This
return engagement for quadriplegic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme
is strong on forensic details as Rhyme tracks an elusive
assassin known only by the tattoo that gives this fast-paced
thriller its title.
Three witnesses to a murder could
put a millionaire arms dealer behind bars for good. When one of
them, the co-owner of Hudson Air, is blown up in a plane bombing
with the Dancer's fingerprints all over it, the FBI takes the
other witnesses into protective custody.
Only Rhyme can decipher a crime
scene, read the residue of a bombing, or identify a handful of
dirt well enough to keep up with the killer. Helped by Amelia
Sachs, his brilliant and able-bodied assistant, Rhyme traces the
Dancer through Manhattan streets, airports, and subways.
The psychological tension builds
rapidly from page one all the way to the stunning and unexpected
denouement. At the same time, Jeffery Deaver slowly develops the
against-all-odds love affair between Rhyme and Sachs.
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