I have a couple of thriller series I keep up with if I happen to see them on
the racks at the grocery store. Patricia Cornwell’s Kay
Scarpeta series is always good for a gritty, gross read when you just
want something light and sort of entertaining. Jeffrey Deaver’s Lincoln
Ryhme series is another. The
kicker with this series is that the forensic detective, Rhyme, is a C4 quad
with movement only in the ring finger of his left hand. The premise is that
the enforced lack of movement helps him channel his razor-sharp intellect
into paths that wouldn’t be obvious to someone distracted with things like,
oh, working hands. This, of course, also forces him to have a host of
supporting players to help him solve the crimes he can no longer investigate
on him own. Prime among all of them is a working CSI, Amelia Sachs, who
walks the grid at crime scenes with Rhyme hooked into a cell phone
connection as she does it. And there is Thom, his immaculately dressed, gay
attendant, taking care of his bodily needs and making sure he doesn’t overdo
it in his desire to solve the crime. There are other beat cops and
detectives that float in and out but the main action almost always takes
place in Rhyme’s apartment/forensic lab with all sorts of cool equipment and
assistive devices. And it helps that a romance has developed between Rhyme
and Sachs which, thankfully, have the physical details of their love life
kept off stage.

In this installment, a boat full of fleeing Chinese dissidents is blown up
offshore of New York by a well-known smuggler in an effort to avoid capture.
Two families, a couple of individuals and the smuggler survive and then
mysteriously disappear into the Chinatown neighborhoods of New York. The
mystery begins with why he scuttled the boat and evolves into a desperate
chase to find the smuggler before he offs the two families. Fortunately, one
of the survivors is a Chinese cop who has a charming way with broken English
and some investigative methods that are not purely scientific.

I have to admit, I didn’t see the ending coming and was surprised. And the
Chinese cop kind of grew on me as the book progressed. I’ll probably read
the next one when it’s out in paperback. It’s a light read to curl up with
on the couch on a cold November afternoon.