(2002)Another very good Lincoln Rhyme tale. The team tries to find a ?snakehead? who was smuggling people from China into the US when he scuttles the ship resulting in the death of all but a few people. The Ghost tries to find the survivors to kill them and the team is trying to prevent these murders as well. Very good ending that has no gun play or threats that aren't anticipated. Other authors would have done this very differently.Library Journal:Hidden aboard the cargo ship Fuzhou Dragon, approximately two dozen illegal Chinese immigrants head for the promise of a better future in the United States. The ruthless man in charge of this cargo is a professional human smuggler and killer nicknamed the Ghost. When the Coast Guard tries to stop the ship and capture the Ghost, the ship takes on water, and the Ghost blows up the cargo hold. The surviving immigrants grab hold of a lifeboat and make it to land. Trying to start their new lives, they must remain in hiding because the Ghost is tracking them, determined to kill every single immigrant left. The task of stopping the Ghost before he accomplishes his goal falls to Lincoln Rhyme and his partner, Amelia Sachs, characters first introduced in Deaver's The Bone Collector. The mind game that follows will push Rhyme to the limit of his abilities and call into question the loyalty of the people working with him. With this elaborate thriller, Deaver has written his best book to date. He balances the complexities of Chinese culture with the page-turning suspense we expect. Highly recommended.

Lekker leesvoer, aan te raden als tussendoortje ( )

Not his best - some massive gaps at the story start, but then this leads to a brilliant twisty ending of classic Deaverishness. ( )

When a ship full of Chinese illegal immigrants comes close to shore in the U.S., the Coast Guard heads out to meet them. But the “snakehead” (nicknamed “the Ghost”) -- the guy they paid to get them to the U.S. -- locks everyone (including the captain and crew) except his assistant below deck, and blows up the ship! A few people manage to escape, but it seems the Ghost won’t stop until he kills them all.

I thought this was really good. The story was told from multiple points of view, including Amelia Sachs, the Ghost, a Chinese cop that came on the boat and managed to escape the blast, and two families that also escaped the ship. It’s darker than I usually like (although some darker ones I do like – and this was one of them). I don’t see that this is tagged noir or hard-boiled, but it seemed pretty gritty and dark to me. There was a good twist in this one. Have to admit, I’m not a big fan of Lincoln and Amelia’s relationship, though. ( )

I am reading the Lincoln Rhyme series in order. I figured since I have already read three of the books in the Lincoln Rhymes series I had figured out the ending before I got to it, especially considering I had come to expect surprise endings. But Jeffery Deaver out-witted me again, I was once again surprised by the ending! I love the twists and turns in this book. And my favorite part of the book is that Mr. Deaver completes the story for all the characters. I like stories that don't require me to guess the ending for the characters introduced throughout the story, especially the ones I start to care about. Mr. Deaver did that for me in this book. IMHO, this book is a must read! ( )