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The Broken Window (Lincoln Rhyme #8)

by Jeffery Deaver (Goodreads Author)

4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 · rating details · 6,690 ratings · 615 reviews

Bestselling master of suspense Jeffery Deaver is back with a brand-new Lincoln Rhyme thriller.Lincoln Rhyme and partner/paramour Amelia Sachs return to face a criminal whose ingenious staging of crimes is enabled by a terrifying access to information....

When Lincoln's estranged cousin Arthur Rhyme is arrested on murder charges, the case is perfect -- too perfect. Forensic...more

Hardcover, 414 pages

Published June 10th 2008 by Simon & Schuster (first published 2008)

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Dec 26, 2010 Xirxe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hörbücher, thriller, verschenkte-bücher

Nur noch bar bezahlen...
Nachdem die 450-Minuten-Lesung dieses Buches vorüber war, überlegte ich mir ernsthaft, ob ich meine Kunden- und Kreditkarten sowie mein Handy abschaffen soll, vom Navi ganz zu schweigen. Denn das Szenario, das Jeffrey Deaver in seinem achten Fall für Lincoln Rhyme und Amelia Sachs entwirft, wirkt so nah an der Realität, dass man sich zwangsläufig fragt, wieviel davon schon Realität IST.
Durch Zufall kommt Lincoln Rhyme mit seinem Team einem Serienkiller auf die Spur, der...more Nur noch bar bezahlen...
Nachdem die 450-Minuten-Lesung dieses Buches vorüber war, überlegte ich mir ernsthaft, ob ich meine Kunden- und Kreditkarten sowie mein Handy abschaffen soll, vom Navi ganz zu schweigen. Denn das Szenario, das Jeffrey Deaver in seinem achten Fall für Lincoln Rhyme und Amelia Sachs entwirft, wirkt so nah an der Realität, dass man sich zwangsläufig fragt, wieviel davon schon Realität IST.
Durch Zufall kommt Lincoln Rhyme mit seinem Team einem Serienkiller auf die Spur, der eine offenbar perfekte Methode entdeckt hat, die Verantwortung für seine Bluttaten anderen Menschen in die Schuhe zu schieben. Unter Zuhilfenahme eines immensen Datenpools manipuliert er das Leben Anderer auf derart perfide Art und Weise, dass diese am Ende ihrer vollständigen Identität beraubt sind oder wegen Verbrechen verurteilt werden, die sie nicht begangen haben. Als er feststellt, dass man ihm immer näher kommt, beginnt er seine Täuschungen auch auf Rhyme und sein Team auszudehnen...
Willkommen zurück, 1984! Bei George Orwell sah die Zukunft zwar etwas anders aus, aber letzten Endes kam sie zum gleichen Ergebnis: vollständige Überwachung. Deaver zeigt in seinem Thriller mustergültig auf, was geschehen kann, wenn all die Informationen, die jede/r von uns tagtäglich mehr oder weniger unbewusst versendet, zentral gespeichert und ausgewertet werden. Neben dieser beklemmend wirkenden Fiktion, die durchaus ausreichend genug gewesen wäre für eine spannende Story, wartet Jeffrey Deaver noch mit einem Psychothriller in gewohnt dramatisch-spannender Art auf, der auf kongeniale Weise von Dietmar Wunder (Synchronsprecher von u.a. Daniel Craig, Robert Downey Jr.) vorgetragen wird.
Weshalb dann nicht die volle Punktzahl? Ein paar kleine Unplausibilitäten störten mich doch: Weshalb kann ein Mann, der seit längerem auf der Strasse lebt (und auch so aussieht), sich völlig unverdächtig als Nachbar ausgeben? Oder die finale Rettungsaktion - vielleicht doch etwas zu viel des Guten.
Aber ansonsten: hörens- und sicherlich auch lesenswert! Und das mit den Kunden- und Kreditkarten werde ich wirklich noch einmal überdenken.(less)

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Nov 06, 2011 Terri rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, crime-thriller

I gave this 3 stars. Mostly because I have big issues with an author using lazy words (or technically fake words) like 'people've' and 'might'v've'. I don't care who you are, putting 'v've at the end of a word is simply not acceptable.

