Tag / Jeffery Deaver

by admin

Book 26 (of 52) – The Grave Artist

The Grave Artist – Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado

When their sophisticated AI identifies that a death at a wedding ruled accidental may in fact be a homicide, HSI agent Carmer Sanchez and her civilian partner Jake Heron find themselves on the trail of a potential serial killer.  While they track down the killer, Sanchez’s sister digs deeper into their father’s murder.  When the two cases intertwine, Sanchez and Huron have to hurry to stop the killer before his next victim hits too close to home.

Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado return for The Grave Artist, the second entry in their Sanchez & Heron series.  The tale once again includes plenty of twists and turns, including the introduction of a blatantly incompetent new temporary boss who hopefully will not be heard from again.  The ending set this group up as an ongoing concern in-universe, so I expect we will be seeing a new entry sooner rather than later.

 

by admin

Prolific Authors Wrap Up

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. This year, I’ve far surpassed my previous record for books read in a year, so I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into all of those books I’ve read through August of this year. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 114 books, so there should be some movement over the past two years.  Without further ado, it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much over the years.  Today, we wrap things up with a look back at the 109 authors I’ve read more than once.

Largest Increase (since 2023)

Pieces of Her – Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter – 7
Stephen King – 6
Laura Lippman – 6
Jeffery Deaver – 4
Lee Goldberg – 4
Elin Hilderbrand – 4
Kathy Reichs – 4

Largest Increase (since 2011)

Solitude Creek – Jefferu Deaver

Karin Slaughter – 19
Jeffery Deaver – 18
Erle Stanley Gardner – 14
Richard Castle – 13
Stephen King – 12

by admin

Prolific Authors – 22 Books

It is time once again to take a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, I’m once again on pace to set a new record for books read in a year, so I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August of this year. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 1xx books, so there should be some movement over the past two years.  Without further ado, it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much over the years.  We conclude today with the sole author I’ve read 22 times, a level unseen two years ago.

Jeffery Deaver

In 1999, the first entry of Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series, The Bone Collector, was adapted into a film starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.  Around that time, I picked up a paperback copy, which I read in 2000.  I slowly added additional titles as I would find them as remainders, picking up new hard covers for $3 or $4.


Things increased in 2015, when I started picking up titles on deals through the Amazon Kindle store or from the library, leading to 17 additional books added to my read bookshelf.  In August of last year, I finished off the Lincoln Rhyme series with The Broken Window.  There is still room to grow, as I have three remaining entries of his Kathryn Dance series, although my local library does not have them available in an electronic format, and what looks to be a new series where he has teamed up with Isabella Maldonado.

by admin

Book 53 (of 52) – A Killer’s Game

A Killer’s Game – Isabella Maldonado

When FBI agent Dani Vega goes undercover to infiltrate a team of killers responsible for the death of a congressional chief of staff, she understands that she is putting her life at risk.  When that team is led into a trap and forced to fight each other to the death in an elaborate game planned by a former client, she is really put in a precarious position.  Can her Army Ranger training keep her alive until the FBI can locate and rescue her?  Or has she finally reached the end of the line?

A Killer’s Game is my first time reading Isabella Maldonado’s solo work, following her collaboration with Jeffery Deaver last fall.  I liked the Dani character, even if the situation she found herself in was a little over the top.  Overall, a good effort and I hope to read more going forward.

by admin

2024: The Year In Books

As 2024 comes to a close, my fourth full year of remote working, I managed to once again surpass my previous records by completing a whopping 61 books, two books more than my previous high set last year and my fourth consecutive year completing the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  I completed the challenge in mid-November and surpassed last year’s total in mid-December.  I read 22,622 pages, by far my highest total of all time and just the second time I’ve managed to surpass 20.000 pages.

Of those books, only five were non-fiction and, of the remaining 56 novels, only five were tied to a TV show, either as the source material or as a tie-in.  None of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer, with two hard covers, two paperbacks, 53 e-books and no audiobooks.  I continued to take advantage of my library card, which helped me procure 46 of the books I consumed throughout the year.

Over 69% of the books I read this year were by authors I had read before. The 19 authors that I read for the first this year were:

Jessica Knoll Isabella Maldonado Kathleen McGurl Lisa Taddeo
Lisa Jewell Millie Bobby Brown J.M. Dillard Lee Goldberg
Avery Cunningham Margot Douaihy R.F. Kuang Jessica Simpson
Jeffrey Lang Dayton Ward Holly Wilson Karin Smirnoff
Walter Beede Michael Connelly Rob Harvilla

Karin Slaughter, Jeffery Deaver, Laura Lippman, Elin Hilderbrand, Jessica Knoll, Michael Connelly, Minka Kent, Lee Goldberg, Rebecca Forster, Stephen King, and Sarah Pekkanen were the authors that I read multiple titles from during 2024.

