The Empty Chair: Summary and book reviews of The Empty Chair by Jeffery Deaver, plus links to an excerpt from The Empty Chair and a biography of Jeffery Deaver.

From the bestselling author of The Bone Collector and The Devil's Teardrop comes this spine-chilling new thriller that pits renowned criminalist Lincoln Rhyme against the ultimate opponent -- Amelia Sachs, his own brilliant protégée. A quadriplegic since a beam crushed his spinal cord years ago, Rhyme is desperate to improve his condition and goes to the University of North Carolina Medical Center for high-risk experimental surgery. But he and Sachs have hardly settled in when the local authorities come calling. In a twenty-four-hour period, the sleepy Southern outpost of Tanner's Corner has seen a local teen murdered and two young women abducted. And Rhyme and Sachs are the best chance to find the girls alive. The prime suspect is a strange teenaged truant known as the Insect Boy, so nicknamed for his disturbing obsession with bugs. Rhyme agrees to find the boy while awaiting his operation. Rhyme's unsurpassed analytical skills and stellar forensic experience, combined with Sachs's exceptional detective legwork, soon snare the perp. But even Rhyme can't anticipate that Sachs will disagree with his crime analysis and that her vehemence will put her in the swampland, harboring the very suspect whom Rhyme considers a ruthless killer. So ensues Rhyme's greatest challenge -- facing the criminalist whom he has taught everything he knows in a battle of wits, forensics, and intuition. And in this adversary, Rhyme also faces his best friend and soul mate. With the intricate forensic detail, breathtaking speed, and masterful plot twists that are signature Deaver, The Empty Chair is page-turning suspense of the highest order, destined to continue Jeffery Deaver's bestselling track record and thrill his legions of fans worldwide.

Media Reviews

Library Journal Although the novel takes a little longer than usual to get going compared with Deaver's previous books, when the suspense starts, the pages fly. Deaver does a wonderful job of strengthening the characters of Lincoln and especially Amelia, who is the heart of this novel.   Kirkus Reviews Dozens of twists and a couple of first-class shocks, but it all trails off like an endless fireworks display that keeps exploding into bangs and blossoms even after you've started to look for your car.   Booklist This new Lincoln Rhyme mystery is as intricate, well written, and enormously satisfying as its predecessors.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by Lee Kidd
A True Cat-and-Mouse Thriller.
After coming up against the ruthless urban assassin of the Coffin Dancer, criminalist Lincoln Rhyme and his understudy Amelia Sachs return as the head into the heart of the American "Moonshine" trade to hunt down the Insect Boy. Deaver...   Read More

Rated of 5 by nadia
I had purchased two books and I read this one last because I did not think I would enjoy it. After the first chapter I was hooked. I could not put this book down. Jeffery Deaver is brilliant, his storylines are so original and so captivating....   Read More

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