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    The Empty Chair
    The Empty Chair
    The Empty Chair
    Audiobook14 hours

    The Empty Chair

    Written by Jeffery Deaver

    Narrated by Richard Turner Perry

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Now a gripping TV series starring Russell Hornsby and Michael Imperioli! From the #1 internationally bestselling author of The Bone Collector and The Devil’s Teardrop a spine-chilling thriller that puts renowned criminalist Lincoln Rhyme against the ultimate opponent—Amelia Sachs, his own brilliant protégé.

    A quadriplegic since a beam crushed his spinal cord years ago, Lincoln Rhyme is desperate to improve his condition and goes to the University of North Carolina Medical Center for high-risk experimental surgery. But he and Sachs have hardly settled in when the local authorities come calling. In a twenty-four-hour period, the sleepy Southern outpost of Tanner’s Corner has seen a local teen murdered and two young women abducted. And Rhyme and Sachs are the best chance to find the girls alive.

    The prime suspect is a peculiar teenage truant known as the Insect Boy, so nicknamed for his disturbing obsession with bugs. Rhyme’s unsurpassed analytical skills and stellar forensic experience, combined with Sachs’s exceptional detective legwork, soon snare the perp. But even Rhyme can’t anticipate that Sachs will disagree with his crime analysis and that her vehemence will put her in the swampland, harboring the very suspect who Rhyme considers a ruthless killer. So ensues Rhyme’s greatest challenge—facing the criminalist whom he has taught everything he knows in a battle of wits, forensics, and intuition.

    With the intricate forensic detail, breathtaking speed, and masterful plot twists that are signature Deaver, The Empty Chair is page-turning suspense of the highest order.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateFeb 21, 2012
    ISBN9781442353626
    Author

    Jeffery Deaver

    Jeffery Deaver is the #1 internationally bestselling author of forty-four novels, three collections of short stories, and a nonfiction law book. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into twenty-five languages. His first novel featuring Lincoln Rhyme, The Bone Collector, was made into a major motion picture starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie and a hit television series on NBC. He’s received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world, including Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers and the Steel Dagger from the Crime Writers’ Association in the United Kingdom. In 2014, he was the recipient of three lifetime achievement awards. He has been named a Grand Master by Mystery Writers of America.

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    Reviews for The Empty Chair

