David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "drones"
KILL ROOM
In Jeffery Deaver's new novel, THE KILL ROOM applies to a drone pilot's "cockpit" . Once again, Deaver diverges from most modern mystery writers in that he deals with an actual theme: does the government have the ethical authority to kill an American citizen who has ties to terrorism?
Thanks to an operation, Lincoln Rhyme now has the ability to use one of his hands, although he doesn't have any feeling in that hand. He can also move around in a souped-up wheel chair.
Deaver creates a fictional government service called the National Intelligence and Operations Service (NIOS) which runs covert operations where they assassinate American enemies bent on harming the U.S. Shreve Metzger, a man with serious anger issues, is the head of this organization. Lincoln and Amelia Sachs go to work for Nance Laurel, a federal prosecutor, who wants to take Metzger down for the murder of Robert Moreno (an American citizen who has hated America ever since his best friend was killed during the Panama invasion) targeted by a drone equipped with a high-powered rifle. Two people are killed along with Moreno: Moreno's body guard and a journalist who was interviewing him at the time.
Of course Metzger didn't kill Moreno himself, so Lincoln and Amelia focus on the hit man and his partner "the fixer" who tried to destroy all the evidence. At first they think the killer is a sniper and he shot Moreno with a high powered rifle from an almost impossible distance. The reporter and the body guard are killed by shards of glass. Because of his new-found mobility Lincoln is able to visit the Bahamas, the kill sight.
Deaver also throws in some verisimilitude. The "fixer," who calls himself Jacob Swan, also considers himself a chef and a gourmet. He's also a psychopath who likes to torture his victims with a fancy knife. Deaver will also include a mystery within a mystery occasionally. Metzger refers to the president as "The Wizard." Like all politicians he seems to support Metzger's operation but only so far as it's expedient to product his own behind. Deaver also gives the Wizard fancy socks, so there is a possibility he had somebody in mind who was once the head of the CIA .
Of course the reader must remember that this is Jeffery Deaver we're dealing with; he's capable of more twists and turns than Barry Sanders. And once again that's the problem I had with the book. The tone changes in the last quarter of the book. At first we believe Deaver agrees with Nance Laurel, the murder of an American citizen by the government is a high crime. Because of the twist at the end of the book, that doesn't seem to be the case.
Thanks to an operation, Lincoln Rhyme now has the ability to use one of his hands, although he doesn't have any feeling in that hand. He can also move around in a souped-up wheel chair.
Deaver creates a fictional government service called the National Intelligence and Operations Service (NIOS) which runs covert operations where they assassinate American enemies bent on harming the U.S. Shreve Metzger, a man with serious anger issues, is the head of this organization. Lincoln and Amelia Sachs go to work for Nance Laurel, a federal prosecutor, who wants to take Metzger down for the murder of Robert Moreno (an American citizen who has hated America ever since his best friend was killed during the Panama invasion) targeted by a drone equipped with a high-powered rifle. Two people are killed along with Moreno: Moreno's body guard and a journalist who was interviewing him at the time.
Of course Metzger didn't kill Moreno himself, so Lincoln and Amelia focus on the hit man and his partner "the fixer" who tried to destroy all the evidence. At first they think the killer is a sniper and he shot Moreno with a high powered rifle from an almost impossible distance. The reporter and the body guard are killed by shards of glass. Because of his new-found mobility Lincoln is able to visit the Bahamas, the kill sight.
Deaver also throws in some verisimilitude. The "fixer," who calls himself Jacob Swan, also considers himself a chef and a gourmet. He's also a psychopath who likes to torture his victims with a fancy knife. Deaver will also include a mystery within a mystery occasionally. Metzger refers to the president as "The Wizard." Like all politicians he seems to support Metzger's operation but only so far as it's expedient to product his own behind. Deaver also gives the Wizard fancy socks, so there is a possibility he had somebody in mind who was once the head of the CIA .
Of course the reader must remember that this is Jeffery Deaver we're dealing with; he's capable of more twists and turns than Barry Sanders. And once again that's the problem I had with the book. The tone changes in the last quarter of the book. At first we believe Deaver agrees with Nance Laurel, the murder of an American citizen by the government is a high crime. Because of the twist at the end of the book, that doesn't seem to be the case.
