Lincoln Rhyme and his protégée Amelia Sachs, who I have met once before and who I remember as being very much evidence driven investigators.

What's it about?

Rhyme and Sachs are in North Carolina so that the renowned show more consultant criminalist can undergo some experimental surgery aimed at minimally improving his physical abilities. (Rhyme is a former police officer and quadriplegic who relies on other investigators to get him the evidence he needs to interpret.)

Almost as soon as they arrive in town the local sherriff, Jim Bell, visits them to ask for their help in a local case where time is of the essence: a damaged young man nicknamed 'The Insect Boy' has kidnapped two local women and no one has any idea where he's taken them or what he plans to do with them. Can Rhyme and Sachs help to track him through his native habitat?

Sachs is keen for them to get involved, if only to delay Rhymes' surgery, and Rhyme agrees to commit a few hours of his pre-surgery time, but catching The Insect Boy will soon be the least of their concerns...

What's it like?

Twisty. Gripping. Well-paced.

This is fun to read and it zips along apace, from kidnapping to death to betrayal to, er, more death and betrayal.

Readers of the 'Lincoln Rhyme investigates' series will doubtless enjoy the interplay between Sachs and Rhyme as they each consider the potential implications of the surgery and examine the evidence against The Insect Boy.

Newcomers to Lincoln Rhyme rest assured: this works perfectly as a standalone book, despite some musing about the future of Rhyme and Sach's relationship. The storyline is strongly focused on the existing case, which quickly develops into a more complicated and interesting crime than may initially appear.

The major plot twists begin appearing about halfway through the book - then just keep on coming. This leads to my one complaint: after a series of shocking but convincing twists, the shocks just kept coming until I, personally, wasn't really convinced anymore, especially since Super Sachs and Remarkable Rhyme repeatedly turn out to be one step ahead of the (increasing) number of Bad Guys.

That said, all the reveals work if you read back over what happened in earlier chapters, I just began to feel a little punch-drunk with all the Surprise! moments. I was still enjoying it though, until the ending jolted me with one twist too many.

Surprise! Bang, bang!

It seems Deaver couldn't resist throwing in that classic trope from popular horror films: that bit right at the end where you think the villain is dead then - aargh! - they're alive! and they're trying to kill you! so you shoot them! and then they're REALLY dead, phew! Obviously this is NOT what happens at the end of 'The Empty Chair', as that would be a giant spoiler; however, what DOES happen is akin to such a scene in that it's a scene added for shock value that just makes the reader jump, rather than adding anything to the story or characterisation or sense of resolution. It might well make your heart race; it might give you a few extra moments of spine tingling suspense; or, if you're like me, it might just jolt you right out of the fictional world and force you to return to the beginning of the book to search for clues that this was really a likely outcome for this character.

Also, I dislike it when previously sane characters suddenly turn out to be completely doolally. Give me a cold-hearted, money-seeking, self-aggrandising sadist over an apparently fluffy-hearted but actually semi-psychotic villain any day.

Final thoughts

This was an enjoyable, fast-paced story with plenty of attention to forensic detail and doses of black humour. I liked the way the story developed and became more intriguing than simply "oddball suddenly goes super-odd", even if by the end the tentacles spread further than I might have expected.

I particularly liked reading about The Insect Boy's enthusiasm for insects and seeing how that learning could be used to help protect / attack other people.

The 'empty chair' concept was interesting, too, and I really liked that this questioning technique drew out details which did become important later on.

I will definitely be reading another Lincoln Rhyme thriller and am also tempted to try one of Jeffrey Deaver's other crime novels featuring Catherine Dance. show less

Please note that I gave this book half a star, but I rounded it up to 1 star on Goodreads.

I loved books #1 and #2 and this book I would rather pretend just doesn't exist. This was bad. Not even haha bad like maybe I can find some humor in it. I mean it was bad to the point that I saw people jumping sharks in my head.

We have Lincoln, Sachs, and Lincoln's aide Thom going to North Carolina for an experimental treatment for Lincoln. Sachs is reluctant for Lincoln to have it due to reasons (a lot of them just nonsensical at this point) and while there they are asked to assist by a local man who has connections to one of their NYPD contacts.

This book was terrible. I am just going to be murmuring that in my head as I recall the very bad plot show more and logic gaps all through this book.

Lincoln is Lincoln, but not the ever knowing person he was due to his mind drifting to his surgery. Except when he is Lincoln and supposedly has the powers that other mere mortals do not and can surmise things that even the reader doesn't know in order to wrap up a plot.

Sachs sucks. I don't even want to get into what goes down with her in this book. But after the ending I wonder how she and Lincoln get back to any type of partnership. How would this impact her job? Cause I have a hard time believing a defendant wouldn't bring up her mess at every trial she is connected to.