    4/5

    108 ratings26 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This book captivated me and made me an instant fan of Jeffery Deaver. The story was intense, the characters complex, and the plot kept me guessing until the end.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Lots of twists and turns. The protagonists have a slightly more human side than usual.
    • 4/5
      This is another very good instalment in the Lincoln Rhyme, Amelia Sachs series of novels. Amelia comes more centre-stage in this one, which is good, as she and Thom travel with Lincoln to North Carolina so that Lincoln can have an operation which may improve his mobility, or kill him. Its nice to see the characters in a strange environment, helping local law enforcement track down a psychotic teenager. nicknamed Insect Boy, who has already murdered one boy and abducted two women. Although these novels are fairly formulaic thrillers don't let that put you off as they are tightly plotted and full of misdirection and interesting characters.
    • 2/5
      It looks like I'm the odd person out here, but this is my least favorite of the Lincoln Rhyme novels. I thought it was a lot of activity with nothing really happening. It was as though Mr. Deaver had a minimum word count that he was struggling to meet. Did I miss something?
    • 4/5
      Swamp/ Insects/ Forest/ Renegades/ Red-necks. Mix well and there you have it.Lincoln Rhyme has little to do until late in the book,indeed seems rather baffled for much of the time. Amelia takes on the main role in this one.An exciting read,if rather too much of the wilderness in it for me.Not one of the better cases in the series,but by no means the worst.
    • 3/5
      Well-written thriller but implausible actions on part of one of the main characters makes it impossible to rate higher.
      Listened with audible/read with kindle. Good narrator
    • 3/5
      This was an uncomfortable read and I'm glad to be done so I can move on to book #4. Even with the plot twist, this storyline was too farfetched for the pile of bodies it caused. This felt . . . weird. But I'd read another story about Deputy Lucy Kerr without hesitation. I'd be pleased if she shows up again. But please, go back to New York.
    • 3/5
      Not bad, not bad at all. I do enjoy this series. I liked the setting of this one, in North Carolina.
    • 5/5
      Great dectective story, full of action. Deaver is very popular with my better male readers...they even read him for fun (gasp!).
    • 4/5
      Typical Jeffery Deaver Stuff.Three Books by him and I have grow to anticipate any twist in the plot. But his writing motto seems to be keep it short. But the final twist of Lydia trying to murder Rhyme as totally unexpected!
    • 4/5
      A quadriplegic since a beam crushed his spinal cord years ago, Rhyme is desperate to improve his condition and goes to the University of North Carolina Medical Center for high-risk experimental surgery. But he and Sachs have hardly settled in when the local authorities come calling. In a twenty-four-hour period, the sleepy Southern outpost of Tanner's Corner has seen a local teen murdered and two young women abducted. And Rhyme and Sachs are the best chance to find the girls alive.
    • 4/5
      Keep you guessing until the last chapter....even the last page! That seems to be Jeffery Deaver's modus operandi. It works. Although I wasn't as taken with "The Empty Chair" as I have been with the first two books in this series, it was still an enjoyable book. I'll be picking up the next in the series for sure! No disappointment here.
    • 4/5
      This is a Lincoln Rhyme book that I had missed up to this point. It has a nice twist in that Amelia Sachs is really the lead character in this particular story. It's a good mystery, a captivating read, with some interesting psychological twists. Recommended.
    • 3/5
      Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are back, and they get pulled into a North Carolina murder/kidnapping investigation. Out of their element in this strange land, Rhyme and Sachs nevertheless persevere to help local authorities track the Insect Boy who is thought responsible for some creative and vicious murders as well as the recent kidnappings of two young women. Will they track down the Insect Boy in time to save his victims?

