Review by CJ

Page count:
432

ISBN:
9780670868711

Quadriplegic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme has decided to employ a death dealer to help him end his own life when New York City’s newest serial killer strikes. Now it is up to Rhyme to use his expertise and beat cop Amelia Sach’s street smarts to catch The Bone Collector before he can kill again.

The Bone Collector is the first novel in the Lincoln Rhyme series.

Full disclosure, this is the second time I have read The Bone Collector. The first time was over 15 years ago and I read the first few novels in the series then dropped off for no particular reason. So this is more a retrospective, revisitation review of a reread. I aim for this to be the first in a series of reviews that will eventually hit the books I hadn’t read before and the most recent Lincoln Rhyme novels.

Even knowing that I loved The Bone Collector many years ago, I was surprised again by how well written the characters are, how well constructed the plot is and the great plot twist that I had completely forgotten.

One of the most compelling aspects of The Bone Collector is the array of characters. The main characters, Lincoln and Amelia, are both incredibly likeable and feel like real people. But the real brilliance is in how real all of the secondary characters feel. Each person is different and there’s none of the cookie cutter repetition that you often get as fluff in crime thrillers.

The Bone Collector is a great start to a crime series with intriguing characters and an engaging plot. The race to save the victims feels real and, even with parts of the story being told from the killer’s perspective, the twist comes out of nowhere. Highly recommended for fans of the crime and thriller genre who are ready to strap themselves in for a long running series in which to join these characters.

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