Member Reviews

It feels like it’s been a long time since Sachs and Rhyme had an outing as the criminologist crime solving duo but it is a welcome return!
Dealer sets a plot with distraction and twists to keep you on your toes whilst ensuring that every loose end come in at the end into one very nice bow.
Rhyme and Sachs have had a long run and I enjoy Deavers writing but the storyline itself isn’t new or unique enough for me to keep bringing this duo out, surely Lincoln Rhyme can be surpassed as a criminologist with those who are following in his footsteps (as it were), people who are out solving crime and staying up to date with what must be a constantly changing city that a quadriplegic just couldn’t keep up and maintain such in depth knowledge!?

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Jeffery Deaver never fails to deliver i simply love the Lincoln Rhyme series and this just adds to a great collection.
With the mixture of familiar and new characters the storyline quickly dips in and out of different scenarios - the secrets the lies the mysterious and the depth of information and twists and turns that keeps the reader captivated from beginning to end.
The relationships between the characters play a major role too from political, police procedural - corruption, partners, friends - some old and some new and the interactions between them all contributes to the exciting vibe of the book.
Highly recommend to all thriller lovers.

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Generally devour Jeffery Deaver books , but could not get into this one. Tried really hard to preserve but just could not find anything about it to warrant continuing. Might try again when I have nothing else to read, but there are too many good books waiting to be read to waste time on one that was not proving appealing.

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"The Midnight Lock" is the 15th book in the "Lincoln Rhyme" series, but you don't need to have read any of the others to get full enjoyment from this novel. Okay, so it does get a little bit farcical and there were so many short, sharp twists that I was tempted to draw myself a diagram, but you can't deny that Jeffery Deaver is a master at this writing lark - and he knows how to hold your attention and keep you reading. Hoping for another 15 (minimum!) Lincoln Rhyme books.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

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Having never read Jeffery Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series but watched a couple of films, I was looking forward to this. Rhymes is a wheelchair bound quadraplegic consulting criminalist to NYPD with his own forensic lab in his home, which he shares with his wife, NYPD Detective Amelia Sachs. They and their close knit team of young Ron Pulaski, Lon Sellitto, Detective Mel Cooper, and Lincoln's aide, Thom, work well together here, despite the obstacles they face. There are a number of threads in this thriller, Rhyme is a forensic expert testifying at the trial of mobster Victor Buryak, charged with the murder of Leon Murphy. However, with Rhyme's forensics integrity being questioned, Buryak walks free to the dismay of NYPD, and with the upcoming mayoral elections, politics means that Rhyme finds himself dropped as a police consultant.

There is a fake news and conspiracy blogger, Verum, claiming that American institutions are under threat from The Hidden, a movement of which Rhyme is apparently a member. A content moderator spends his days watching videos on ViewNow, with the power to delete whatever he deems breaks the guidelines. Annabelle Talese is a social media fashion influencer, she wakes up one morning to the chilling experience of knowing someone has broken into her home and moved things around, leaving behind a message of a reckoning written in lipstick on a page of the Daily Herald, a notorious tabloid newspaper. She is but one of numerous victims of the killer known as The Locksmith, there is no lock he cannot get past, with no incriminating evidence, the police are left frustrated. Rhyme and Amelia are to find themselves in deadly danger as they become targets.

Deaver is an accomplished and experienced crime writer, I have enjoyed many books by him, and the plotting, twists and connections in this novel are terrific. However, I have to say that his many heavy information dumps in the story on, for example, the details of different locks, are clumsy and badly managed, affecting the flow of the narrative and slowing the pace down considerably. I was able to overlook this to some extent because the rest of the book is wonderfully entertaining and engaging, with plenty of suspense and tension, and the various threads come together well. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

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I really enjoyed this Lincoln Rhyme book as it was written in a different way to most of them, with no note writing on boards (that I usually skip)
Lots of twists and turns in the plot and plenty of red herrings too. Can't recommend enough.

