The Broken Window

A Lincoln Rhyme Novel, Book 8

By: Jeffery Deaver

Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris

Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Lincoln Rhyme and partner/paramour Amelia Sachs return to face a criminal whose ingenious staging of crimes is enabled by a terrifying access to information....

When Lincoln's estranged cousin Arthur Rhyme is arrested on murder charges, the case is perfect - too perfect. Forensic evidence from Arthur's home is found all over the scene of the crime, and it looks like the fate of Lincoln's relative is sealed.

At the behest of Arthur's wife, Judy, Lincoln grudgingly agrees to investigate the case. Soon Lincoln and Amelia uncover a string of similar murders and rapes with perpetrators claiming innocence and ignorance - despite ironclad evidence at the scenes of the crime. Rhyme's team realizes this "perfect" evidence may actually be the result of masterful identity theft and manipulation.

An information service company - the huge data miner Strategic Systems Datacorp - seems to have all the answers but is reluctant to help the police. Still, Rhyme and Sachs and their assembled team begin uncovering a chilling pattern of vicious crimes and coverups, and their investigation points to one master criminal, whom they dub "522".

When "522" learns the identities of the crime-fighting team, the hunters become the hunted. Full of Deaver's trademark plot twists, The Broken Window will put the partnership of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs to the ultimate test.

©2008 Jeffrey Deaver (P)2008 Simon and Schuster, Inc.

so much information, scary!

Interesting, good plot, a bit too tedious with all the data reading out
Enjoyed anyway.

horrible narration great story by deaver

Would you try another book from Jeffery Deaver and/or Dennis Boutsikaris?

yes

How did the narrator detract from the book?

as if he paid no attention to the characters. same tone / cadence for most every sentence.

good book

this book was just as good as any other Jeffery weaver's (Lincoln rhymes) novel. can't wait to listen to the next one

broken window

It took me a long time to get into the story, but when I did it was good.

It was different than some of the others that I have read.

Interesting story for the modern of times but, idk, felt dry.

i thought it was a good story but the "whodunit" turned out to feel a little cheap if you ask me. All in all still a worthy entry.

Long, Complex, and Good.

Lincoln Rimes, a modern quadriplegic Sherlock Holmes and his NASCAR-driver Police Detective Girlfriend Amelia Sachs solve a series of violent murders cum identity theft. Deaver is good at dramatizing cyber-crime ("The Great Blue")combining a police procedural with geekfest and a little psychopathology ("Diogenes Syndrome"). Deaver is a plot-meister, and each of his books has at least three endings. This novel's plots are more complex than usual -- weaving together five or six subplots that all climax simultaneously except for one. The Watchmaker makes a cameo appearance and will likely show up again.

If you like Deaver, you will love this, but be prepared for a longish and complex book.

Not Deaver's best

I have enjoyed listening to several of Deaver's Lincoln Rhymes novels, including The Cold Moon, The Vanished Man and The Twelfth Card. They were all great listens. Unfortunately The Broken Window doesn't measure up. The technologies portrayed were real, but I think the possibilities were exaggerated beyond what is believable, even for a novel where we might willingly suspend our disbeliefs. Maybe Deaver gave us way more information than was needed as a metaphorical way of telling this story. But I wish he hadn't. When he went on for what seemed like days describing information in Amelia's dossier, I thought I would scream. We got the message, Jeffrey. Don't read us the alphabet 200 times to illustrate a large bowl of alphabet soup. This might be due to lack of concentration on my part during a critical juncture (usually doesn't happen to me with Deaver's works) but I still don't know how the title of the book ties into the story. I'm sure it does. I just missed it. I would have also liked more plot twists and surprises. I'll probably catch up on earlier works in the Rhyme series before I jump on the next new release. The Broken Window was OK, but I expected more.

Great

I thought this was a great book. I think the premise is a bit scary however, it made for an interesting "read".

Started off great, but it didn't last.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, the intrigue for the first several hours was quite good, but the author kept repeating the plot twists - so much so I was unable to keep track of what was really going on. In this case, less would definitely have been more.

If you’ve listened to books by Jeffery Deaver before, how does this one compare?

This was the first but I'm willing to give his writing another try. However, if the same sort of thing reoccurs, then I'll be done.

What does Dennis Boutsikaris bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He's able to do quite believable voices. I will definitely find more books that he's narrated. Nice flavor and the changes seem effortless.

Was The Broken Window worth the listening time?

For the first several hours, then I wanted to just move forward to get it over with.

Any additional comments?

Nope.

Great Read!!

Where does The Broken Window rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

very high

Who was your favorite character and why?

The crusty Lincoln Rhyme, running all things from his fingertips on the keyboard.

Have you listened to any of Dennis Boutsikaris’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not certain.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The story line became very vivid to me; I felt that there was much truth in today's world. I shared the concerns this book brought out in me with my husband and encouraged him to listen. While Lincoln's ability to control so many things from his computers, this tale shows the evil side of technology too.

Any additional comments?

I found this book very thought provoking; and maybe a bit too concerning, raising thoughts that it isn't far from truth.