73rd out of 535 books
—
569 voters
The Coffin Dancer (Lincoln Rhyme #2)
by
Jeffery Deaver (Goodreads Author)
Detective Lincoln Rhyme joins his beautiful protege, Amelia Sachs, in the hunt for the Coffin Dancer. They have just 48 hours until he claims his next victim, and they have only one clue to go on: the killer's unique and blood-chilling tattoo.
Mass Market Paperback, 532 pages
Published
July 15th 1999
by Pocket
(first published 1998)
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This is the book that hooked me into reading suspense novels. Back in 2002, I was at Super-Walmart waiting for my car to get an oil change so I decided to kill some time in the book aisle. I picked up a John Grisham book and was reading the plot summary when somebody said to me "if you want to read a good book then read that one". She was pointing to THE COFFIN DANCER so I took her advice and bought it. I have read about 120 novels since and nothing has topped it yet. I felt the f...more
this is my favorite book by Deaver and the only one I would really give five stars. It is a great, creepy, fast paced thrill/mystery book, with all the twists and forensic tidbits one might expect from Deaver. What really makes the book is it's brilliantly sadist villians. The mindplay between the main character (lincoln rhyme) and those villians is enthralling, and adds about as much action and suspense to the book as any other in the series. for anyone who has not read the other lincoln rh...more
Typical Jeffery Deaver mystery involving two of my favorite characters- Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs. This time they are tracking a devious killer who has a tatoo of a snake dancing around the victims' coffin on his arm. I love the interplay of Lincoln and lover/partner Amelia as she acts as his legs at the crime scenes and learns to be a fantastic crime scene detective under his tutelage.
Read this during my (mentioned before) Jeffery Deaver/Lincoln Rhyme "period". In this outing an old enemy who has killed some of Lincoln's assistants in the past returns. Lincoln unfazed by this bravely sends Amelia after him anyway....:) (little dark humor there). (Let's you and him fight :))
The Dancer is one of Rhyme's deadliest foes...and I found one glitch in the story the conspicuous tattoo that figures so significantly in the story. I won't go into why here as that wo...more
The Dancer is one of Rhyme's deadliest foes...and I found one glitch in the story the conspicuous tattoo that figures so significantly in the story. I won't go into why here as that wo...more
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Typical Deaver/Rhyme - chilling plot, relentless search for villain!
We're slowly catching up on some of the earlier Lincoln Rhyme stories, featuring his sidekick and "leg-man" Amelia Sachs, as well as a few other regular supporting cops from the NYPD. The elements are similar to Deaver's other tales in this set: a bombing murder gets things started, with a hired killer set on killing off the other key witnesses before they can testify in another high profile case. Thus begi...more
We're slowly catching up on some of the earlier Lincoln Rhyme stories, featuring his sidekick and "leg-man" Amelia Sachs, as well as a few other regular supporting cops from the NYPD. The elements are similar to Deaver's other tales in this set: a bombing murder gets things started, with a hired killer set on killing off the other key witnesses before they can testify in another high profile case. Thus begi...more
Jeffery Deaver- The Coffin Dancer (Pocket Books 1999) 4 Stars
As a dangerous and brilliant killer is hired by a rich criminal to hunt down witnesses in a federal case, criminalist Lincoln Rhyme and his associate Amelia Sachs are brought in to capture the assassin. Deception is the assassin’s game and it will take all of Rhyme’s skill to figure out each of these deceptions before it too late. For Rhyme this is personal as he has dealt with this assassin before and lost, the assassin is...more
As a dangerous and brilliant killer is hired by a rich criminal to hunt down witnesses in a federal case, criminalist Lincoln Rhyme and his associate Amelia Sachs are brought in to capture the assassin. Deception is the assassin’s game and it will take all of Rhyme’s skill to figure out each of these deceptions before it too late. For Rhyme this is personal as he has dealt with this assassin before and lost, the assassin is...more
In this, the second Lincoln Rhyme book, Lincoln and lover Amelia Sachs are called in to protect a female pilot who's husband has been murdered by the man now chasing her.
