The Devil's Teardrop

“The Digger looks like you, the Digger looks like me.” “ - ..., a functioning human being who does nothing but kill.”

And the Digger is being chased down by Parker Kincaid, a handwriting and document analyzer par none! And the title of the book comes from his work - it is “an unusual mark above the lowercase ‘i’s’ - the tail of the dot went straight upward, so that it resembled a falling drop of water.” Nice huh? An expert, much like Lincoln Rhyme, who has a cameo appearance starting on page 122!
I really enjoyed this book, and it read quickly with good action and pacing! The Digger is a great 'bad guy' and the plot twists were unexpected, and enjoyed, by me! The ending totally worked for me too! For me, throw out the show more love story and the subplot with the witness protection guy, and this edges up to 5 stars!

... click ... show less

10/10
Suspenseful, well-written, well-researched, with some perfect plot twists! I cared about the characters and the subplots added depth to the characters without detracting from the main storyline.

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. show more If I wanted magic I would have read Harry Potter. show less

I absolutely *love* the story idea behind this book, but I just couldn't get through it. Why?

The writing style. He used short phrases. Bits and pieces. Not whole sentences. Added suspense? No. Not at all. It was annoying.

Imagine that for hundreds of pages. No thanks! If you can get past that (or maybe listen to the audiobook), I think it could make for a really interesting book. It's just not my thing, though.

A stand-alone novel with a short and welcome appearance of Lincoln Rhyme. The two main characters here are Special Agent Margaret Lukas,in charge of her first big case and Parker Kincaid,who is an expert forensic document examiner. They are pitted against a killer known as the 'Digger' who is literally controlled by a criminal mastermind. The killings take place on New Year's Eve 1999 and increase in intensity as time progresses.
The two criminals are well invented and the idea behind the crime is a good one. The Kincaid character however comes over as rather a dull dog and somewhat of a wet.
The final verdict is that although this is not one of Deaver's best efforts,it has quite a lot going for it and is definitely worth reading if only show more to re-meet,albeit briefly,Lincoln Rhyme. show less

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

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. show more 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. show less