There was a lot of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed and couldn't wait to read in bed at night, but as the book went on, something didn't feel right. The writing was not so great in parts, only it wasn't that. I think I can only do a spoiler and all those who hav...more

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Aug 07, 2008 Kathy McC. Mc.C rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"You often hear the old legend that our body is worth $4.50 for parts. Our digital identity is worth far more."
Awesome and frightening! Story of a perpetrator's use of data mining techniques to set up perfect crimes and frame perfect strangers for the crimes. If even half of the plot of this book is a possible reality, we must all "be afraid; be very, very afraid"!
While there is violence in this book related to the crimes committed, the graphic descriptions prevalent in too many crime novels...more

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Jun 19, 2008 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: mystery fans

Shelves: mystery-crime-fiction

Another crime solved by the great criminalist Lincoln Rhyme and his partner Amelia Sachs. This one was a creepy story about identity theft at its very worst - the big problem for me is that I can totally see this happening in the world today - makes me want to throw away all my store club cards and credit cards and live "off the grid." We also get some interesting family history for Lincoln this time.
Highly recommended for fans of the series and those who enjoy criminal mysteries.

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Jan 25, 2012 Bookie | The BookChick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-star-read, crime-thriller-intrigue-mystery

Book Description:
Lincoln Rhyme and partner/paramour Amelia Sachs return to face a criminal whose ingenious staging of crimes is enabled by a terrifying access to information....

When Lincoln's estranged cousin Arthur Rhyme is arrested on murder charges, the case is perfect — too perfect. Forensic evidence from Arthur's home is found all over the scene of the crime, and it looks like the fate of Lincoln's relative is sealed.

At the behest of Arthur's wife, Judy, Lincoln grudgingly agrees to inves...more

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Jul 31, 2008 Cameron rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the latest Lincoln Rhyme novel from Jeffrey Deaver
Rhyme, a forensic consultant for the NYPD, and his detective partner, Amelia Sachs, take on a psychotic mastermind who uses data mining—the business of the twenty-first century, not only to select and hunt down his victims but also to frame the crimes on complete innocents. Rhyme is reluctantly drawn into a case involving his estranged cousin, Arthur, who's been charged with first-degree murder. But when Rhyme and his crew look into the s...more

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Aug 08, 2008 stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008, trashythrillers, mystery, would-rec

oh my lord. i haven't been this creeped out by a book in like, forever. and now i'm totally bothered by the fact that there is all this information that *I'VE* put on the internet about myself and my book tastes and now there's all this CRAZY ASS INFORMATION that EVERYONE can find out about me.

i love ron pulaski, almost more than amelia. i love watching him grow over the series - i love lincoln, i love lon, and mel, and the crazy computer techs.

this writing is tight and plotty and crazy-brilli...more

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Aug 14, 2009 Melanie Cattanach rated it 5 of 5 stars

Scared me spitless, yet here I sit sharing information about my reading preferences on the web.

4 likes · like · see review

May 10, 2013 M. L. Wilson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Broken Window is the eighth novel in which author Jeffery Deaver features the quadriplegic criminalist, Lincoln Rhyme. This time around, Deaver explores the sinister world of electronic information in a chilling way.

The villain in this tale is a shadow; a man with no face who can destroy anyone who gets in his way – or just for fun. A serial killer with a taste for young women, Deaver’s villain has found a unique way to kill with utter impunity: frame an innocent person for the crime in a way th...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Carl Brush rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is my first excursion with Jefferey Deaver, and it left me with contradictory thoughts. The Broken Window has a nice plot involving the most sophisticated identity theft and manipulation imaginable; a paraplegic sleuth with a bitter memory that longs for sweetening; a gorgeous red-headed paramour-detective; lots of super-technological maneuvering; a plot that moves like a runaway freight. Yet, there's something strangely unsatisfying, something superficial about the whole project. Don't qui...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Patrick Ellard rated it 4 of 5 stars

The eighth entry into the Lincoln Rhyme series firmly brings the world of the criminologist into the 21st century as he is pitted against a killer who uses the world of Data Mining in order to stalk and kill his victims but also to plant evidence and frame innocent people for the crimes. It's to Rhyme and his team to learn about Data Mining, take on one of it's huge corporations in SSD and try to find the killer before he strikes again.