I adored The Bone Collector and could not wait to read this one, but unfortunately I was disappointed in The Coffin Dancer. The book for me just didn't get going until 3/4 of the way through. There was too much technical information about flying, not enough action and a lot of the chase-capture-oh no he's gone again ...more
I adored The Bone Collector and could not wait to read this one, but unfortunately I was disappointed in The Coffin Dancer. The book for me just didn't get going until 3/4 of the way through. There was too much technical information about flying, not enough action and a lot of the chase-capture-oh no he's gone again ...more
A bomb used to murder a federal witness convinces criminologist Lincoln Rhyme that the Coffin Dancer has returned to New York. Rhyme would like nothing more than to arrest the Coffin Dancer, who murdered several of his team members years before. But the Coffin Dancer is a master of disguise and always seems to stay one step ahead of the police. The two remaining targeted federal witnesses are taken into protective custody but the killer manages to infiltrate their safe houses each time the witne...more
"Detective Lincoln Rhyme, the foremost criminals in the NYPD, joins his beautiful protege, Amelia Sachs, in the hunt for the Coffin Dancer -- an ingenious killer who changes his appearance even faster than he adds to his trail of victims. So far, they have only one clue: the assassin has a tattoo on his arm -- of the Grim Reaper waltzing with a woman in front of a coffin. Rhyme, a quadriplegic from a line-of-duty accident, must rely on his wits and Sachs's intuition to track the elusive mur...more
This is the second Jeffery Deaver book I’ve read, and also the second of his Lincoln Rhyme series. (The Bone Collector was first). I think I enjoyed The Coffin Dancer even more than The Bone Collector, and I saw some real development in the characters, mainly Lincoln and Amanda Sachs, the primary protagonists.
I found the story very well constructed and the telling quite good. I also really liked the way the reader is drawn to a certain perspective regarding the antagonist, setting th...more
I found the story very well constructed and the telling quite good. I also really liked the way the reader is drawn to a certain perspective regarding the antagonist, setting th...more
Skipped The Bone Collector because I saw the movie when it was released. So, this is the second Lincoln Rhyme novel. Jeffery Deaver writes a good mystery book. Some things are dated, as this was written in the 90s (200 MHz computers, cell phone antennas, etc.) but that only takes you out of this page turner of a thriller two or three times throughout the 350 pages. My only other complaint might be the overuse of all the forensic and police acronyms. I understand Mr. Deaver did his research int...more
The second book in the Rhyme/Amelia series shows them facing a killer that is almost as smart as they are. The Coffin Dancer is an old nemesis of Lincoln Rhyme and the man he most desperately wants to catch for personal reasons as much as professional.
He is a hired killer and his next assignment is to kill two federal witnesses, who may testify against an arms dealer, and Rhymes is determined to stop him. As in The Bone Collector Amelia does the legwork and Rhymes analyses the infor...more
He is a hired killer and his next assignment is to kill two federal witnesses, who may testify against an arms dealer, and Rhymes is determined to stop him. As in The Bone Collector Amelia does the legwork and Rhymes analyses the infor...more
This is the second in Deaver's 'Lincoln Rhyme' series of police procedural novels, following on from The Bone Collector. Rhyme is a forensic expert who, alas, is also a quadriplegic and mostly quite bitter about it. His genius is however that he is able to focus his mind, and his super-analytical skills on the evidence left at crime scenes. With this as a basic premise Rhyme is pitting his wits against a nasty hired hit man, nicknamed The Coffin Dancer after a tattoo he sports. Deaver has a ...more
Deaver is a very good thriller writer. He moves the plot along and creates effective suspense.
The character interactions are okay, there is a lot of times you feel like saying "show don't tell" as the author frequently tells you exactly what the characters are feeling/thinking.
