Deaver, Jeffery – THE EMPTY CHAIR

[LJ Roberts]

THE EMPTY CHAIR (Thriller-North Carolina-Cont) – NR Deaver,
Jeffery – 3^rd in series
Simon & Schuster, 2000- Hardcover

New York criminalist, Lincoln Rhyme, is in North Carolina to undergo surgery which he hopes will improve his quadriplegia. A sheriff from the small town of Tanners Corner asks for his help. A teenaged boy has been murdered and two young women kidnapped by a youth known as Insect Boy. Rhyme, along with his protagee’ and soul mate Amelia Sachs and his aide Thom, agree to help.

This is the first book by Deaver I’ve read and, while I am hoping it was just a bad choice, I’m not certain I’ll read another. I really struggled to get through it. I had no history of the principal characters and none was given. In fact, all the characters were one dimensional, there were too many of them and stereotypes ran rampant. I like a good twist or two in a story but this became laughable. And let’s not even talk about the ending! I did feel Deaver did a very good job conveying the problems and frustrations of a quadriplegic, but that was the only redeeming feature. As for the plot, the title says it all. This rated zero on the believability scale.