The Vanished Man

A Lincoln Rhyme Novel, Book 5

By: Jeffery Deaver

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

From Jeffery Deaver's "simply outstanding" (San Jose Mercury News) Lincoln Rhyme series comes this acclaimed New York Times best-seller!

Forensics expert Lincoln Rhyme is called in to work the high-profile investigation of a killer who seemingly disappeared into thin air just as the NYPD closed in. As the homicidal illusionist baits him with grisly murders that grow more diabolical with each victim, Rhyme and his protégée, Amelia Sachs, must go behind the smoke and mirrors to prevent a horrific act of vengeance that could become the greatest vanishing act of all....

©2003 Jeffery Deaver (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic Reviews

"A crackling thriller." ( ChicagoSun-Times)

"Ingeniously devious.... [The] plot is so crooked it could hide behind a spiral staircase." ( People)

"This is prime Deaver." ( Publishers Weekly)

Gripping mystery of a psychopathic illusionist.

With just about every Deaver mystery there are always are a multitude of twists. But what makes this mystery so enthralling is his knowledge of illusions, illusionists, magicians and murder. He kept me on the edge of my seat and guessing all along who the killer was and what his motives were. That's what I look for in a mystery novel.

George Guidall is excellent as a narrator, making each character distinct and believable.

Intellectual approach to solving murder mysteries

Jeffrey Deaver fits perfectly into my category of "fill in" listening, novels I listen to when nothing better or new is available. I expect 4 star novels in this category while being aware that 5 star winners are very, very unlikely and 3 star so-so novels are very possible. Vanished Man is the 5th novel in the soon to be 13 novel NYC detective Lincoln Rhyme series. The novels read like spin offs of the old Ironside TV series starring Raymond Burr. This one involves an illusionist. George Guidall narrates very well.

Magician theme and best in series

This book did an excellent job of working in the theme of a master magician and his need for revenge. There are plenty plot twists and the pace is always fast. The narration is excellent. Its mostly plausible, but at some point you say it is way too complicated a scheme based on what the villain's objective is. It reminded me a little of the Silence of the Lambs where "bad guy" is quite adept at escaping from incarceration. He is a magician and a student of Houdini who made a living escaping from handcuffs, prisons and locked trunks.

My only complaint is that there is too many "plot twists" and book could have ended 30 pages earlier.

The Best

Would you consider the audio edition of The Vanished Man to be better than the print version?

I only listen to audio books so I wouldn't know.

Who was your favorite character and why?

They are all my favorite characters. It's the cast of characters that make the novels so interesting, many of them are regulars.

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

I haven't listened to him before. I was just happy that he didn't annoy me.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, it was. It was a terrific book and I didn't want it to end.

Any additional comments?

This is Jeffrey Deaver at his best with an excellent narrator. There are so many turns and twists that you can't figure out and don't see coming that I began to wonder how Jeffrey Deaver could even have such a complex imagination. I'm sorry that his series isn't narrated all by the same person. I don't like going from one narrator to another when I'm listening to a series.

Eh.....Did Not Like!

I did not like the storylines or the narrator. This story was all about illusions and magic tricks which are more suited to visual entertainment. I understood the illusions well enough but the story never kept my attention for long... I was bored and my mind wondered often. I wanted another Lincoln Rhymes story like the Bone Collector, but I didn't get it..... too bad Denzel established Lincoln's voice in the Bone Collector....I didn't like the narrator either!

One magic trick too many...

This is a great believable thriller for 400 pages. Then it fall apart like a house of cards! Why??? You then find out the protagonist real mission and realize his set-up is more complicated, risky, and dangerous than his primary goal. Magicians misdirection to the extreme to execute a simple card trick. Minor SPOILER ALERT.... The final escape is so over the top that it loses all credibility and believability. This book is a 100 pages too long and one magic illusion too many. I really enjoyed the first 400 pages and then it was a skim to the finish. The narrator was great except for his vocalization of L.Rhymes, it just was a lame interpretation that did not fit. Realism and believability are a must for this genre, it is fiction but not fantasy or science fiction, you got the feeling that Harry Potter was going to show up at the end.

Pretty Good Story

Although the story line was a bit unbelievable, the performance by George Guidall was perfect. He could make Cat in the Hat sound like a suspense best seller. I wish he was doing more of the books.

Great book!

Lots of twists and turns! I was a little hard to follow, but I am glad I hung in.

Deaver turns MAGIC into a mystery

Deaver obviously acquired or already had knowledge of a magician's secret talents in order to weave constant MAGIC into this book's plot. Though veteran CSI man Lincoln Rhyme is rarely fooled, the villain magician's moves/counter-moves baffled even him for a while. The magician's moves in order to evade detection/capture revolved around his use of visual deceit, and these were very clever. A unique approach to a mystery thriller that was welcome.

Good story

Good story enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down. I will buy another.