My biggest complaint is the "twist" ending. Deaver often has twist endings, some might compare him to Harlan Coben. But like some of Coben's endings, the twist comes comple...more
The character interactions are okay, there is a lot of times you feel like saying "show don't tell" as the author frequently tells you exactly what the characters are feeling/thinking.
My biggest complaint is the "twist" ending. Deaver often has twist endings, some might compare him to Harlan Coben. But like some of Coben's endings, the twist comes comple...more
A STATE OF THE ART ENDING
A very well conceived plot, a chess game between two masters, Lincoln Rhyme and the Dancer. The story is quite average until the ending which starts with a outstanding master twist, skyrocketing the tension to a point that instead of reading I was just sort of skimming, the pages of my book turned like a whirlpool without interruption, my whole world focused on the plot and it was so gripping that I forgot about my surroundings. Once again, thank you for the f...more
A very well conceived plot, a chess game between two masters, Lincoln Rhyme and the Dancer. The story is quite average until the ending which starts with a outstanding master twist, skyrocketing the tension to a point that instead of reading I was just sort of skimming, the pages of my book turned like a whirlpool without interruption, my whole world focused on the plot and it was so gripping that I forgot about my surroundings. Once again, thank you for the f...more
Am I the only person who's upset that Mr. Deaver ended The Bone Collector with a “cliffhanger”, i.e. bomber, Carole Ganz (along with her young daughter, Pammy), blowing up the UN conference...and then NOTHING?
I started The Coffin Dancer thinking that it would continue where The Bone Collector left off, so you can imagine my disappointment when I realized that nothing was going to be resolved at all.
WTF?!
Other than that, The Coffin Dancer was a good, stand-alone thriller...more
I started The Coffin Dancer thinking that it would continue where The Bone Collector left off, so you can imagine my disappointment when I realized that nothing was going to be resolved at all.
WTF?!
Other than that, The Coffin Dancer was a good, stand-alone thriller...more
Finally. After almost a month (or is it over a month?), I finished this book which, normally, I could finish overnight. But I have been "abnormal" these past days, the reason for the reading drag.
My second Deaver novel, and he hasn't ceased to make my jaws drop in amazement after turning over the last page. The twists and turns are heart-stopping, the plot is somewhat different from the usual crime novels I always fancy, and his writing style is, well, also different, for ...more
My second Deaver novel, and he hasn't ceased to make my jaws drop in amazement after turning over the last page. The twists and turns are heart-stopping, the plot is somewhat different from the usual crime novels I always fancy, and his writing style is, well, also different, for ...more
Suzanne
rated it
Recommended to Suzanne by:
Buddy Read; Murder, Mystery, & Magic - Coffin
Shelves:
mysteries
Dang, I got sucker punched at the end of this one too! Very fast-paced. An intricate and intriguing mystery. If you didn't start with the first in this series (The Bone Collector) you probably won't get the deepness and complexity of the main characters. If you're reading this in order, the characters continue to grow a bit; the relationship between Rhyme and Sachs is particularly interesting. I'll definitely be continuing the Lincoln Rhyme mysteries!
This was a pretty decent read. A bit on the preposterous side (in terms of the abilities of the killer to outwit hundreds of police, SWAT, etc. ... constantly), but that's what makes it fun. A bit on the longish side - might have benefited from some judicious editing. Only a few REALLY preposterous incidents - you know the kind ... where an astonishingly smart person does something so egregiously stupid that it's really out of character and seems totally phony. I can't tell you what they are wit...more
The Coffin Dancer was a neat (and gripping) combination of forensic science, a well-developed plot, plenty of surprises, mental dueling, good dialogue, and vivid descriptions (Deaver did an excellent job at how he portrayed Lincoln Rhyme.) Most surprising to me was how compressed the time frame of the novel was. Jeffery Deaver did an amazing job at ensuring that the tension never flagged and kept the book going at an astoundingly fast pace. A well written, fun, and intelligent thriller that made...more
Typical Lincoln Rhyme novel! If you're a fan of this genre, then you won't be disappointed. This is the second book in the series, where Rhyme and Amelia Sachs match wits with a ruthless killer known as the Coffin Dancer. It has the Deaver stamp on it, with loads of fast-paced action, CSI details and a wee bit of romance thrown in too!
