Product Description: Forensic expert Lincoln Rhyme and his protégée Amelia Sachs are called in to work the high-profile investigation of a killer who seemingly disappeared into thin air just as the police closed in. As the homicidal illusionist baits them with grisly murders that grow more diabolical with each victim, Rhyme and Sachs must go behind the smoke and mirrors to prevent a horrific act of vengeance that could become the greatest vanishing act of all....
Amazon.com Review: Presto! With a conjuror's flourish, the reliable Jeffery Deaver has pulled another winner out of his hat. The Vanished Man brings back Lincoln Rhyme, forensic investigator, and his sidekick Amelia Sachs, ex-model and beat cop, a team featured in four previous books. Their case begins with a murder in which the culprit, cornered in a locked room, seemingly vanishes into thin air. Rhyme soon realizes he's up against a master illusionist--and then acquires a conjuror of his own, a spunky apprentice magician, to advise him. The book is chock-a-block with magic lore and with details of the craft of illusion, which provide a fine complement to the engrossing forensic-science puzzles.
The characters, as usual with Deaver, are little more than cardboard cutouts. Even Rhyme himself, a brilliant quadriplegic and former head of NYPD forensics, seems more a collection of characteristics than a man. But Deaver's cutouts are sturdy and well-constructed, and the book's plotting and pacing--featuring twist upon twist and reversal upon reversal--are nothing short of dazzling, reminiscent of Agatha Christie at her best. Deaver proves himself an accomplished illusionist, misdirecting your attention with one hand while slipping a firecracker down your pants with the other. --Nicholas H. Allison
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - A Twist Too Far?
In the Vanished Man, a killer is using every trick in the magicians manual, to murder innocent victims, and to lead the police in one direction then another. Has Lincoln Rhyme meet his match?
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Rating: - Entertaining
Just when you think you have it figured out - you don't. Just when you think it's over - it's not!
Rating: - And now, revered audience! Presto!
A musician is brutally murdered in the rehearsal hall of a music school and the culprit, with a bang, a brilliant flash of light and a puff of smoke, vanishes into thin air from inside a locked room with ... Read More
Rating: - Deaver is good, but I figured out the puzzle instantly.
Deaver is good, but I figured out the puzzle of the Vanished Man instantly, so the story was ruined right from the very beginning. Relax, I won't spoil it for you.
Rating: - A wonderful and superb thriller
WOW! This book is absolutely amazing. It has many plots, twists and turns and is just a carefully crafted story . Previous reviewers have said that it is an implausible book, but in my opinion, it is very ... Read More
- A Twist Too Far?
- A wonderful and superb thriller