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I would say ‘Do not read this if you live alone!’ and yet I would fully recommend it if you like thrillers that really upend your nerves.
Deaver gradually increases the tension as his perpetrator becomes steadily more invasive and yet he retains a high level of surprise each time and adds a twist to ensure your reading doesn’t become too inevitable.
The careful introduction to each victim has readers quickly feeling they know them and inevitably suspecting the worst is to happen.
A definite nail-biter that will have you checking the locks!
Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.

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I'd never read any Jeffery Deaver books before, I think I've been missing out!


The Midnight Lock is a clever, exciting, roller-coaster kind of book.

He comes into your home at night. He watches you as you sleep. He waits.

No door can keep him out.

Utterly terrifying.

I highly reccomend!

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This is the 15th book in this series and as you'd expect, it's a well told tale.
The first chapter is a gripping one; a woman wakes up and finds items disturbed in her apartment, when a murder follows, Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are 'on the case' of The Locksmith. So far, so good. Unfortunately, for me, what follows was less gripping.

Overall, a disappointing read from an excellent author. 2* OK read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

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The characters of Rhyme and Sachs and the way they bounce off each other never fails to delight me.
I honestly think these are 2 of the best partners in crime fiction today.
The story does not disappoint,thrilling,exciting,riveting and compelling are just some of the adjectives to describe this book.
An excellent read.

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It’s been a number of years since I’ve read a Lincoln Rhyme book. Considering how much I enjoy these characters, I was eager to start turning the pages. I was really pleased to find the characters I remember still heavily featured, and also really like the new character who looks like they may become a new stalwart in future books.

The Midnight Lock sees Rhyme and Sachs, his partner in both senses of the word, forensically battling a perpetrator known as The Locksmith. This particular offender really unnerved me. When you inevitably put yourself in the mind of the victims, it left me feeling violated, with a shiver down the spine.
As ever, the story is heavily centred on forensics, which is something I am intrigued by and love learning more about; despite the science mostly going cleanly over my head.

There is a startling reminder of how many of us share our entire lives on the ever increasing social media platforms. So much of our lives can be pieced together by those we don’t know. Do we ever consider who is watching, and why?

I enjoyed this twisty complex story, though not as much as I have enjoyed previous books in this series. So it’s just 4* from me. Once I’ve posted this review, I’m off to tighten up my security settings on my social media.

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Pretty sure these had to be read in order and think they’d why i couldn’t get into it. Thanks for giving me the chance to read thiugh message

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Jeffery Deaver is an absolute craftsman of the modern day thriller genre. Fans of Lincoln Rhyme and his wife Amelia Sachs will love this offering (although, as someone late to Rhyme, it can be enjoyed as a stand alone read too). When an influencer wakes up and discovers over night someone has broken into her apartment, moving her (very) personal items she is understandably freaked out and leaves her home refusing to return. The police dismiss her concerns and so 'The Locksmith' continues to target and stalk other victims. Threaded alongside this narrative is Rhyme being discredited in court and not allowed to work the case. They are on the case of the individual who walks free and this, combined with a blogger who writes and publishes 'conspiracy theories,' couldn't be more pertinent today. Deftly worked thriller with a satisfying conclusion. Enjoyable :)

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Full disclosure here; this is the 15th book in the Lincoln Rhymes series, but the first I’ve read. Now, I don’t know whether I may have enjoyed it more had I been better acquainted with the characters, or if it’s not made any difference. Personally, I felt this worked as a stand-alone read, in that my enjoyment wasn’t hampered by not knowing the characters etc.

In parts, this was a very chilling and atmospheric read – the idea of someone being able to creep in to your home, using their expertise to bypass all your security measures is, well, creepy AF if we’re being honest. However, I felt the author went a little over the top when it came to the explanations and descriptions of locks, lockpicking, the types of security measures and on and on. At times, it read like a particularly tedious textbook. Yes, the research and attention to detail is brilliant, but we really didn’t need it in quite such quantities.

