Member Reviews

Thank you Harpercollins and Netgalley - Jeffery Deaver is my favourite author and Lincoln Rhyme is my favourite series.
Jeffrey does it again!
Absolutely nothing is what it seems and everything keeps you guessing.
As usual the characters are great and the storyline hooks you.
One day I am going to sit down and read the whole series from the start again (when I retire).
Thank you as always - can I have the next one please?

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In his sixteenth outing, ace criminalist Lincoln Rhyme is in the crosshairs of his deadliest adversary yet, Charles Vespasian Hale, a.k.a. The Watchmaker, and his coming out of it alive, with an insider abetting the crafty killer, looks to be a tall task.

Amidst an unmoving investigation into the theft of documents related to NYC infrastructure development, Lincoln lands a case involving the sabotage of a two-hundred-foot-tall Tower Crane at the construction site of a high-rise in NY. The saboteurs seem to be a group of affordable housing activists who promise to wreck one crane daily until their demands are met. Lincoln sends his wife, Amelia Sachs, also an NYPD detective, to run the crane scene, which proves nearly fatal for her, diminishing her fitness for the near future. Lincoln’s protégé, Patrolman Ron Pulaski, is making solid progress on another case when he gets caught in something that could destroy his career while making him less useful for Lincoln. So weakened in terms of support, Lincoln comes to know of the Watchmaker’s presence in NY, which puts an alarming spin on the recent events. What follows is an exhilarating game of enormous stakes - the lives of hundreds of people, including that of the great criminalist.

Jeffery Deaver and arguably his finest creation, Lincoln Rhyme, are in as splendid a form in The Watchmaker's Hand as ever, and the novel is a winner from start to finish. Each character - positive, negative, and neutral - is crisply etched, and the racing plot is as complex as the mechanism of a sophisticated clock. Deaver expertly brings together the multiple strands of the story towards the unpredictable finish, keeping the reader guessing right through with several red herrings.

The Watchmaker's Hand is another excellent addition to this superb series, and I am keen to read the next one and the many others that I hope will follow.

My gratitude to HarperCollins UK for providing me the Digital Review Copy of The Watchmaker’s Hand in exchange for my unbiased review through NetGalley.

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Another great read from this author in this series.

Nothing is what it seems and the investigation keeps you guessing. The characters are relatable and well worth going through the whole series although this could be enjoyed in isolation.

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I love this series, and I was thrilled to get my hands on the latest Lincoln Rhyme book, The Watchmaker’s Hand. The story was good, just not top-notch, especially in comparison to other books in this series. I enjoyed the story, but I found myself not totally immersed in it. Still, it was a pretty decent thriller with good twists.

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The Watchmaker’s Hand is the sixteenth book in the Lincoln Rhyme series by award-winning best-selling American author, Jeffery Deaver. A crane collapse on a Manhattan construction site, that claims only a few casualties thanks to the quick thinking of the operator, is deemed sabotage.

Lincoln Rhyme sends Amelia Sachs to run the scene, which turns out to be much more dangerous than anticipated, and sees her trailing an oxygen canister for some time afterwards. Responsibility is claimed by a group demanding that New York City immediately release a number of vacant properties for affordable housing, or there will be a repeat in twenty-four hours.

Meanwhile, Patrolman Ron Pulaski runs the murder scene of a stock broker so expertly that he uncovers the involvement of an Irish specialist bombmaker. When he then applies the skills he as learned from Rhyme to the murder scene of an NYPD detective, the perpetrator is a surprise to everyone except Rhyme. Nor is Rhyme convinced by the apparent motive for the crane sabotage.

The case requires examination from many angles, and Rhyme even deigns to consider motive. There’s quite a bit more cat-and-mouse, a few false trails and two more cranes come down before the perpetrator is finally caught.

Ron Pulaski becomes the target of a vindictive media-hogging superior; Amelia’s stint in the delivery suite is laugh-out-loud funny; there’s a kidnapping with an unusual ransom attached; and while they are unbelievably fast with their lab testing, it seems to take the team far too long to deduce the delivery method for the sabotage.