What makes this book so interesting is that the vast majorit...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Ramsey Hootman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: protagonists-with-disabilities, women-i-can-relate-to

So one of the things I love about the Lincoln Rhyme series is how Deaver tackles a different interesting research topic in each book. This time, however, his topic du jour was something I am very familiar with: internet culture. Well, I guess his focus wasn't so much that as privacy issues. Anyway, geeks came to the forefront here. And... as always with any outsider's view of a culture, it was flawed.

He did a pretty good job, but it's still fairly evident that Deaver isn't terribly familiar wit...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Stacy rated it 4 of 5 stars

SSD, Strategic Systems Datacorp, is a data mining company that specializes in knowing everything about you. No really, everything. And they do know it all. And it would not be difficult for an employee to commit awful crimes and pin them on someone else or even to steal a person’s life and destroy it piece by piece.

I loved this book. We learn more about Lincoln’s personal life than in any book since the first one and I enjoyed learning more about his childhood and family. And Amelia had her own...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Harry rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: great-antagonists, detective-mystery, favorites, serial-killers

By far, Jeffery Deaver is the one author with that uncanny ability to develop plot twists and very complex characters that leave you stunned to the end. If you've seen the movie, trust me, the books are far more ingenious and developed as compared to what we were presented with on the silver screen. The Bone Collector is a series novel starring Lincoln Rhyme, our famous forensics expert bound to his bed and mobile wheelchair.

Reading this novel I am reminded to never commit a crime. The art of fo...more

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Oct 20, 2011 Roberta rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2008

Tenete d'occhio la vostra identità

La "finestra rotta" che dà il titolo al romanzo di Deaver è un concetto della filosofia sociale. Il senso è nel concentrarsi sulle piccole cose in modo da causare grandi cambiamenti. Una delle politiche di New York per il recupero dei quartieri più degradati della metropoli consiste proprio nel ridipingere le facciate dei palazzi, pulire gli androni e riparare le finestre rotte. Sembra un'operazione di cosmesi ma in realtà stimola l'orgoglio e il senso civico de...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars

Jeffery Deaver- The Broken Window (Pocket Star Books 2009) 3.25 Stars

Rhyme is still hunting down the killer from The Cold Moon, working alongside British Inspectors. Meanwhile his cousin has just been put in jail for murder. The case seems open and shut, with a lot of evidence pointing at him, but the evidence is just too perfect for Rhyme and Sachs. Their investigation will reveal several other frame-ups and lead them into the cyber world of stolen identities.

The introduction was a little slow...more

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Aug 31, 2011 Nenia Campbell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: x-series-bk-8, x-2008s

The brilliant Lincoln Rhyme is back for another creepy caper—and this time it's personal. Really personal. The UNSUB is a cyber-stalker who seems to enjoy playing god. With books that come out in serial installments, it's hard not to repeat facts, so if you want to know all about the awesomeness that is Lincoln Rhyme in general, you're more than welcome to read my first review of the series, because I think it's a pretty good summation of what I like about the premise and the characters. Otherw...more The brilliant Lincoln Rhyme is back for another creepy caper—and this time it's personal. Really personal. The UNSUB is a cyber-stalker who seems to enjoy playing god. With books that come out in serial installments, it's hard not to repeat facts, so if you want to know all about the awesomeness that is Lincoln Rhyme in general, you're more than welcome to read my first review of the series, because I think it's a pretty good summation of what I like about the premise and the characters. Otherwise I might be here all day singing its praises.

