This was a fascinating story, part mystery and part police procedural. Interesting insights into forensic science investigations. A great cast of characters and a fast paced, action packed story. dramatic conclusion which was also open ended.

A Lincoln Rhyme thriller that twists and turns hither and thither where no one is what they seem and it’s glorious! Starting with a trial where Rhyme’s evidence is thrown out resulting in a not guilty verdict he loses his consultancy role with the NYPD. Still all his friends stick by him and an investigation into strange break ins to apartments where women live alone forms the main storyline. Never less than entertaining the series never fails to intrigue.

A good strong jeffery deaver, he doesnt disappoint! Steady story with good characters - nothing groundbreaking but thats not what you expect with these, a good page turner!

Another fantastic Lincoln rhyme novel. Fast paced twisty storyline that never disappoints. Was great to catch up with rhyme and sachs again, especially with such an intriguing plot

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperCollins for this Advanced Review Copy of #TheMidnightLock by #JeffreyDeaver

I know many people enjoy the #LincolnRhyme series and I have read a few of the earlier ones, but I found this one boring.
I couldn’t summon any interest in even one of the characters.
A no for me.

Ah, Lincoln Rhyme I have missed you! I’ve read every book in this series and each new one brings something extra to the mix. This time we have a new antagonist. And this one is speaking to us directly in a first person voice. We may not know his/her identity, but we do get chilling glimpse into someone obsessed with locks and opening them; someone with a growing deadly intent; someone who enjoys opening those locks, bypassing the alarms and watching you as you sleep…

Jeffery Deaver returns with a bang as quadriplegic criminalist Lincoln Rhyme, NYPD consultant and his wife (!) NYPD Detective Amelia Sachs come up against a formidable adversary in ‘The Locksmith’.

Their job in tracking down this adversary is made significantly more difficult because Rhyme has been frozen out of working for NYPD by the Mayor. After his testimony in the trial of crime boss Victor Buryak is trashed by a defence attorney, allowing the defendant to go free, an edict has come down that Rhyme is no longer to be used by NYPD and any police or city official caught working with him will suffer serious consequences.

This leaves Amelia, Lon Sellitto and Ron Pulaski in some difficulty. Rhyme’s lab, situated in his brownstone, is exceptionally good and analysing crime scene information is both fast and accurate – that – combined with Rhyme’s extensive knowledge of NYC and it’s chemical and soil make-up has resulted in many crimes being satisfactorily resolved. Now they’re own their own against a formidable adversary.

One of the really enjoyable elements of Deaver’s books is the way that he incorporates current affairs and sociological undercurrents into his books. In The Midnight Lock he gives us Verum, a fake news vlogger, whose claims that a vast conspiracy is underway and that America is being run and subverted by ‘The Hidden’, a conspiracy run by the elite – and that includes Rhyme whose lack of success in the Buryak case is seen as part of that conspiracy.

In ‘The Locksmith’ Deaver has created a very unsettling antagonist. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs search for a criminal whose fascination with breaking locks terrorizes New York City. Unsettling in part because it is the methods used that really will creep you out. This is someone who waits and watches. Who analyses your social media and determines your patterns of behaviour. Someone who gets to know your daily routine, who watches, waits and follows and then enters your life in a way that ensures you will never feel safe again. Annabelle Talese is a fashion influencer who wakes up one morning to find that someone has broken into her apartment, eaten her food and left a message written in lipstick on a page of a trashy tabloid saying simply ‘Reckoning’. This is the handiwork of ‘The Locksmith’ who enters silently and eaves no trace.

Using many threads and tying together different plot lines, Deaver’s warp and weft createsan accomplished, beautiful pattern which is not fully revealed until the final chapter. I really enjoyed the introduction of a new character, Lyle Spencer, who has plenty of grit and looks to become an interesting addition to this much beloved team.

Verdict: Jeffery Deaver has created another unmissable book in the Rhyme and Sachs series. Full of twists and turns, it keeps surprising to the last chapter. It is well-plotted, beautifully structured, full of mystery and suspense and thoroughly engrossing. This is a return to be hailed and I can’t wait for more.

Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
15th book in the famous Lincoln Rhyme series. I am a huge fan Lincoln, a former homicide detective is quadriplegic following an accident at a crime scene. Amelia, his wife now walks the crime scene and is in many ways his eyes and ears.
I was engrossed in the story of the Locksmith and as always enjoying the forensic science use by Lincoln and his team behind solving, but for me this book had too many entangled cases which I found a bit confusing and took away from the Locksmith.
Lincoln, as always, was fascinating., still a good read with many favourite characters.
3.5 stars

The Midnight Lock by Jeffrey Deaver is a 4 star read.
I can’t believe I’ve never read a book by this author before, I’ve obviously been missing out. I really enjoyed this story, there were twists and turns and even more twists. This took me on a heart stopping rollercoaster ride and I was glad to get to the end but I will definitely be reading more of this author as soon as possible.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book through Netgalley.