It's a veritable cat and mouse game between the cops and the killer, with the trademark Deaver twists and turns.
I wanted to take a break from ...more
It's a veritable cat and mouse game between the cops and the killer, with the trademark Deaver twists and turns.
I wanted to take a break from ...more
Inhalt: Lincoln Rhyme und Amelia Sachs arbeiten nun schon ein Jahr zusammen, und jetzt haben sie mal wieder so einen richtig großen und wichtigen Fall an der Angel. Eine Pilotin muss dringend geschützt werden, da ihr Mann schon ermordet wurde, und man davon ausgeht, dass auch sie ermordet werden soll. Mörder ist ausrechnet der "Tänzer", ein gefährlicher Typ der auch schon ein paar von Rhymes Leuten auf dem Gewissen hat.
Nebenbei entwickelt sich die Beziehung von Rhyme und Sachs ei...more
Nebenbei entwickelt sich die Beziehung von Rhyme und Sachs ei...more
this is the second licoln rhyme book after The Bone Collector and it's kind of fascinating to go back and look at how Deaver developed the rhyme/sachs relationship. i love amelia, always will, and i love all of them in this - all the characters seem so fragile, even percey. even dellray and selitto.
it's full of action and twists that you SO do not expect - especially the big one - or should i say two - at the end. it's classic deaver, and i love it.
the main focus of this ...more
it's full of action and twists that you SO do not expect - especially the big one - or should i say two - at the end. it's classic deaver, and i love it.
the main focus of this ...more
I have such mixed feelings about this book. I got sucked in by the first chapter, but then felt a little disappointed as I read further. After about a quarter through, I started to like it again. The pace picked up, the forensic details were interesting, and I became motivated to read more. This book defines the phrase "twist at the end" as there were several unforseen twists that I found to be really enjoyable.
I guess what I didn't like was the implausability of the ...more
I guess what I didn't like was the implausability of the ...more
Sometimes the sequel of a book turns out to be a big letdownbut not so with this book.Lincoln Rhymes and Amanda Sachs have grown in character and you can almost feel the symbiotic relationship developing between these two.The Dancer is a truly gruesome characterthis book is a page turner and a hold your breath til the very end book.One small niggle how can Lincoln Rhyme be master of all forensic science matters?Impossible.
Deaver certainly knows how to put on the suspense; this is another page-turning read; fast, exciting, and satisfying. Standing back after finishing the book, I might have a few quibbles about the plot, but I was much too engrossed when reading to either notice or care. The relationship between Rhyme and Sachs is very well done indeed; they are a very interesting pair and I'll be happy to see more of them in the future.
I am now officially a Jeffery Deaver fan. I love CSI, forensics, law and mysteries. Just so happens that Deaver is apparently a genius at wrapping all of those interests around the single working finger of Det Lincoln Rhyme. I first saw the Bone Collector, then read it... progressed onto The Coffin Dancer... finished reading it and immediately started collecting every word I could find by Deavers.
This was the second book by Jeffery Deaver and his character Lincoln Rhyme. This was an excellent read as was The Bone Collector - the first in this series. Again...I enjoyed this book so that I have read all of the Lincoln Ryme books. Am eagerly anticipating his next book which I am sure will also have me from page 1. An excellent writer with believable characters and excellent plots.
Great book, the 2nd Lincoln Rhyme book, but just let down a little by some of the technical descriptions of both weaponary (the killer) and flying (character been stalked by killer). I found some of these details rather dull and felt they interupted the story telling rather than adding anything useful to the book. They sort of demonstrated the passion of both characters about their profession and tools of the trade but I didn't need the nitty gritty technical talk to be persudaded of that - ot...more
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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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