Well-written book with surprise twists and turns. Haven't read too many Jeffrey Deaver books but will add him to my list of favorite authors. I enjoyed the Lincoln Rhyme character and assume he is an ongoing character in some of his books. I will be on the lookout for this series.

Another riveting thriller featuring forensic expert Lincoln Rhyme and partner and lover Amelia Sachs who, while helping out Rhyme with the case of a killer obsessed with the passing of time, is dealing both with her first detective case of her own and some awful findings about her father which will undermine her sole scope in life: being a cop.

Please note this is more than an opinion on the book but rather a small rant on series authors of a "high" stature. My title serves as to what I thought the book was worth.

No point in my telling you the story that's been written on all the other reviews besides if you are reading this chances are you have read to whole series and don't want to be told the story just if it's worth your time and money. This is another fine Rhyme novel and I was not disappointed as I find myself more and more with many of the other "annua seriesl" authors. Can you spell Kellerman? Koontz? (sigh he was so good too) Patterson? I still hold hope on Corwell she keeps surprising but her last book was previously a free short story. How many helicopters does she need to buy?
Notice how the print in these best sellers keeps getting bigger and bigger, and lots of blank pages between "chapters". Chapters often consisting a few or even just one paragraph? Does anyone else feel just a little cheated when they buy a book and it's an easy one or two day read?

Wow! I've read all of Deaver's works and found him to be the master of twists and turns, but "Cold Moon" is a labyrinth of deception, false leads and manipulation. "Cold Moon" starts out slowly but then catches fire and you cannot put it down. I'd rate it as one of his best but it actually runs on a bit too long to qualify. If your a Deaver fan, it's a must read. If you're new to this author, I suggest you begin with one of his early works to prepare you. Deaver is simply amazing at what he does; almost as amazing as Lincoln Rhyme.

To the brilliant mind of Lincoln Rhyme it becomes apparent early into the murder investigation that there are two killers involved, working in tandem and perhaps one in slave to the other. A ticking clock is left at the first puzzling murder scene at the docks, and it at first appears as if someone has been suspended until their painful death finally relieves them of their agony. It's nasty, and its attention grabbing to a city that will always forever after be hyper aware of the danger in the every day. A careful killer is calling himself "The Watchmaker", but for the investigating team that all seems a little obvious. There are plenty of crime scenes, but where are the bodies?

Police forensic consultant and former Detective Lincoln Rhyme as always feels immense frustration that he is not out there with his team, walking his own personally devised murder scene "grid" and so must take some satisfaction in that his best eyes and ears, Amelia Sachs, is out there to do it for him. Sachs has her eye on some future goal that might not involve police work, and this is despite the fact that she is riding her first case as Lead homicide Detective. Some of those in the department have always wanted the bright Amelia Sachs to fall from a great height and when her current case leads her down the road into her father's own policing past, she is more able to understand why.

Deaver is a master at suspense, and the ticking clock element to this novel is only a small part of that. There are always so many layers to the Lincoln Rhyme novel that it's delightful to have the knowledge that an early answer will never be THE answer; Deaver we expect to always work the suspense screws skifully right up until the final pages. This is a better novel than the previous one or two in the series which puzzled more than entertained. THE COLD MOON is more tightly crafted with greater cohesion between merging plotlines (which there always seems to be) and less extraneous elements are involved. This series isn't read for the warm and fuzzy character development and stripping it all back down to the action of the escalating hunt has made for a far better read.

On the flip side of this some of the personal issues have been dragged out too far in the series and need to be dealt with. Fans of the series need to have resolution on teasers that were introduced many novels ago, and a retrospective novel probably wouldn't be a bad inclusion either (not an original thought, but would probably be timely).

If you haven't read a Jeffery Deaver novel before, THE COLD MOON would give you a good feel for the series and Deaver makes solid work of providing enough supporting information to enable his books to be read as stand alones. A great book in a stellar series that still has no peer.