Regarding THE BROKEN WINDOW, my God. A lot of mystery books find a formula they like and stick with it, like the Kay Scarpetta series. The only problem is, they have difficulty transcending the time periods in question. The first Scarpetta book was written in the early, early 90s, back when computers were huge, heavy, and super expensive. Since the Lincoln Rhyme series relies more on brilliant deduction, rather like Sherlock Holmes, it holds up much better. And what better way to showcase that logic than to go head-to-head with the grand poohbah of logic: computers. This book was pretty damn scary. Reminded me a lot of Dan Brown's DIGITAL FORTRESS. We're so dependent on computers, we don't really think about how much potential they have to screw us over.

I'm not sure if Deaver made up ALL the technologies in this book—I'm pretty sure he did, but not 100%: some of them, I'm sure, are based off of real things going by different names—but they really make out the present day to be the kind of dystopia more suited to Orwellian or Huxley novels of the past. The SSD is like the mother lode of Big Brotherliness. Have you seen that movie EAGLE EYE, that movie with the super secret computer that can spy on you from traffic lights and have drugs delivered to your front door in order to eff up your life? That's the kind of information these guys have. Scary, right? Right. And now I'm going to microwave all my books, don that tinfoil hat, and throw my computer in my neighbor's trashcan.(less)

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Aug 23, 2011 Christine Blachford rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What I like about Deaver is the ability to cross information throughout the series without being dull, repetitive or patronising. In this one we have plenty of familiar characters, who all have history that shapes the way they work. There’s even a glimpse of one of the criminals from a previous book, and at no step of the way was I thinking “shh, I know this, get on with it.” That could be to do with my bad memory though.

Anyway, the story itself is completely terrifying. As someone who shares pa...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Jill added it

Shelves: crime-and-suspense

Really, now, was there ever any doubt I would love this book? Jeffery Deaver is my favorite author and he has never yet disappointed me. I love the fact that you're always surprised, right to the very end of the book. He's always got something new to reveal to you. Even the author's note chilled me. Lincoln Rhyme is one of my favorite fictional characters. Mr. Rhyme would probably hate me for saying this, but I really admire the way he was able to overcome his physical handicap and his decision...more

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Mar 15, 2011 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not worried about identity theft? Read THE BROKEN WINDOW by Jeffrey Deaver. You will be.

A serial killer has gone undetected because he has been able to pin the crime on some innocent person each time. The killer “knows everything” about his murder victims and so is able to get close to them and then plant evidence that proves the guilt of innocent people because the killer "knows everything" about them, too.

But how does he do it? How is he able to know everything about these people? Where does h...more

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Dec 05, 2010 Nicolette rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

THE BROKEN WINDOW
By Jeffery Deaver
(Hodder & Stoughton)

AFTER reading this book you’ll think twice before casually tossing those old bank statements in the bin or sending an e-mail to your friends.

Jeffery Deaver takes identity theft to a whole new level in The Broken Window.

In the book Lincoln Rhyme’s cousin is arrested for first degree murder. All the evidence says he did it, but he keeps protesting innocence. Rhyme decides to look into the case and soon discovers more murders are taking plac...more