17 of the books I read were released this year, while only three of them were released last century, with the oldest first published in 1997.

Continue reading →

by admin

Book 54 (of 52) – Fatal Intrusion

Fatal Intrusion – Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado

When a killer attacks the sister of a Homeland Security agent, she starts to investigate on her own.  Coming across an impenetrable encryption found on his phone, she turns to an old “acquaintance”: a hacker she arrested years before.  Against her better judgement, he joins the investigation, using his special skills to help track down the killer and the real motives behind his attack.

Long time favorite Jeffery Deaver and new-to-me Isabella Maldonado team up on Fatal Intrusion, the first entry in what is bound to become a new series.  The tale includes plenty of twists and turns that I’ve come to expect from Deaver, and the ending sets up future adventures for the duo.  I expect we will be seeing a new entry sooner rather than later.

by admin

Book 34 (of 52) – The Broken Window

The Broken Window – Jeffery Deaver

When Lincoln Rhyme’s cousin is arrested for murder, the criminologist is able to link it to a number of crimes where the evidence appears airtight.  The investigation brings Rhyme, Sachs, and crew into the world of data mining, where they learn of the data collection companies that know almost everything about us, and their unsub who is using that data to commit his crimes and nearly perfectly frame someone else.  When computer manipulation starts putting the team and their loved ones in jeopardy, they need to find and stop the man they call 522, but can they do it in time?

In 2000, I read The Bone Collector, the first entry in Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme saga.  With The Broken Window, the eighth entry out of sixteen, I have now completed the entire collection.  I assume there will be books coming, as the latest entry set up a new nemesis for Rhyme, but since that just came out less than a year ago, so I may have some time to wait.

by admin

Book 19 (of 52) – The Watchmaker’s Hand

The Watchmaker’s Hand – Jeffery Deaver

A suspicious crane collapse and a post on the dark web puts Lincoln Rhyme and his crew to work.  The investigation leads them to the Watchmaker, Rhyme’s arch-nemesis.  Can they figure out the Watchmaker’s true target in time?  And who is his mysterious new partner?

The Watchmaker’s Hand, the 16th and latest entry in the Lincoln Rhyme series from Jeffery Deaver, and the fifteenth that I’ve read.  In this entry, Deaver says farewell to the long-running nemesis to Rhyme while introducing a new baddie who has a personal vendetta against our protagonist.  I assume this means there will be additional tales in the series to come, so even though I may soon complete the existing books, there should be more to come in the story of Lincoln Rhyme.

by admin

2023: The Year In Books

As 2023 comes to a close, my third full year of remote working, I managed to far surpass my previous records by completing a whopping 59 books, four books more than my previous high from last year and my third consecutive year completing the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  I completed the challenge in late November and surpassed last year’s total in mid-December.  I read (or listened) to 21,394 pages, by far my highest total of all time and only the fourth time I’ve passed 10,000.

Of those books, eleven were non-fiction and, of the remaining 48 novels, only four were tied to a TV show, either as the source material or as a tie-in.  None of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer, with 53 e-books and two audiobooks.  I continued to take advantage of my library card, which helped me procure 44 of the books I consumed throughout the year.

Over 61% of the books I read this year were by authors I had read before. The 22 authors that I read for the first this year were:

Selma Blair Stacy Willingham Gillian McAllister Chuck Klosterman
Gabrielle Zevin Ronan Farrow Matthew Perry Amor Towles
Jason Rekulak Emily St. John Mandel Bonnie Garmus Thomas Mullen
Naomi Hirahara Maitland Ward Busy Phillips Elliot Page
Jinwoo Chong Maureen Ryan Minka Kelly Britney Spears
Emily Henry Rebecca Makkai

Jennifer McMahon, Karin Slaughter, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Erle Stanley Gardner, Grady Hendrix, Jeffery Deaver, Laura Lippman, Ruth Ware, and Stacy Willingham were the only authors that I read multiple titles from during 2023.

18 of the books I read were released this year, while only five of them were released last century, with the oldest first published in 1934.

Continue reading →

by admin

Prolific Authors Wrap Up

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we wrap things up with a look back at the 97 authors I’ve read more than once.

Largest Increase (since 2021)

The Silent Wife – Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter – 6
Erle Stanley Gardner – 5
Jeffrey Deaver – 4
Grady Hendrix – 4
Richard Osman – 3
Alex Finlay – 3
Taylor Jenkins Reid – 3

Largest Increase (since 2011)

The Skin Collector – Jeffery Deaver

Jeffrey Deaver – 14
Erle Stanley Gardner – 14
Richard Castle – 13
Karin Slaughter – 12
Mary Kubica – 8