      The forensics are fascinating, and the characters are well-developed. The "empty chair" symbol takes on various meanings throughout the novel. We've waited a while to see Rhyme and Sachs back in action, and this one is worth the wait.
    • 4/5
      Lots of twists and turns, numerous times I thought, how are they going to get out of this one, but they always did. Definitely a page-turner.
    • 5/5
      A very enjoyable listen with excellent narration. The storyline gradually builds into a plot filled with unexpected twists and turns that leave the listener questioning who were the bad guys.
    • 2/5
      Horrible narration and exaggerated Va/NC twang made characters sound like buffoons. Unrealistic story - lots of shoot ‘em ups and ridiculous twists. Could not finish. Great author but poor delivery and not best work.
    • 4/5
      As usual Lincoln Rhyme uses his brilliant mind to solve the most baffling cases. In this case he is not in New York, his normal hunting ground. This makes the case a lot harder, but challenging. Many twists and turns in this one, which adds to a great story. Well done Mr Deaver!
    • 5/5
      Quadriplegic, criminalist Lincoln Rhyme, accompanied by his lover, investigator Amelia Sachs and his assistant Thom, is in Avery, North Carolina, where he hopes to undergo experimental surgery to aid with spinal cord regeneration. His first day there, Rhyme is visited by Jim Bell, sheriff of Paquenoke County, where two women have been kidnapped and a young man killed by 16-year-old Garrett Hanlon, nicknamed the Insect Boy because of his interest in bugs. Garrett?s on the run and Bell wants Rhyme to help find him before he kills the two women he kidnapped. Sachs talks Rhyme into looking into the case and the two begin their unique investigating: Rhyme examining the forensic evidence in a lab with Sachs doing the legwork. They eventually track Garrett through forensics and he is arrested but refuses to reveal the whereabouts of the two women. Sachs thinks there is more to what?s going on than they?ve been told, so she lets Garrett go under the condition he will lead her to the two women. Now Sachs is in a world of trouble with the law and Rhyme?s trying to trace her whereabouts, fearing she will be shot either by Garrett or law enforcement.Rhyme and Sachs are two very likable characters who mesh well together. Rhyme, frustrated with the physical limitations he is forced to endure, seeks a way to become whole again while Sachs secretly wants him to remain a quadriplegic, fearing he will not want her once he is mobile. As with each book in the series, the forensics investigation is fascinating. The mystery of Garrett and his reason for kidnapping the women is well-done, as is the suspense as Sachs and Garrett are pursued.
    • 3/5
      Fairly good read but I've had nmough of this character and this author, in fact this whole genre of American crime fiction. It's getting a bit of sameness to it. Like it's written to a formula.
    • 4/5
      The first time I was exposed to this book it was a sample through my beloved eReader on my old PDA. I was quickly hooked and buying the full copy to read. It wasn't long until I was determined to have the actual book for my collection. It's a brilliant book that leaves you guessing to the last chapter.
    • 4/5
      Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are at it again in this page-turning mystery thriller. The Empty Chair is Deaver's first Rhyme novel that deviates from the comforts of Manhattan. Sachs and Rhyme find themselves in North Carolina where they are pitted against "The Insect Boy" and a group of rogue moonshiners. However, everything is not as it seems in this small town and the book will keep you guessing until the last few pages.I was a bit hesitant at first when I discovered the book was centered around a killer known as "The Insect Boy". I assumed the shark had been jumped and that this would be my last adventure with Lincoln Rhyme. Somehow Deaver made it work. His character building is superb and the end result was well worth my time.
    • 3/5
      In the 1920?s through the 1950?s, most mystery writers that wrote long running series with the same hero in each of the novels did not do a lot of character development with their heroes. All of the books could be read in almost any order you wanted because the hero stayed pretty much the same. Agatha Christie?s Poroit or Miss Marple does not change much from the first novel until the last one. The same is true for Ross MacDonald?s Lew Archer or Raymond Chandler?s Philip Marlowe. The modern mystery novelist is different in that the main character develops and changes from the first novel through out the series. In fact some of the best writing in these series is now the development that we watch the main character go through as the series progresses. From that perspective, The Empty Chair is quite good.Lincoln Rhyme has gone to North Carolina to have a very risky operation done on his spinal cord. He is a quadriplegic and wants to take the risk that he may turn out in worse shape medically for the chance that he may get better. A great deal of his struggle is expressed though out the book as is his assistant/partner/lover?s dismay over the possible ramifications of this same surgery Lincoln wants to have performed. There is a secondary character, Lucy that develops thorough out the book as well. All of this is done well.But the mystery/thriller part of the book is almost laughably ridiculous. The action in this book is driven by one of two things; 1) what appear to be very smart people do very stupid things, or 2) very dumb people do even stupider things. Raymond Chandler (I think) once said that if you are writing a mystery and you reach a place where you are stuck for what is to happen next, kill somebody. It is obvious that this author, Jeffery Deaver, has a corollary to that axiom ? if you are stuck in your book, just have one of your characters do something really stupid ? in fact the stupider the better.
    • 5/5
      One of the best book n the series. What a roller coaster ride.
    • 4/5
      A continuing step in the Rhyme saga.
    • 5/5
      This series are amazing. The Empty Chair starts out a little slow, but once the action starts, look out. Jeffery Deaver is a amazing writter. This book was full of well developed characters. Because it took place away from New York, Lincoln and Amelia had to work with a different forensic team. There are tons of killers, nasty people, plot twists and turns. I really enjoyed the characters Garrett, and Lucy, both victims of the evil in Paquenoke County, North Carolina. I hope they will show up in future books. What I like most about the books in this series is, just when you think all the killers are caught, you get another surprise.