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Oct 20, 2010 Mitchell Lum rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Broken Window is a crime thriller novel, the eighth in Jeffery Deaver’s popular Lincoln Rhyme series. Rhyme, the protagonist, is a forensic genius. He has an insatiable appetite for solving crimes. The scientific approach he takes to all of his work gives him the ability to solve almost anything. Rhyme has a forensics lab installed directly in his home. He became paralyzed after a support beam fell onto him while he was at a crime scene, confining him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life...more The Broken Window is a crime thriller novel, the eighth in Jeffery Deaver’s popular Lincoln Rhyme series. Rhyme, the protagonist, is a forensic genius. He has an insatiable appetite for solving crimes. The scientific approach he takes to all of his work gives him the ability to solve almost anything. Rhyme has a forensics lab installed directly in his home. He became paralyzed after a support beam fell onto him while he was at a crime scene, confining him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Due to his handicap, Amelia Sachs, his lover and protégé, are his eyes and ears in the field. She represents emotion, a contrast to his science.
This particular book in the series deals with an Orwellian nightmare of a crime – a psychotic mastermind that uses the data-mining business to steal the identities of his victims and of the innocent people he frames for his crimes. He demolishes lives with impunity while concealed behind the impenetrable barriers of cyberspace. Rhyme’s cousin Arthur is arrested on murder charges, and the evidence Lincoln sees is perfect – too perfect. He and Amelia Sachs piece together a pattern of similar crimes that lead them to the unknown killer – “522”. Their research leads them to Strategic Systems Datacorp (SSD), the biggest data mining company in the world. They realize 522, having access to the normally-confidential data there, could obtain every single bit of information about anyone’s life. And when 522 figures out their identities, the hunters become the hunted: Walking straight into the killer’s lair puts Sachs and Rhyme in danger of becoming the next victims of 522 themselves.
The narration that The Broken Window contains is very unique. The point of view switches back and forth from the Rhyme to the antagonist (522). In addition, the point of view switches briefly to several other supporting characters as well (all of them assisting Rhyme in some way). What is most unique about Deaver’s writing style in this particular book is that 522’s point of view is expressed in the present tense, while the protagonists’ point of view is expressed in the past tense.
The interesting way Deaver makes use of narration and verb tense changes is really a strong point of the book. Using present tense puts the reader into the center of the action in the moment. It feels more engaging and exciting this way. Also, giving the reader a taste of both sides of the action and story elevates the suspense to a whole new level. We are able to see directly into the mind of the killer, complete with a running monologue of his thoughts and plans. Deaver apprises us of Arthur Rhyme’s dreadful experiences in jail, then switching to the protagonists’ ongoing struggles to catch the deadly killer.
Deaver takes the story to a personal level by showing us the damage that can be done by data and a person with access to it. Identity theft is on the rise, and there is little protection for the victim. In the wrong hands, the facts contained in disks and drives around the world can lead to an extreme invasion of privacy and freedom. There are data mining companies in this world today, just like Strategic Systems Datacorp (SSD) in the book, that “dig through data about customers, their purchases and houses and cars, credit histories, everything about them. They analyze and sell it." It is the business of the twenty-first century. The story warns us that our supercharged computers are not just a benefit to our supercharged economy. The same message reappears again and again, almost too many times- that we have no secrets or privacy, and all our information could be given out to others at any time. 522’s violent string of murders just goes to reinforce that point.
Data mining isn’t yet at the technological level described in the story, so we can relax for now. The key word here is ‘yet’; however, such technology could and useful for this type of business. We never know. It may not be far away. The plot of the book may not be possible yet, but definitely believable. It makes the reader realize that he or she could be a victim. It makes them realize how vulnerable someone could be in the present world. It also shows our dependence to computers nowadays, how we blindly and naively believe the data contained in them without any question of authenticity. What if you no longer have any secrets to hide? What if you knew you were being watched, tracked every day – that someone had access to every single detail of your life? This is what The Broken Window is all about.
The story contains a hefty amount of dialogue, which seems to be part of Deaver’s style, but at a hair shy of 600 pages it is somewhat overflowing with sub-plots and red herrings. Toward the end of the book, sub-stories and endless dialogue drag on until we reach the story’s otherwise attention-grabbing conclusion. Here, Deaver’s viewpoint-switching that worked so effectively before actually detracts from the overall suspense. Many times, small sections of the exciting conclusion start to unfold, but are interrupted by Rhyme’s continuous and monotonous dialogue in the preceding chapters. It gives you the sudden urge to rip out these ‘filler’ chapters because it feels so unnecessary for them to exist. It’s a wonder, and a shame, why the editors didn’t do that.
Apart from that though, this is an otherwise great book, a real page-turner. Kudos to Deaver for bringing many hidden problems of our generation to where people can relate to them on a personal level. The entire topic of the book makes the whole plot and storyline compelling to read. By far, the whole subject matter of this book is what puts it ahead of the competition, along with Deaver’s creativity and plot twists that lend an interesting perspective to the age of Information.
(less)

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Jun 10, 2010 D.M. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thrillers

Having read quite a few crime/thrillers lately that I've consumed like so much fast-food (we eat it because we like the taste, right?) I decided that if I wanted to read a novel in this genre that was going to be better 'nutritional' value I'd select a Deaver from the library's shelf.

