The Steel Kiss ( A Lincoln Rhyme Novel )

New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver returns with his next blockbuster thriller featuring forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme.

Amelia Sachs is hot on the trail of a killer. She's chasing him through a department store in Brooklyn when an escalator malfunctions. The stairs give way, with one man horribly mangled by the gears. Sachs is forced to let her quarry escape as she jumps in to try to help save the victim. She and famed forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme soon learn, however, that the incident may not have been an accident at all, but the first in a series of intentional attacks. They find themselves up against one of their most formidable opponents ever: a brilliant killer who turns common products into murder weapons. As the body count threatens to grow, Sachs and Rhyme must race against the clock to unmask his identity--and discover his mission--before more people die.



I has been quite a while since I have read a Lincoln Rhyme novel, so I was a little  worried about trying to pick the story back up in case the  main characters lives had changed.  And boy did they ever change...at least for me they did.

As usual the author sticks with his usual way of telling his story.  He starts off with something good, which leads into a lecture or ten and then the action heats up again.  It gets so exciting that you may get to the point where you would rather pass out than put the book down and go to sleep.  This was an innovative criminal in more ways than because of how he was murdering people.  He had a very unusual personality and an unusual health issue.

There are a few surprises (naturally) but one deals with Amanda's ex-lover.  That was one I didn't see coming!  I liked the introduction of Lincolns new , shall we say intern.  I wasn't quite sure if she was going to be a rival with Amelia or not, but there is a big surprise with her near the end! 

This book makes me look at all the things I have around the house (and thankfully it isn't many) that deal with this sort of technology.  Oddly my  husband designs and install this sort of technology (smart appliances, furnaces, security systems etc.) into homes.  I really need to ask him if any of this can really happen!

All in all this was a very satisfying, suspenseful and horrific read and I now know that Mr. Deaver has not lost his touch.  I think the only reason I had stepped back was that I had gotten tired of the lectures that Lincoln and friends like to give.  But it helped me with this book to understand better what was going on.