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A review by bmg20
A Textbook Case by Jeffery Deaver
4.0
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
A copy of A Textbook Case was provided to me by Grand Central Publishing/Netgalley for review purposes.
'It was clear that the classic textbook procedure for running a case forensically wasn't going to work.'
Lincoln Rhyme is renowned for his forensic knowledge but even he is tested when a recent murder is buried, literally, in evidence. The perpetrator has attempted to cover any evidence they personally left in the smartest way possible; by flooding the scene full of incidental evidence. Extremely smart, except he detailed that exact scenario in his highly prominent forensic textbook. The more digging his team does in uncovering the relevant pieces of evidence, the greater Rhyme's suspicion that someone may be using his textbook against him to get away with murder.
I've read eight of Jeffery Deaver's 'Lincoln Rhyme' novels but this is my first short story of his. His books always contain a mystery so skilfully constructed it's almost as if you're watching a puzzle slowly disassemble itself as you turn each page. All of his novels are quite large and the disassembling takes time so I was interested in seeing how well he's able to build a mystery with so few pages. Admittedly it doesn't have the same flair that his full-length novels have but it was still an enjoyable and quick read. Any of the Lincoln Rhyme novels work fairly well as a stand-alone, but if you're a newbie to Deaver's works I'd recommend A Textbook Case to give you a glimpse at what he's capable of.
A copy of A Textbook Case was provided to me by Grand Central Publishing/Netgalley for review purposes.
'It was clear that the classic textbook procedure for running a case forensically wasn't going to work.'
Lincoln Rhyme is renowned for his forensic knowledge but even he is tested when a recent murder is buried, literally, in evidence. The perpetrator has attempted to cover any evidence they personally left in the smartest way possible; by flooding the scene full of incidental evidence. Extremely smart, except he detailed that exact scenario in his highly prominent forensic textbook. The more digging his team does in uncovering the relevant pieces of evidence, the greater Rhyme's suspicion that someone may be using his textbook against him to get away with murder.
I've read eight of Jeffery Deaver's 'Lincoln Rhyme' novels but this is my first short story of his. His books always contain a mystery so skilfully constructed it's almost as if you're watching a puzzle slowly disassemble itself as you turn each page. All of his novels are quite large and the disassembling takes time so I was interested in seeing how well he's able to build a mystery with so few pages. Admittedly it doesn't have the same flair that his full-length novels have but it was still an enjoyable and quick read. Any of the Lincoln Rhyme novels work fairly well as a stand-alone, but if you're a newbie to Deaver's works I'd recommend A Textbook Case to give you a glimpse at what he's capable of.