And I wasn't disappointed. This is my third Lincoln Rhyme novel and the best so far. It was brilliant - flawlessly plotted and researched, even scary in its fictional premise - that there could be a man (or corporat...more Having read quite a few crime/thrillers lately that I've consumed like so much fast-food (we eat it because we like the taste, right?) I decided that if I wanted to read a novel in this genre that was going to be better 'nutritional' value I'd select a Deaver from the library's shelf.

And I wasn't disappointed. This is my third Lincoln Rhyme novel and the best so far. It was brilliant - flawlessly plotted and researched, even scary in its fictional premise - that there could be a man (or corporation) that "knows everything" - everytime a credit card is swiped, each time a loyalty card is used, all banking details, all transactions, where you are at every given moment - there's a complete and constantly updated dossier on YOU.

In this novel, Rhyme is up against a psycho serial killer that appears to have every piece of information on his victims; going to the point of having the same over those people who he uses to take the blame for his crimes. So when Rhyme's own cousin is accused of murder, Rhyme has to forego another investigation to pursue this killer who has covered his tracks so well.

Part of what makes this novel so good is that you have to wonder if indeed Rhyme, Amelia Sachs and the team will crack the case - you know they will - but this killer has all the information to keep steps ahead.

In previous Deaver novels, including "The Sleeping Doll" which features Katherine Dance, a body-language expert, I have found a tad on the cold side - not much feeling/emotional content to draw the reader into the lives of the characters. But in "The Broken Window" I was pleased to see that element with more inclusion within the prose.

I've got to say that Deaver, as an author, amazes me. He's the sort that other crime authors, or wannabes, appear a poor second too. This is not to say that each author has their own style, not at all. I'm saying that Deaver has the edge of the perfectionist. While many authors pad out their tales, (maybe because the publisher has required so many pages for marketing reasons) Deaver puts in only what's necessary - and there's plenty of refined dialogue to keep his readers turning pages.(less)

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Jun 09, 2010 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars

4.0 out of 5 stars Rhyme is back and Deaver has his head in the game!, August 13, 2008

This review is from: The Broken Window: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel (Hardcover)

So glad to read this novel! Once again, Deaver has brought us a thriller worthy of the characters he created. Very interesting story that included a lot of information about identity theft and data mining and gives a person a lot to think about in regard to how much information someone could possibly have on you with all the computer gene...more

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Apr 10, 2010 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Good mystery, but the best part of the book was the focus of the mystery which was data mining (gone bad, ofcourse), raising questions about privacy & safety concerns regarding the storing of our personal information. Made me realize how much personal data can be collected, stored, & sold just from answering an innocent poll, joining Facebook, Goodreads, using your credit card, registering your car, visiting a website, etc. Your information can be shared, used, & sold to various mark...more

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Jun 23, 2009 Dlora rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: suspense-thriller

When Lincoln Rhyme's cousin is arrested for the murder of a woman he doesn't even know, he insists there has been some mistake, but all the physical evidence points to him. And so starts a really fascinating, and a bit scary, story about identity theft and the use of computers to analyze the vast amounts of data on people.

Basically, in the 1970s, computer database software gave people an analysis of what happened in the past. In the 90s, the data showed what people were doing at any given momen...more

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May 02, 2009 Christy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Criminologist, quadriplegic Lincoln Rhymes has been estranged from his cousin Arthur for years. When Arthur is arrested for the murder of a young woman, Arthur’s wife implores Lincoln to help. The forensic evidence against Arthur strongly links him to the murder, but Lincoln’s paramour Amelia Sachs is suspicious that everything is so clear-cut and suspects Arthur has been set up. She and Lincoln, with the aid of NYPD, learn Arthur isn’t the first person who has been framed for a murder he didn’t...more

