Book Review: The Twelfth Card

Reviewed By: Pat Reid - RAM

The Twelfth Card     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Jeffery Wilds Deaver
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller   Police Procedural
Series: Lincoln Rhyme # 6
Simon & Schuster, 2005, 395 pps.

Geneva Settle is sixteen years old. Geneva has spent her time reading and trying to survive alone in Harlem. Geneva wants to get a good education and knows she will have to get good grades in order to get accepted to a college. Geneva is working on a paper for school based on Charles Singleton, one of her ancestors. The term paper is the reason she is sitting alone in the library studying Coloreds’ Weekly Illustrated when she is attacked from behind.

Her intelligence and quick thinking save her from her attacker and he gets away. This is where the police and Lincoln Rhyme come into the picture. The search for the attacker takes Lincoln, Sachs and Geneva back in history to the time when Charles Singleton lived.

Although this is the first attempt on Geneva’s life it won’t be the last. Thompson Boyd is after Geneva and he is determined that she will die. He is an expert at leaving false clues and eluding the authorities. He is a cold man and has little or no feelings for anyone. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. Lincoln and his team are hard at work in their efforts to catch Boyd but he manages to send them off in many different directions.

I have enjoyed all the Lincoln Rhyme books and I think this is one of the best. The picture of the Twelfth Card on the cover is deceptive but you will have to read the book to find out the true meaning and why Geneva is in danger.

Pat Reid - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Pat Reid - RAM