What I've Been Reading: 'The Bone Collector' by Jeffery Deaver

'The Bone Collector' by Jeffery Deaver

On my girlfriend's suggestion, I watched the film version of 'The Bone Collector' a couple of years ago and loved it. Since then I've wanted to read the book but knew I needed to wait a suitable length of time in order to forget the plot and the identity of the culprit. A couple of weeks ago I found a copy of the novel for £1 in a charity shop and realised that I really couldn't remember much of what happens in the film and decided to snap it up.

I started this book on Sunday evening and finished it this afternoon (Tuesday), which is surprisingly quick considering the novel is over 300 pages long. But I simply couldn't put it down. I loved the film, but the original novel is just so, so much better.

Lincoln Rhyme is one of those flawed hero's that I just can't help but relate to. Bed-bound and paralysed from the neck down, except for one ring-finger that by some fluke retained feeling and mobility, Rhyme is on the brink of suicide. Or would be, if he could just find a doctor to help him complete the act. Finally, after years of searching, he has come across Dr Berger, a member of an assisted suicide group who is willing to help him follow through. The only problem is, Lincoln Rhyme's life has just become incredibly busy.

An ex-detective, Rhyme is New York's foremost expert in criminology and the perfect man to uncover the answers to a murder that has just taken place. Well, he would be if he could leave his bed and walk the scene. Instead he must make use of the officer who was first on the scene, Amelia Sachs, a police officer with as much history as Rhyme and a temperament to match his own.

Unexpectedly, they make the perfect team, and working as his legs and eyes, Amelia aids Rhyme in working the case that is causing uproar in New York city. Without giving anything away to those who haven't seen the film, I'll say that the novel is full of twists and turns and unexpected clues and insights. As you read, you find yourself racking your brains to figure things out but it's all so complex and curious that you just can't. And, like all the best murder mysteries, just when you think you've figured out who the murderer is, the rug is whipped out from under you and you realise you were wrong and the answer was there all along, staring you in the face.

This is a brilliant book, and it's got me wanting to read the rest of the Lincoln Rhyme series. I'd definitely recommend it to anybody who like me doesn't read crime fiction that much but likes to dip into the genre every now and then.

'The Bone Collector' gets a big (bony) thumbs up from me.