The Cold Moon

By: Jeffery Deaver

Narrated by: Joe Mantegna

Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

On a freezing December night, with a full moon hovering in the black sky over New York City, two people are brutally murdered, the death scenes marked by eerie, matching calling cards: moon-faced clocks investigators fear ticked away the victims' last moments on earth. Renowned criminologist Lincoln Rhyme immediately identifies the clock distributor and has the chilling realization that the killer, who has dubbed himself the Watchmaker, has more murders planned in the hours to come.

Rhyme, a quadriplegic long confined to his wheelchair, immediately taps his trusted partner and longtime love, Amelia Sachs, to walk the grid and be his eyes and ears on the street. But Sachs has other commitments now, namely, her first assignment as lead detective on a homicide of her own. As she struggles to balance her pursuit of the infuriatingly elusive Watchmaker with her own case, Sachs unearths shocking revelations about the police force that threaten to undermine her career, her sense of self, and her relationship with Rhyme. As the Rhyme-Sachs team shows evidence of fissures, the Watchmaker is methodically stalking his victims and planning a diabolical criminal masterwork. Indeed, the Watchmaker may be the most cunning and mesmerizing villain Rhyme and Sachs have ever encountered.

©2006 Jeffery Deaver (P)2006 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved. Audioworks is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Even] Deaver fans...will be hard-pressed to peel back all the layers of the cunning plot at work beneath the surface". (Publishers Weekly)
"As always, Deaver's dialogue is exceptionally realistic, and his plotting is devilishly intricate." (Booklist)

Great Lincoln Rhyme novel

If you could sum up The Cold Moon in three words, what would they be?

For some reason, I stopped listening to the Lincoln Rhyme series, but this one has gotten me interested again.

What did you like best about this story?

The plot line with Amelia Sachs and her father's memory.

Great job 👍

Twist and turns to mystify you. Very entertaining with danger lurking in every corner.

Very intricate. Pay attention!

This is my first Deaver book and I am now going to listen to more. Drawing characters is the author's real strength. They are interesting, complicated and leave you wanting more. The plot of this book is fascinating, but rests on some coincidences that are a little hard to swallow. Suspend that instinct for disbelief a bit, and you'll have a great time. Good narration -- holds your interest. If half-stars were possible, I'd give another half.....

Book and narator

I particularly enjoy the Deaver books , however the narrator has been changed. This is not a good change because I find the narrator dry monotonos and boring. I will not buy another book or CD from Audible with this narrator

Really Good Book

This book was really good, but I have to tell you some of the plot was a bit far fetched. If you fell asleep or lost your focus you had to back track to see what you might have missed. The plots were at times too twisted to be believed but entertaining anyway.

Problem with Narrator

Deaver is as good as ever. The problem was the narrator. He has a pleasant voice but was unable to speak in a different voice for most of the other characters. A few times I found this confusing.

Convoluted

The quadriplegic criminalist, Lincoln Rhyme, and his partner Amelia Sach take on a truly sinister serial killer, the Clockmaker. The plot is fascinating and this is a good story but it becomes a bit convoluted and relies on a lot of pieces falling into place like clockwork. One small cog in the works would have changed the entire story. Mantegna's reading makes it worth the time spent listening even when the storyline gets a bit tedious.

Almost gave up, glad I didn't

I haven't read one of Jeffery Deaver's books in a long time. I got this one because I love Joe Mantegna, and his narration didn't disappoint.

As for Deaver, he is a pretty good writer for the thriller genre, and the characters of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are interesting as always. Toward the middle, the plot almost made me give up because it was so ridiculous, but there were more twists to come and the ending was satisfying eventually.

Intriguing, well-written

The Lincoln Rhime books are all great. This one had all the character development and plot intrigue we have come to expect from Jeffrey Deaver. If I had any complaint, it would be that the plot was almost too complicated, but it certainly kept me guessing. I would heartily recommend this and any other of the series.

Dizzy from the plot twists and turns!

Joe Montagne had the perfect voice for this story. Didn't do a lot of voice modulating for the characters which made it better to listen to.