Oh wow. This book is absolutely superb. The plot is creepy, dark, full of drama and has so many twists I was in danger of having whiplash! I thought I'd worked out what was going on but, no, I certainly had not.

Jeffrey Deaver is a master storyteller.

I was totally hooked from the very first page til the thrilling ending.

I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.

Annabelle Talese wakes one morning to realise that her things have been rearranged, and is terrified to realise that someone has been in her apartment whilst she slept. The police are initially dismissive as nobody has been hurt and nothing was taken, but the case is referred to Rhyme and Sachs when a detective realises that the apartment was locked up tight. Soon a spate of similar crimes are being recorded across the city, and the culprit, dubbed 'the Locksmith' is public enemy no. 1. As well as tracking down the Locksmith, the duo are also facing scrutiny after Rhyme was publicly sacked, and a conspiracy theorist is determined to cause trouble.

I've read a few Lincoln Rhyme books recently to make sure that I was up to date before diving into this one (which I got as an arc from NetGalley). I have to say I'm not sure how I got so behind, I've enjoyed every single one that I've read, and am always astounded at how cleverly things are linked together. I mean sometimes you do think it's maybe not totally realistic, but hey I generally read to escape reality and it makes for a good story!

There's a lot going on in this book, as always with the Lincoln Rhyme series. Despite being sacked by the Mayor, Linc still manages to be the main focus of the book and his thoughts and deductions drive the investigation.
There's a few characters in here that you don't know whether to trust or not, and those feelings flip flop a few times as the story progresses. There's one I'm definitely hoping we see again though.

I was quite surprised at some of the events that happened throughout this book, both in the lead up to and after Lincoln's sacking. I think Deaver is a master of tying things together, particulary with a storyline that seems to be totally unrelated on the surface.

If you like a mystery where you can follow along with the clues and work things out for yourself then this series may not be for you, but if you're happy to go along for the ride and have some of the facts kept hidden until the big reveal then you're on to a winner.

Thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK and Harper Fiction for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Deaver's latest murder myster has an interesting look into the effects of the access of social media and its influence over us. Can playing violent video games escalate to more graphic scenes of murder, rape and violence which in turn culminates into committing the atrocities yourself? The narrative of the main suspect of the novel certainly believes so. How did this once mild young man become overwhelmed by the scenes he is exposed to while working as a moderator become the Locksmith plaguing New York. With his ability of picking locks is anyone really safe from him?

With this penchsnt, the Locksmith proves a challenge for Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs. Especially as Rhyme has been benched and is having to solve the crime outsude of normal channels. Will they manage to stop the Locksmith as he escalates with each break in before he gives in to his inner darkness?

Deaver delivers once more with a chilling story that has you checking your locks through the night.

The midnight lock by Jeffrey Deaver.
A killer without limits
He comes into your home at night. He watches you as you sleep. He waits. 
 
A city in turmoil
He calls himself ‘The Locksmith’. No door can keep him out. No security system can catch him. And now he’s about to kill. 

 A race against time to stop him
Nobody in New York is safe. Now it’s up to Lincoln Rhyme to untangle the web of evidence and catch him.

 But with Lincoln under investigation himself, and tension in the city at boiling point, time is running out…

A good read. Good characters. Likeable story. 4*.

Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs have a new adversary - a killer who comes into your home and watches you while you sleep and leaves no trace. He can get past any lock with ease. He calls himself The Locksmith and no one in New York City is safe. This will be one of the hardest cases of their careers to crack, especially after Rhyme is officially removed from the case. However this won’t stop them from hunting their quarry. But has he already found them?
In the fifteenth book of the series Jeffery Deaver still amazes me with an unerring ability to keep the reader guessing.
A quite marvellous piece of literature and expertly written with the authors deft touch for the dramatic twist.
No one writes a thriller quite like Jeffery Deaver. His writing is intelligent, expertly researched and highly immersive. He truly is a sensational story teller. Just outstanding yet again.

I very much enjoyed the latest in the Lincoln Rhyme series. It can quite easily be read as a standalone.

Women in New York are waking up to find their personal possessions have been rearranged but there is no sign of a break-in. The perpetrator is swiftly named The Locksmith as the police begin a hunt for the culprit.

