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The Burning Wire: Book summary and reviews of The Burning Wire by Jeffery Deaver

The Burning Wire

A Lincoln Rhyme Novel

by Jeffery Deaver

The Burning Wire by Jeffery Deaver X
The Burning Wire by Jeffery Deaver
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  • Published Jun 2010
    432 pages
    Genre: Thrillers

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Book Summary

The weapon is invisible and omnipresent. Without it, modern society grinds to a halt. It is electricity. The killer harnesses and steers huge arc flashes with voltage so high and heat so searing that steel melts and his victims are set afire.

When the first explosion occurs in broad daylight, reducing a city bus to a pile of molten, shrapnel-riddled metal, officials fear terrorism. Rhyme, a world-class forensic criminologist known for his successful apprehension of the most devious criminals, is immediately tapped for the investigation. Long a quadriplegic, he assembles NYPD detective Amelia Sachs and officer Ron Pulaski as his eyes, ears and legs on crime sites, and FBI agent Fred Dellray as his undercover man on the street. As the attacks continue across the city at a sickening pace, and terrifying demand letters begin appearing, the team works desperately against time and with maddeningly little forensic evidence to try to find the killer. Or is it killers... ?

Meanwhile, Rhyme is consulting on another high-profile investigation in Mexico with a most coveted quarry in his crosshairs: the hired killer known as the Watchmaker, one of the few criminals to have eluded Rhyme’s net.

Juggling two massive investigations against a cruel ticking clock takes a toll on Rhyme’s health. Soon Rhyme is fighting on yet another front—and his determination to work despite his physical limitations threatens to drive away his closest allies when he needs them most...

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Not even the brilliant Rhyme can foresee the shocking twists the case will take in this electrically charged thriller." - Publishers Weekly

"A relatively straightforward performance by the devious Deaver, with fewer open-mouthed surprises than usual, but fewer gratuitous plot twists as well. Newcomers to this celebrated series could do worse than to start here." - Kirkus Reviews

"Another winner from the dependable Deaver." - Booklist

This information about The Burning Wire was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Cloggie Downunder

an invisible weapon
The Burning Wire is the ninth novel in Jeffrey Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series. This time Rhyme’s target is a killer who utilises the power grid to cause arc flashes and set his victims on fire, or electrifies a building or an elevator to electrocute them. It seems that the people of New York are under threat unless the Algonquin Power company acquiesces to demands made by letter. The authorities fear terrorism, eco- or other. Whilst Amelia Sachs, Ron Pulaski, Mel Cooper and Lon Sellitto work at a frantic pace to process the crime scenes and investigate further, and Fred Dellray makes a dubious move to get information from one of his CIs, Rhyme is also monitoring the progress of the possible apprehension in Mexico of Richard Logan aka The Watchmaker. Once again, Deaver gives fast-paced action with a few plot twists. Apart from one or two false notes (uncharacteristic behaviour that should have been obvious to those present), once again, a great read.

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Author Information

Jeffery Deaver Author Biography

Jerry Bauer

Jeffery Deaver is the #1 international bestselling author of more than thirty-five novels, three collections of short stories, and a nonfiction law book. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages. His first novel featuring Lincoln Rhyme, The Bone Collector, was made into a major motion picture starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. He's received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world, including Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers and the Steel Dagger from the Crime Writers' Association in the United Kingdom. In 2014, he was the recipient of three lifetime achievement awards. A former journalist, folksinger, and attorney, he was born outside of Chicago and has a bachelor of journalism degree from the ...

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