The Twelfth Card (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel)

Bestselling master of suspense Jeffery Deaver is back with a brand-new Lincoln Rhyme thriller. To save the life of a young girl who's being stalked by a ruthless hit man, Lincoln and his protégé, Amelia Sachs, are called upon to do the impossible: solve a truly "cold case" -- one that's 140 years old. The Twelfth Card is a two-day cat-and-mouse chase through the streets of uptown Manhattan as quadriplegic detective Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs try to outguess Thompson Boyd -- by all appearances a nondescript, innocuous man, but one whose past has turned him into a killing machine as unfeeling and cunning as a wolf. Boyd is after Geneva Settle, a high school girl from Harlem, and it's up to Lincoln and Amelia to figure out why. The motive may have to do with a term paper that Geneva is writing about her ancestor, Charles Singleton, a former slave. A teacher and farmer in New York State, Charles was active in the early civil rights movement but was arrested for theft and disgraced. Assisted by their team, Fred Dellray, Mel Cooper and Lon Sellitto (suffering badly from a case of nerves due to a near miss by the killer), Lincoln and Amelia work frantically to figure out where the hired gun will strike next and stop him, all the while trying to determine what actually happened on that hot July night in 1868 when Charles was arrested. What went on at the mysterious meetings he attended in Gallows Heights, a neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan that was a tense mix of wealthy financiers, political crooks like Boss Tweed and working-class laborers and thugs? And, most important for Geneva Settle's fate, what was the "secret" that tormented Charles's every waking hour? Deaver's inimitable plotting keeps all these stories -- the past and the present -- racing at a lightning-fast clip as we learn stunning revelations that strike at the very heart of the U.S. Constitution and that could have disastrous consequences for today's human a

Customer Reviews:

Deaver loves the wild twist

By Dave Schwinghammer "Dave Schwinghammer" - August 1, 2005

I have been a Lincoln Rhyme fan every since I saw THE BONE COLLECTOR, then realized there was a mystery/thriller series by Jeffery Deaver featuring the same character. There's something about a paralyzed forensics expert who solves complicated cases with the aid of a beautiful redheaded sidekick that fascinates.

That said I've always had some reservations about Deaver. He loves the wild plot twist for one thing, and that's still the case with THE TWELFTH CARD. Through most of the book we think the attempted assault on Geneva Settle, a high school student doing research at the Museum of African-American Culture and History, has something to do with her ancestor, Charles Singleton, an emancipated slave who'd inherited land from his former master. But that's too easy for Deaver. Soon we're dealing with Arab terrorists, bombs going off right and left, and two or three more people trying to kill Geneva. It's all a little too much for the patient reader.

Then there's... read more

Lincoln Rhyme rides again

By Robert Busko - June 7, 2005

When I learned that a new Lincoln Rhyme novel was due out in June I was elated along with many of our library patrons. Jeffrey Deaver and his stories are greatly anticipated by many of our patrons.

In The Twelfth Card teenager Geneva Settle is attacked and nearly killed while doing research in a library in the City. Chased by the assailant she narrowly escapes. She eventually ends up in front of Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs where she is debriefed and put in protective custody. It is this part of the book that seems contrived. Lincoln Rhyme is a high powered piece of manpower. If he were used to investigate every suspected assault on a teenager he wouldn't have any time for other crimes. Of course WE know that there is a major crime to be prevented/solved because we can see the book. However, Lincoln doesn't know that this isn't just what it looks like, a possible attempted sexual assault.

Aside from this minor point, The Twelfth Card is everything we... read more

interesting book, although sometimes unbelievable

By Nick Baumhardt "NeeKoRiss" - August 7, 2006

I just finished reading this book and i feel somewhat torn. Although i found the story very interesting and entertaining, at times I felt a few of the characters and dialog were a little unbelieveable. I was also annoyed at some of the subtle philosophical themes hidden throughout the story.

Deaver goes into great detail developing the characters. I thought Boyd was incredibly interesting - especially with the inner torment of trying to become normal again. The conflict within is mirrored by Selitto's own bout with feelings of inadequacy on the job and Jax's conflict of street thug versus legitimate member of society.

Another aspect that I give high marks for is Deaver's penchant for twists and suspense. Towards the end of the book, it seemed like every page had some sort of misdirection or twist in it.

However, I felt the story was hurt by unbelieveable dialogue and situations. For some reason I couldn't connect with Rhyme or Sachs. The Ebonics... read more