I probably should have paid more attention to the title. I'm not a fan of grisly serial killer novels, and haven't read one since Silence of the Lambs in the early 90s. I really enjoyed a crime/mystery short story by Jeffrey Deaver and sought out a full novel. The Bone Collector is well written, pacy and compulsive with well-drawn characters. But there is a distinct gruesomeness that doesn't appeal to me. I will probably read another book in the series simply because this one was so well written (though the final pages let it down). Recommended with caveats. ( )

A million years ago, I watched The Bone Collector movie with Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington. For years I had put off reading the book because I loved the movie. I thought it was terrific and didn't know how it could have been improved with the book’s description of the action. I was wrong.

The chemistry of the actors in the movie was there in the book, added with the character's inner dialogue that couldn't be telegraphed to the viewer.

Of course, the reader is given loads of technical information regarding crime scene investigation, lots of 10-letter word terms and anatomical names for bones and body parts. I don't know if it is true or not, but I felt reading this book made me smarter, it at least made me more knowledge about the science of crime scene investigation.

I recommend to anyone who watched the movie, there will be information overload, but it's oh so worth it.


Recommend?

I really feel that this book is better read on a Kindle since the reader will have easy access to the Dictionary and other digital look up methods such as WebMD and Wikipedia.

This review appeared on my website.

Disclaimer
I received via the OverDrive/Libby app from the Harris County or Houston Public Library system. It was read as a Kindle eBook. ( )

Creepy yet fascinating it takes forensic crime stories to a new level

It's not often a character like Lincoln Rhyme is created. Paralyzed from the neck down, his encyclopedic brain coughs up remarkable forensic and historical elements associated with the crime. Battling with his inner demon, he's focused on ending his life until the bone collector surfaces in the form of a cab driver. A tour de force, the story engages at many levels and like all well crafted mysteries explodes with momentum towards the end. Having seen the Denzel Washington film, the book adds more depth, details, victims, characters and forensic crime solving details making it a more evocative experience. As it turns out, the screenplay flip flops the ethnicity of both Lincoln Rhyme and his caretaker and like many films, leaves out important plot elements. Regardless, Jeffrey Deaver is a master crime novelist and worth reading. ( )

Después de un accidente que lo deja completamente paralizado, el criminólogo Lincoln Rhyme se hunde en un infierno de depresión. Pero, cuando la policía se ve incapaz de neutralizar al Coleccionista de Huesos, un asesino serial, Rhyme debe dejar atrás sus pensamientos suicidas y, con la ayuda de su sobresaliente inteligencia, intentar atraparlo antes de que cometa más crímenes. Amelia Sachs, la bella y joven policía responsable del hallazgo del primer cadáver, será sus ojos y sus oídos en esta desigual batalla. Lo que ninguno de los dos sospecha es que, a medida que se acercan al asesino, él mismo está tendiéndoles una trampa.

This crime thriller is claustrophobic in so many ways. Much of the action takes place in Lincoln Rhyme's bedroom as he lies in bed. Lincoln Rhyme is a quadriplegic, or a 'crip' as he constantly says in the book. The bedroom becomes a lab and nerve centre of a fast-paced search for a killer. The killer works in basements and dark places and, when we aren't racing through the streets of New York, this is where we are, along with the rats and packs of dogs. There are no shortage of acronyms (there is a handy list at the back) and words that are shortened in this tough talking novel. The story was simple enough until the end when the twists and turns almost left me behind. Some interesting details. ( )