There are crooked cops and corrupt politicians; there are novel methods used to bring down cranes; there’s an old nemesis with a complicated plan to take out Rhyme that results in a new enemy for the trace evidence expert. There are twists and diversions and surprises: classic Deaver.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Collins UK

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An excellent breath taking book . You are never disappointed when you pick up a Jeffery Deaver book. An absolute master at his craft. 5 stars all round

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Sometimes it is nice to read a book with familiar characters and this was just that,even the “baddies” were somewhat familiar!
I got the feeling Deaver is trying to retire Rhyme and Sachs and shows us the younger / mentees of this series who can takeover the franchise of forensic crime solving??
The pace, writing, thriller and mystery are all classic Deaver of old and has reminded me what the series started like

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and provide my honest review

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Classic Jeffery Deaver, Lincoln Rhyme against a devious criminal opponent. The plot unfolds with the requisite amount of false herrings until we hit the pointy end and all the loose ends are resolved

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Lincoln Rhyme faces the most dangerous and deadly assassin of his career in this one. I could feel the adrenaline rush as they fight for their lives and to save the lives of others.

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A new series, a well plotted and gripping series. Fast paced, action packed, a page turner that kept me hooked
The excellent debut of a new series
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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Simply fabulous!

The Lincoln Rhyme series is one of my favourites, and this book is just more proof of why. The Watchmaker is an old nemesis of Lincoln, so it was exciting to see his story expanded on.

The amount of research that goes into a Deaver book is phenomenal, and I love the learning experience when reading these books. Alongside a great story, there are so many interesting facts that I squirrel away for later.

A great book!

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Well Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Sachs et al never fail to disappoint. Longtime fans will be aware of the history between the eponymous The Watchmaker and Rhyme; here they meet again with deadly consequences. As always there are plots and machinations going on behind the scenes, but the pace is still high and the risks and rewards are huge.
Another great book from Deaver.

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

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I thought the story plot of this book was interesting and it got off to a good start but the further I got into it the more I couldn't wait to finish it so I could start a new one. I found the use of acronyms annoying and at times there seemed to be too much detail about things. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

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I never get tired of Lincoln Rhyme !

Lincoln meets up with the Watchmaker -an old adversary -needless to say he has a fight on his hands

Brilliant !

Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

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Jeffery Deaver has an impressive body of work and this adds to the whole with a brilliant Lincoln Rhyme thriller.

New York City is suffering from the threat of cranes being wrecked and causing devastating results including property destruction and numerous fatalities. Initially it appears to be the work of a radical protest group asking for government property to be handed over for affordable/social housing.

What transpires is that there is something greater at play and the genius Lincoln Rhyme, with his team, ends up chasing the master criminal ‘The Watchmaker’.

This review will not go into the sub-plots and twists on twists but I was very, very impressed with this book.

You do not need to have read any other Lincoln Rhyme stories to enjoy this, it is brilliant.

5/5.

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Another fantastic story involving Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs, this time facing the old nemesis Charles Vespasian Hale (the Watchmaker) gripping thriller and brilliant suspense which has the reader on the edge of your seat as your immersed into it.

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Book number 16 of the Lincoln Rhyme series and still Deaver delivers. When someone starts sabotaging cranes in Manhattan, the team is called in to identify the culprit, before they strike again. The return of the Watchmaker, Rhyme’s longstanding adversary, adds further intrigue to plot, as they attempt to catch each other out, both aiming to put an end to the cat and mouse antics that has occurred through this series.

Various interwoven sub-plots sit alongside and the main crane angle, with no end of twists and turns, this book does keep you guessing right until the end. A great read full of suspense and mystery.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 Stars.

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Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this latest offering from Jeffery Deaver. Always a great read which I highly recommend to others.

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Wow, this book has cemented Jeffery Deaver as one of my all time favourite authors with a a fantastic new storyline in the Watchmaker's Hand the 16th book in the Lincoln Rhyme series. I've only read two of his books in this series and all his Colter shaw series and a few other stand alone's but they keep on getting better.

The Watchmaker's hand has an unusual theme around some huge Manhattan cranes that have been tampered with and come crashing down. (made it feel all the more intriguing while I was reading as a couple across the world were in the news at the time). Also an old adversary of Lincoln's is involved Lincoln and Amelia must solve the crimes before the next hit.

You do not have to read any of the previous books in the series to enjoy this, but it will entice you to read them too and I'm always happy to find an author with a lot of books that I can look forward to reading at my own pace and have added them to my "to read" pile.

Great book, great storyline and great characters.

A big thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for a the early access to a review copy.

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I haven’t read many of the Lincoln Rhyme series but I know enough about the main characters to feel at home starting a new book such as this.

I really enjoy the way the story develops layer by layer and you see things unfold through the different protagonists or other anecdotal characters. These different voices really add to the structure and narrative for me.

The story is a good one and I enjoyed knowing who the ‘villain’ was and also having them develop the story.

A good crime thriller, reminding me how good this series is.

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