You've drawn the Hanged Man... it's not good news (The Twelfth Card) (The Twelfth Card - Jeffery Deaver)

Member Name: Pandora321

Product:	The Twelfth Card - Jeffery Deaver
Date:	25/08/09 (75 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gripping, interesting forensic crime thriller; easy to follow; good characterisation

Disadvantages: Gory in places (although not as bad as some of Deaver's other books!)

Jeffery Deaver is renowned for his crime thriller novels where clever criminals (usually serial killers) are being hunted down by equally clever cops and/or FBI agents using pain-staking and ingenious forensic, interviewing, detective and 'piecing it all together' skills. I've enjoyed many of his books, and particularly like the unpredictability of his plot and character twists and the inspired yet realistic insights made by the main characters to solve the crimes. You may have heard of one of his books, 'The Bone Collector', as it was made into a movie starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie (although the book is better).

The Twelfth Card is part of Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series in which we follow the ex-FBI agent of this name. Lincoln is a forensic expert who broke his neck at a crime scene and now can only move his head and one baby finger, leaving him rather caustic and grumpy (understandably) into the bargain. Even so capacitated, however, his mind is super-sharp, his memory long and full of exceptionally detailed information, and he's helped out by his girlfriend, Amelia Sachs, another FBI agent who acts rather as his 'legs', processing crime scenes for him and bringing the evidence back to his house where his personal laboratory is set up ready. Both characters are well thought-out and their motivations and individualities are well portrayed so that we really feel we get to know them as the storyline progresses.

In The Twelfth Card, Lincoln, Amelia and their colleagues are trying to work out who attempted to rape and kill a 16-year-old girl from Harlem called Geneva Settle. Geneva is a clever and feisty girl who I really admired as the book went on as she stuck up for herself and refused to bow to peer pressure or the fear of the killer trying to get her, yet managed to remain believable as a teenager. I ended up rooting for her and her guardians as evil continually tried to get through to finish her off.

As usual with Deaver, the book's plot takes many turns as evidence surfaces and events come to light, so I can't say much more without giving some of it away. Suffice to say I worked out some of the twists and didn't even get near guessing the rest. I found the plot kept my interest and was easy to follow, and I wanted to read quickly to find out who the killer was and why they were after Geneva. Compared to some of Deaver's books, which can often contain really gruesome murder descriptions that are tough to read, this one was *relatively* gore-free so slightly more pleasant reading! It still managed to be gripping, however, and readers expecting his usual style will not be disappointed.

All in all I thought this was a good, solid crime thriller and a great read; Deaver hit all the buttons once again.

Summary: Well worth a read if you like this genre