The additional characters in this one are not developed at all. The so-called Insect Boy that is behind kidnappings may as well carry a sign that says "All I Need is Love". Nothing really works, and the back and forth between characters and Lincoln and Sachs was too much.

There is not enough science in this one. Instead most of the book is discussing the habits of bugs and no thank you. I thought the writing was not up to par with the first two books at all. Also I cannot believe that the book pretty much glosses over one character who I think was going to rape another one, but somehow that got patted down to him being unexpectedly aroused and he wasn't going to do anything? I don't know. I think I blacked out from sheer rage at that point. The issue was there were a ton of plot holes in this whole book and that's why it didn't work at all. I feel like the author was focused on telling a cool story and not on how that story would work for readers.

The flow was awful. I stopped counting the shifting POVs once I got to 5 (Lincoln, Sachs, kidnapped girl, kidnapped woman, law enforcement woman who called Sachs her Judas, etc.)

The setting of this small town in North Carolina was a sad joke. I don't think the things that were going on really could be carried off to such a large scale, but that is just me.

The ending. Ugh. It made absolutely no sense and I even checked with one of my lawyer friends who called BS on the whole thing. So that was funny. His exact words, "That's not a thing" so who knows. show less

This is the third in the Lincoln Rhymes series. Lincoln, Thom and Amelia are in North Carolina for surgery that might help Lincoln's quadriplegic situation. They are asked by the local police to help find two missing girls and their kidnapper. As with all Deaver stories, this one is complicated and has about a dozen endings. Just when you think they have wrapped it up, it comes unwrapped again. The character of Lincoln Rhymes had been wearing a little thin on me. I have not seen the recent movie of The Bone Collector but I swear having Denzel Washington in mind as playing the part made him a bit more palatable this time!

not my usual genre, but gave it a go. #3 in the series, but read fine as a stand-alone. Rhyme and his assistant Sachs are called into a missing person event in the swamps of North Carolina. Quick paced, as Rhyme finds obscure evidence to track the "insect boy". Interesting trivia about the lives of insects in the swamp. Got lost at the end and I think EVERYONE was guilty.

Lincoln is back, but this time he’s in North Carolina for surgery, accompanied by Amelia Sachs and Thom, of course. And, also of course, there are a series of murders nearby, and the trio join the local police to try to catch the suspect, the Insect Boy! I enjoyed this read, but I think I prefer Lincoln and Co. in New York. The 'fish out of water' thing got tired after awhile. Still, all of the twists and turns kept me entertained! And, I had a big ol’ “aaaaaahhhhhh!” moment, literally out loud after reading page 424! And I love the topic of Roanoke - I have always been fascinated by the story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke! So, not as good as the first two, but good enough that I'm done for number four!

Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are back, and they get pulled into a North Carolina murder/kidnapping investigation. Out of their element in this strange land, Rhyme and Sachs nevertheless persevere to help local authorities track the Insect Boy who is thought responsible for some creative and vicious murders as well as the recent kidnappings of two young women. Will they track down the Insect Boy in time to save his victims?

The forensics are fascinating, and the characters are well-developed. The "empty chair" symbol takes on various meanings throughout the novel. We've waited a while to see Rhyme and Sachs back in action, and this one is worth the wait.

The Empty Chair is the third book in the Lincoln Rhymes series and was first published in 2000. Like the previous Rhymes books Deaver keeps up the pressure and the twists throughout the book leaving the reading guess and driving to the end.

Lincoln Rhymes and Amelia Sachs are out in North Carolina on a hospital visit when they are visited by Jim Bell a cousin of Roland Bell who Rhyme works with back in New York. Bell has a kidnapped woman who has been taken in to the swamps of North Carolina and he requests Rhymes help in finding her. More importantly they are searching for the guilty party – The Insect Boy.

When Rhymes and Sachs arrive at the County building in the middle of nowhere known as Tanners Corner they are eyed with suspicion. show more They are outsiders and worse they are northerners and even worse than that they are from New York. While they search for evidence, they seem to be further from the truth than ever.

Rhyme still believes in the power of scientific evidence whereas Sachs is more about the complex mixture of science and hunches. Sachs knows in her gut that they are missing something that is important. What neither Rhymes or Sachs realise how much they are putting themselves in harms way and this time it will be a race to the death. Whether Rhymes and Sachs can work out what the bigger picture is and maybe they might just see what they are missing.

Once again Deaver delights in giving us double twists while adding a cherry to the top of the cake. Getting both Rhymes and Sachs out of New York helps to give the series another dimension where we get to see both like fish out of water and how they react to that.

Another brilliant read. show less