The Stone Monkey (Lincoln Rhyme Series #4) »

Wisely taking the advice given to him by legendary mystery writer Mickey Spillane -- "People don't read books to get to the middle. They read to get to the end" -- Jeffery Deaver has earned a reputation for prodigious pacing and slick suspense with his string of bestselling Lincoln Rhyme thrillers.

Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs, along with INS, are in hot pursuit of the criminal mastermind and international fugitive known only as "the Ghost"...with the trail leading off Orient Point, Long island, and a Chinese cargo ship carrying refugees and human slaves. But as the Coast Guard moves in to arrest, the ship is destroyed in a suspicious explosion—and the Ghost once again escapes the law and flees into New York's labyrinthine Chinatown....determined to silence forever any survivors who could reveal his identity. Now Lincoln and Amelia embark on a desperate search, uncovering clues along the way that will either lead to success—or certain death.

Library Journal

In this fast-paced, well-narrated thriller, Lincoln Rhyme, the quadriplegic criminologist first introduced in The Bone Collector, and his protegee, Amelia Sachs, are recruited by the FBI and the INS to track down a notorious human smuggler nicknamed "The Ghost." After being approached by a Coast Guard vessel, Ghost blows up his own ship, along with its cargo of two dozen illegal Chinese immigrants, in order to avoid capture. When two lucky families manage to escape the explosion and make it to New York City, Ghost sets out to kill the survivors before the authorities can locate them among the millions of Chinese immigrants. More than an engaging police procedural, this also offers an interesting glimpse into contemporary Chinese American culture. Veteran narrator William Dufris shines as all of Deaver's characters, but his portrayal of the wacky Chinese mainland detective recruited to help Lincoln is especially enjoyable. Recommended for all popular collections.-Beth Farrell, Portage Cty. Dist. Lib., OH Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.