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Jeffery Deaver

Biography

Jeffery Deaver

Jeffery Deaver is the #1 international bestselling author of more than 40 novels, three collections of short stories and a nonfiction law book. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages. His first novel featuring Lincoln Rhyme, THE BONE COLLECTOR, was made into a major motion picture starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. 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. A former journalist, folksinger and attorney, he was born outside of Chicago and has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Fordham University.

Books by Jeffery Deaver

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

When a New York City construction crane mysteriously collapses, causing mass destruction and injury, forensic criminalist Lincoln Rhyme and detective Amelia Sachs are on the case. A political group claims responsibility for the sabotage and threatens another attack in 24 hours, unless its demands are met. Then a clue reveals to Rhyme that his nemesis, known as the Watchmaker, has come to town to fulfill his promise of murdering the criminalist. Now Rhyme and Sachs have to dodge his brilliant scheme to destroy them both, while racing against time to stop the construction site terrorists. With New York in a panic, Rhyme and his team must unravel a handful of plots as tightly wound as a timepiece --- before more cranes fall, raining down death and destruction from above.

by Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Carmen Sanchez is a tough Homeland Security agent who plays by the rules. But when her sister is attacked, revealing a connection to a series of murders across Southern California, she realizes that a conventional investigation will not be enough to stop the ruthless perpetrator. With nowhere else to turn, Sanchez enlists the aid of Professor Jake Heron, a brilliant and quirky private security expert who believes rules are merely suggestions. The two have a troubled past, but he owes her a favor. They team up to catch the assailant, who has no discernible motive and fits no classic criminal profile. All they have to go on is a distinctive tattoo and a singular obsession that gives this chillingly efficient tactician his nickname: Spider. Over the next 72 hours, Sanchez and Heron find themselves in the midst of a lethal chess match with the killer as they race to stop the carnage.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Allison Parker is on the run with her teenage daughter, Hannah. Colter Shaw has been hired by her eccentric boss, entrepreneur Marty Harmon, to find and protect her. The reason for Allison’s panicked flight is soon apparent. She’s being stalked by her ex-husband, Jon Merritt. Newly released from prison and fueled by blinding rage, Jon is a man whose former profession as a police detective makes him uniquely suited for the hunt. And he’s not alone. Two hitmen are also hot on her heels --- an eerie pair of thugs who take delight not only in murder but in the sport of devising clever ways to make bodies disappear forever. Even if Shaw manages to catch up with Allison and her daughter, his troubles will be just beginning.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

A woman wakes up in the morning to find that someone has picked her apartment’s supposedly impregnable door lock and rearranged personal items. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are brought in to investigate and soon learn that the sociopathic intruder, who calls himself "the Locksmith,” can break through any lock or security system ever devised. With more victims on the horizon, Rhyme, Sachs and their stable of associates must discover his true mission. Their hunt is interrupted when an internal investigation in the police force uncovers what seems to be a crucial mistake in one of Rhyme's previous cases. He is fired as a consultant for the NYPD and must risk jail if he investigates the Locksmith case in secret.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Colter Shaw finds himself in San Francisco, where he has taken on the mission his father began years ago: finding a missing courier bag containing evidence that will bring down a corporate espionage firm responsible for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of deaths. Following the enigmatic clues his father left behind, Shaw plays cat and mouse with the company's sadistic enforcers, as he speeds from one gritty neighborhood in the City by the Bay to another. Suddenly, the job takes on a frightening urgency: Only by finding the courier bag can he expose the company and stop the murder of an entire family, slated to die in 48 hours. With the help of an unexpected figure from his past, Shaw narrows in on the truth --- and learns that the bag contains a secret that could only be described as catastrophic.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

In the wilderness of Washington State, expert tracker Colter Shaw has located two young men accused of a terrible hate crime. But when his pursuit takes a shocking and tragic turn, he becomes desperate to discover what went so horribly wrong and if he is to blame. Shaw's search for answers leads him to a shadowy organization that bills itself as a grief support group. But is it truly a community that consoles the bereaved? Or a dangerous cult with a growing body count? Undercover, Shaw joins the mysterious group and risks everything. He soon finds that some people will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden…and to make sure that he or those close to him say "goodbye" forever.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

A young woman has gone missing in Silicon Valley, and her father has hired Colter Shaw to find her. The son of a survivalist family, Shaw is an expert tracker. Now he makes a living as a "reward seeker," traveling the country to help police solve crimes and private citizens locate missing persons. But what seems a simple investigation quickly thrusts him into the dark heart of America's tech hub and the cutthroat billion-dollar video-gaming industry. When another victim is kidnapped, the clues point to one video game with a troubled past --- The Whispering Man. In that game, the player has to survive after being abandoned in an inhospitable setting with five random objects. Is a madman bringing the game to life?