There is a great storyline with clever trails to follow and some neat misdirection. The characters are all deftly realised. I learned an awful lot about keys and locks!

In summary, a welcome addition to the series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5*

I read a lot of books but it's rare that the story grips me from the very first page. The opening to "The Midnight Lock" was a pure genius.

One of my biggest fears is indeed either waking up to a stranger in my room... or to an evidence that a stranger was there and was watching me. And that's what happens in the book! The Locksmith can break into any apartment and there isn't a lock that would stop him.

Lincoln Rhyme, a fantastic scientist who has a better lab at home than the police department, is investigating the case with his wife Amelia Saschs, but their work is interrupted by politics and internal issues within NYPD which kicks Rhyme off the official case.

The plot is very complex, I felt the book was a bit long, but at the end all the different threads of the story make complete sense and it's fantastic how everything is explained and connected. I really didn't see many things coming and it was brilliant to discover what the author plotted. The book is smart and entertaining.

I was delighted to learn that this is a continuation of the series and I have at least 14 books with the main characters to read! I'll definitely spend more time with Jeffery's creations, because I loved the writing, story and the characters!

Great read a real page turner as the man called the Lock Keeper keeps entering women's homes and watching them sleep, moves things and no one can keep him out. A detective called Rhymes tries to catch him with help from his wife.
would highly recommend.

I am not going to bore you but as per usual, I do recommend you start at the beginning and read this series in order. Yes, for the background and character development, but mostly cos it's one of my favourite series which has never let me down!
So... we start with a weird one. A woman reports that someone has been in her flat. Moving things. While she sleeps. Se reports it but is merely given lip service by the police. Until she turns up dead however. That's a bit of a game changer. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs (one of my favourite partnerships) are called in to assist the police with their investigation. Until, that is, they are kicked off and banished when a trial goes south and there are whisperings about Rhyme's loyalty when evidence he presents in court is found to be dubious.
But, it'd be a short book if Rhyme did as he was told and his "friends" also toed the party line. But what they uncover is chilling. And he is forced to pits wits against The Locksmith, a nasty piece of work who loves breaking into places but now looks to be escalating...
As well as that, there's a new "voice" - Verum - who spouts rather interesting conspiracy theories along the way.
This book for me was just perfect. Very well plotted and that plot was expertly executed. It was also a bit of an eye opener re social media and what we give away, both knowing and inadvertently. I might have a scroll back through mine to see what's lurking in the background!
Characters that I have learned to love as I have got to know them through the series continue to delight herein. I do love reconnecting with familiar faces. The good and the bad!
And the way the author brings it all together had be grinning like a loon at his brilliance.
Pacing is darned near perfect and follows the narrative all the way through. Unlike a lot of mainstream books, this has no waffle or padding to "up the word count". All the description is necessary to scene set, develop characters, or progress the narrative. Some might say that the detail of the locks is unnecessary, I personally found it fascinating. There are the usual twists, turns and duplicitous behaviour, as well as some red herrings and some rather clever misdirection. Skilful enough that I never felt duped.
All in all, another winner... I do wonder what the author has in store for Rhyme next time. Can't wait. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

It is timely that this tale is being published now because, for me, it does an excellent job of reinforcing many of the things that the world is just waking up to. Two major examples, the first is the stupidity of the many who post their lives online so that stalkers and trolls and villains can use the data so freely offered to abuse verbally and in far too many cases attack personally. The second is the snake oil salesmen (and women) who pander to the paranoia of so many, spreading lies and damn lies and getting paid to do so by the gullible and the advertisers who use their platforms to sell to the gullible.

As to the story the book tells, it was a bit like the theatre performance that Hercule Poirot attended where he exploded in indignation when the detective came onto the stage in the final scene and announced "who did it and how" without there being any real clues in the actual play. I am certainly not Hercule Poirot but I feel the same about this tale. Mind you, the wheelchair bound "besserwisser" whom everyone seems to adore, in this book in particular, got right up my nose.

In summary, this book is a good read just for the fact that it points out rather well the dangers of clickbait, "headline only" news and the very real dangers of (anti)social media.

I read this book in one sitting it was so good. As always Jeffery Deaver has written a brilliant, thrilling book high kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. At times it was creepy too. A great book. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

One of my favourite authors and one I'm always recommending. I love the Lincoln Rhyme stories, they are smart, complicated and full of red herrings. This particular title was a great read but just not quite 5 stars. I'm not sure what was missing, if anything tangible, it was just a little bit too neat and tidy.
Some fantastic social commentary as always and some really disturbing bad guys. A great read.