Title:	The Watchmaker’s Hand
	Author:	Jeffery Deaver
	Published:	November 28, 2023, G B Putnam’s Sons
	No. of Pages:	417
	Cover Price:	$14.99 Kindle

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The 16th installment of the bestselling Lincoln Rhyme series, The Watchmaker’s Hand finds Rhyme and Sachs investigating the collapse of a crane at a construction site in New York City, killing several, and accompanied by a threat from a political group demanding affordable housing as opposed to luxury housing that is being constructed. As the team investigates, they discover that Charles Vespasian Hale, who is Rhyme’s nemesis and a cold-blooded criminal and killer, is actually behind the attack, and not the political group as first thought. They must work fast before more cranes are sabotaged and more people are killed.

Fans of the excellent Lincoln Rhyme series know that Jeffery Deaver is an accomplished storyteller, and Lincoln Rhyme is a fascinating and well-developed protagonist. Those who haven’t read the previous novels in the series may not quite understand what Rhyme has gone through leading up to this story, and, while some of his history is discussed, this one is a bit lacking on that front. The supporting characters are well-developed.

This is not Deaver’s best Rhyme novel, but it is still one that is worth reading. The plot is a bit complicated, and jumps from one motive to another. It isn’t as easy to follow as some of the others. However, Deaver has a way of keeping his readers on the edge, and this book is no exception. The story has ups and downs throughout, and the dénouement is certainly an unexpected surprise.

Fans of the Lincoln Rhyme series (and what thriller aficionado isn’t?) will enjoy this book. Those who are unfamiliar should probably read the previous novels before this one. All told, however, Jeffery Deaver writes amazing thrillers, and they are not to be missed.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.