The Cold Moon: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel    by Jeffery Deaver Order:  USA  Can Simon & Schuster, 2006 (2006) Hardcover, CD Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by Hilary Williamson In this seventh in his series starring quadriplegic criminalist Lincoln Rhyme and his red-haired lover, detective Amelia Sachs, Jeffery Deaver does his usual masterful job of delivering wheels within interlocking wheels of an elegantly engineered plot. The thing is - we always expect him to surprise us and he still surpasses those expectations. This time Rhyme's up against a duo of bad guys - a meticulous serial killer who dubs himself the Watchmaker - he leaves a clock at each scene and wrote a poem beginning 'The full Cold Moon is in the sky ... signifying the hour to die' - and his rather dim but ever hungry rapist sidekick, Big Vincent. Knowing their reputation for results, Dennis Baker (a lieutenant in Major Crimes) pushed hard to get Rhyme and Sachs on the case. The main villain's hobby enriches the novel with fascinating time trivia, quotations, and philosophy. The only thing his victims seem to have in common is that their deaths are deliberately drawn out and excruciating - from their perspective, it took each of them forever to die. In addition to the usual cast of characters - Rhyme's tough young aide Thom; the perpetually rumpled detective Lon Sellitto; and smart young Ron Pulaski whom Lincoln still calls the Rookie (he grows nicely into his role in this episode) - Deaver introduces Kathryn Dance. She's a cop's widow, a mother of two, a song catcher, and a kinesic analyst who interrogates subjects, studying all their communication (body language, verbal and written) to determine whether or not they're being deceptive on specifics. With her assistance, Ryme saves potential victims of the Watchmaker. But things are never this simple in a Deaver plot, which soon thickens to bring back an old villain and new threats to many more people - for them, time's running out fast. Amelia is torn between Rhyme's case and a death - the supposed suicide of a wealthy businessman - on which she's lead detective. As she persistently investigates, Amelia uncovers evidence of foul play - and possibly of crooked cops. Along the way, she's hit hard by new and shocking information about her own past, news that makes her reconsider her vocation, to Rhyme's dismay. Jeffery Deaver is in top form in The Cold Moon, a must read for fans of intelligent thrillers. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews