Book Review – The Burning Wire

The Burning Wire by Jeffery Deaver (Simon & Schuster) ISBN: 9781439156339

After writing more than twenty novels, Deaver is better than ever. The Burning Wire is the ninth in the Lincoln Rhyme series. Rhyme, a quadriplegic criminologist, and Detective Amelia Sachs, were immortalised on screen by Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie in The Bone Collector. (Terrible casting, but that’s Hollywood)

A killer manipulates the electricity grid in New York. He creates sudden arcs of power that kill in a slow and torturous horror show. Amelia is thrown into a terrifying world of electric nightmares. Rhyme is also following a case in Mexico involving the one that got away – the Watchmaker.

The novel spans 24 terrifying hours. I found out more about electricity in an evening than I’ve learned in my lifetime. Deaver juggles his storylines so well. His perfect planning allows each chapter to escalate the tension in a plausible way. He does not pad his books with irrelevant facts, twists and relationships. Every word is meant to be there.

You will not be able to put this book down and if you do, you will find your mind drifting back to the story. Or to the nearest electrical appliance. I’ve looked at my hair dryer with new eyes in the last few days.

Highly recommended.

Amanda Patterson
4/5