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Apr 09, 2013 Sarath Krishnan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Beware, you will not be able to put it down once you start reading. Thrilling would be a lesser word. The novel gives the details of the crime, the situation and the psychological reasons for making up his life. But what I like is his concept of 'the broken window'. Wikipedia defines 'broken window theory' as "a criminological theory of the norm-setting and signaling effect of urban disorder and vandalism on additional crime and anti-social behavior. The theory states that maintaining and monito...more Beware, you will not be able to put it down once you start reading. Thrilling would be a lesser word. The novel gives the details of the crime, the situation and the psychological reasons for making up his life. But what I like is his concept of 'the broken window'. Wikipedia defines 'broken window theory' as "a criminological theory of the norm-setting and signaling effect of urban disorder and vandalism on additional crime and anti-social behavior. The theory states that maintaining and monitoring urban environments in a well-ordered condition may stop further vandalism and escalation into more serious crime." When I was reading it, somehow, I cannot help think Foucault's theory of Panopticism which he formulated in his work 'Discipline and Punish'. The panopticon is used to for surveillance purposes, in the beginning in prisons, and later on in schools and other institutions. The novel narrates the issue of surveillance itself at the time of technological expansion and how data are used in the age of Internet and how can it turned out to be a trouble. Chilling, if you think further.

After a particular part of the novel, it seems the novel drags from the subject, but it is inevitable because the novelist needs to draw the characters, the formative stage of each and every character( of course not every, but main characters at least). This means, he needs to focus on the hero, Rhyme, his lover and fellow Sach, his cousin, and the villain and his victims. But somewhere I find it lacking something.

At one part of the novel, while the villain's stream of thought is going on, he recalls one experience from his childhood, especially the foster homes. Later on Detective Sach found that he is not the normal security man of SSD, but the former specialist before SSD was taken over by Sterling. He made the story that he was died in an accident, but later change his name and address to get a job as security guard in SSD. However, we won't get much more information about his transformation, except that from his childhood onwards he has this obsessive-compulsive disorder. Even then, I think, the writer should have given a little bit more information regarding this.

In the same way, I could not digest the relevance of the London operation which is mentioned in the book; maybe just to show that Lincoln Rhyme is a busy detective who got work from other places also. But I expected some more connection between this story and the main plot. If it does not have any connection with the main plot, avoiding some of the details might have helped to decrease the boredom some might feel while reading this. And the climax also could have been more colorful....(less)

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Dec 16, 2009 Laurie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Excellent tension, good novel on the facts and perils of "information mining", tracking spending and identity manipulation.

When the quadriplegic detective's cousin is arrested for murder, it seems to be an open-and-shut case, as plenty of forensic evidence links him to the crime. But Lincoln discovers that the real killer is framing others for his killings by manipulating intimate computer information. A deadly game of cat and mouse pits Lincoln; his partner, Amanda Sachs; and the rest of his NY...more

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Mar 21, 2012 Kathleen Yoshida rated it 5 of 5 stars

I picked up this novel for a recent trip to California in Audio Book form from my local library. This was definitely a great pick! I had not read any of Jeffery Deaver's previous Lincoln Rhyme novels but that did not matter. I was able to immediately get swept up into the adventures of this meticulous, logical crime solving forensic consultant.

The plot line in the Broken Window is rather chilling: a master criminal is able to access and manipulate an incredible motherlode of data about any perso...more

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Mystery > Crime

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Mystery > Murder Mystery

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About Jeffery Deaver

Jeffery Deaver was born outside of Chicago in 1950. His father was an advertising copywriter and his mother was a homemaker. Deaver worked as a magazine writer, then, to gain the background needed to become a legal correspondent for The New York Times or Wall Street Journal, he enrolled at Fordham Law School. In 1990 he started to write full time. Deaver has been nominated for six Edgar Awards fro...more

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2230284.The_Broken_Window?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349120714l/2230284.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2230284.The_Broken_Window?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver[/url]

The Broken Window (Lincoln Rhyme #8)

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