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

In the early hours of a quiet, weekend morning in Manhattan's Diamond District, a brutal triple murder shocks the city. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs quickly take the case. As more crimes follow, it becomes clear that the killer's target is not gems, but engaged couples themselves. The Promisor vows to take the lives of men and women during their most precious moments --- midway through the purchase of an engagement ring, after a meeting with a wedding planner, trying on the perfect gown for a day that will never come. Soon the Promisor makes a dangerous mistake: leaving behind an innocent witness, Vimal Lahori, a talented young diamond cutter who can help Rhyme and Sachs blow the lid off the case.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

A businessman is snatched from an Upper East Side street in broad daylight, and a miniature hangman's noose is left at the scene. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are called in to investigate. Soon the case takes a stranger turn: a recording surfaces of the victim being slowly hanged, his desperate gasps the backdrop to an eerie piece of music. The video is marked as the work of The Composer. Despite their best efforts, the suspect gets away. So when a similar kidnapping occurs on a dusty road outside Naples, Italy, Rhyme and Sachs don't hesitate to rejoin the hunt. But the search is now a complex case of international cooperation --- and not all those involved may be who they seem.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Amelia Sachs is chasing a killer through a department store in Brooklyn when an escalator malfunctions. The stairs give way, with one man horribly mangled by the gears. Sachs is forced to let her quarry escape as she jumps in to try to help save the victim. She and famed forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme soon learn, however, that the incident may not have been an accident at all, but the first in a series of intentional attacks. They find themselves up against one of their most formidable opponents ever: a brilliant killer who turns common products into murder weapons.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

A tragedy occurs at a small concert venue on the Monterey Peninsula. Cries of "fire" are raised, sending people running for the doors, only to find them blocked. A half-dozen people die and others are seriously injured, though there was no fire. Kathryn Dance --- a brilliant California Bureau of Investigation agent and body language expert --- discovers that the stampede was caused intentionally and that the perpetrator, a man obsessed with turning people's own fears and greed into weapons, has more attacks planned.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Lincoln Rhyme must untangle a twisted web of clues before a killer targets more victims --- or Rhyme himself. When a connection is made to the Bone Collector --- the serial killer who terrorized New York more than a decade ago --- Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are immediately drawn into the case. Rhyme, Sachs and the NYPD must race against time to answer the many questions the investigation uncovers.

written by Jeffery Deaver, performed by Alfred Molina and a full cast - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

An aborted raid targeting a major arms dealer. A hostage standoff at a bank that may not be what it seems. A plot to spring a former African dictator from prison. What is the threat that connects them all? And just who is the mysterious mastermind, The Starling? From Mexico to Washington --- from London to Marseille to Prague --- war crimes investigator Harold Middleton and his team of Volunteers risk their lives to follow the trail of clues. But how can they stop The Starling --- when he always seems one step ahead?

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Short Stories, Suspense, Thriller

A devoted housekeeper embarks on a quest to find the truth behind her employer's murder. A washed-up Hollywood actor gets one last, high-stakes chance to revive his career. A man makes an impulsive visit to his hometown, and learns more about his past than he bargained for. Two Olympic track hopefuls receive terrorist threats. And Jeffery Deaver's beloved series characters Lincoln Rhyme, Kathryn Dance and John Pellam return in stories now in print for the first time.

edited by Jeffery Deaver and Raymond Benson - Fiction, Short Stories, Suspense, Thriller

The Cold War --- a terrifying time when nuclear war between the world's two superpowers was an ever-present threat, an all-too-real possibility that could be set off at the touch of a button --- provides a chilling backdrop to this collection of all-new short stories from today's most celebrated mystery writers. Bestselling authors Jeffery Deaver and Raymond Benson have joined forces to bring us 20 tales of paranoia, espionage and psychological drama.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Two days ago, Gabriela's life was normal. Then, out of the blue, she gets word that her six-year-old daughter has been taken. She's given an ultimatum: pay half a million dollars and find a mysterious document known as the "October List" within 30 hours, or she'll never see her child again. THE OCTOBER LIST is a mind-bending novel with twists and turns that unfold from its dramatic climax back to its surprising beginning.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

The nation's most renowned investigator and forensics expert, Lincoln Rhyme, is drafted to investigate the murder of an American citizen who was targeted by the US government and assassinated in the Bahamas. While his partner, Amelia Sachs, traces the victim's steps in Manhattan, Rhyme leaves the city to pursue the sniper himself. As details of the case start to emerge, the pair discovers that not all is what it seems.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Mystery

They call him “Cuchillo,” the Knife. Not because he kills with a blade --- he has plenty of men to do that kind of work for him --- but because his mind is so sharp. As Mexico’s government wages war on the drug cartels, it takes brains to survive, and Cuchillo has not just survived --- he has prospered. But when Cuchillo begins to cut too deeply, the federal police of both the United States and Mexico step in to dull his blade.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Kayleigh Towne is gorgeous with a voice that is taking her to the heights of the country pop charts. Her hit single “Your Shadow” puts her happily in the spotlight, until an innocent exchange with one of her fans leads Kayleigh into a dark and terrifying realm. Special Agent Kathryn Dance must use her considerable skills at investigation and body language analysis to stop the stalker.

by Jeffery Deaver - Fiction, Thriller

James Bond, in his early 30s and already a veteran of the Afghan war, has been recruited to a new organization. Conceived in the post-9/11 world, it operates independent of MI5, MI6 and the Ministry of Defense, its very existence deniable. Its aim: To protect the Realm, by any means necessary.