Equally, there is more than one storyline going on in this book. I think there were four, perhaps five – and that led to some really complicated and convoluted chapters. Some of which ended up being confusion as they would switch almost mid-sentence to a whole new thread. I really feel this would have worked better if it was dialled down a little, rather than trying to cram everything in at once.

Finally, I found a lot of the dialogue in this to be really clunky and quite amateurly written. None of it felt authentic, but instead as though it had been written as a made-for-TV-series with some very hammy actors. It just didn’t work for me, and as a result I couldn’t connect with any of the characters who felt wooden and boring. I won’t be checking out the rest of the series as none of it has remotely appealed.

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Another great story featuring Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs . A great suspense novel as a criminal sets off a panic as he breaks in to places by using his master locksmith skills to enter virtually anywhere he wants , Too many twists to mention but he ends up face to face with Lincoln towards the end but you will need to read it to find out what happens.

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Following an unsatisfactory appearance in court Lincoln Rhyme is contacted by Detective Lon Sillitto with an "odd case". An unknown subject broke into a woman's home while she was asleep. He left her unharmed but moved and stole some of her belongings. He didn't have a key but managed to gain entry through the apartment door and disable the alarm. Before Rhyme and the team can fully investigate the scene the decision is made that Rhyme will no longer be allowed to consult on NYPD cases and anyone from the force who usually work with him, including his wife Amelia Sachs, is told that they will be fired if they assist him. As the Locksmith strikes again the team have to become creative to ensure that Rhyme still has access to the evidence.

As usually a really great instalment in the Lincoln Rhyme series - thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.

Thanks to Netgalley, Harper Collins and Jeffrey Deaver for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

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This is the first book I have read in this series and I really enjoyed it and will read more starting of the beginning of the series. The story flowed for me really well and I although I did not know the characters I did not feel that it mattered. The story is about a man who can pick any lock. Annabelle Talese is the first home in the book that he breaks into. He creeps about as it does not want to wake her. When she wakes up she finds things have been moved around her home and it not sure if there is anything missing. The Police get involved. The Locksmith, as he is named, carries on with this voyeurism and seems to get away this. Another string of the story is a blogger who is known as Verum. Verum writes a blog about conspiracy theories and many believe in this. While this is all going on Lincoln is in Court for the prosecution. Victor Buryak is being tried for murder and Lincoln is a crime scene expert. Things do not go well and Buryak gets released. This is interesting as Lincoln is brilliant at his job and this all comes together later in the book – I love twists in a story. People who have read these books will know that Lincoln is a quadriplegic and he manages his work from his home with the help of the police and his wife Amelia who is a Homicide Detective. Due to Buryak being released the Police stop Lincoln from working on the Locksmith case – or do they. He has friends in the Police Department and he carries on trying to break the case. I found the story great although I cannot compare it to other books in the series but as I have said earlier I will definitely read more

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Everything about this book was brilliant. I am a great fan of Jeffery Deaver and Lincoln Rhyme and this book certainly did not disappoint. Lots of twists and turns and although it was complicated at times it just added to the enjoyment.
Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for giving me the opportunity to give my unbiased opinion.

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Firstly, thank you very much, HarperCollins and NetGalley, for providing me with the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
I declare myself a fan of Jeffrey Deaver and a massive fan of the Lincoln Rhymes film and TV series. So, I was keen to read this latest book, as Deaver is the master of nail-biting, ticking-bomb suspense.
I loved the storyline and the characters that developed as it played out. Once again, Deaver delivered the type of suspenseful yet plausible plot we have come to expect.
I was also fascinated by his insight into the world of locksmithing, which was technical and detailed.
The plot corkscrewed as you would expect with a Jeffrey Deaver novel, and I found the pace, balance, and style riveting.
I highly recommend the book!

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Received arc from Harper Collins UK and Netgalley for honest read and review.
Another brilliant story with Lincoln and Amelia.
This time a killer comes into your home,he watches and waits.
It is up to our 2 main characters to find him before it is too late.But Lincoln is not allowed to help.
Great stuff as always and I could not out it down

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