[.ca] Stone Monkey (ISBN 0340733993)

From Amazon.com:
When a vicious smuggler known as the Ghost scuttles a ship filled with undocumented Chinese immigrants less than a mile from New York harbor, only a handful of survivors--and the Ghost himself--manage to escape the burning vessel. Lincoln Rhyme, the quadriplegic NYPD forensic detective first introduced in 1997's The Bone Collector, and Amelia Sachs, his partner and lover, must stop the Ghost before he murders the two families who made it to shore. The families have gone to ground in the all but impenetrable world of Manhattan's Chinatown, a fact that makes the pair's two allies--Sonny Li, a Chinese cop, and Dr. John Sung-- invaluable partners. The group's race against time showcases Jeffery Deaver's many talents, particularly intricate plotting, plenty of surprising twists, and breakneck pacing. This is a real standout from a writer whose previous thrillers have earned him a solid following among mystery fans. --Jane Adams

clever and well thought out thriller:
A shipload of illegal Chinese immigrants sinks off the coast of Long Island. It appears an explosion has occurred which succeeded in destroying not only the ship but killing many of the passengers onboard. One of the survivors is a smuggler of the Chinese into this country. He is a ruthless killer nicknamed "The Ghost" because he has never been caught and always is ahead of the authorities. The Ghost is intent on killing any of the other survivors of the ship. Involved in the manhunt to capture the killer is the quadriplegic police investigator, Lincoln Rhyme, with his assistant, Amelia Sachs. Rhyme has set up a police lab in his apartment and with the help of the officers in his division, is involved in a cat and mouse chase of The Ghost. Jeffrey Deaver has written another successful thriller starring one of his most memorable creations, Lincoln Rhyme. Much effort and empathy has gone into the subplot of the plight of the illegal Chinese immigrant. In attempting to write a nonstop action thriller, Jeffrey Deaver resorts to certain stock devices such as some of the impossible escapes of the villain. Sometimes Lincoln's assumptions based on the evidence presented to him are a bit of a stretch. This is something that has occurred in the other Lincoln Rhyme novels. However, characters are well thought out and the story is quite clever and entertaining. Overall, a recommended read

When does the movie come out?:
So far my favorite Lincoln Rhyme novel. No re-hash-nopsis here but please pick this up if you would like to be entertained. Not only well researched, exciting, and entertaining but also transports the reader to Rhymes world. Found editing questionables - same as Bone Collector - but will not blame author. They are few and the author has his heart well in the right place. Thouroughly enjoyable!!!

The REAL "CSI New York":
"The Stone Monkey" is another of Jeffery Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme novels, and as usual it combines the intracies of crime scene investigation with cliffhanger-a-minute plot twists and turns, as well as the author's exacting research into his topic. You'll quickly realize that nothing is at it seems--you know surprises are coming, and maybe you'll try to anticipate the author's deviousness. And since the author lays the clues right out for you, it can be done (but not easily), so when the secret is revealed it's usually a forehead-slapping moment, when you realize you should indeed have seen it coming. This time out, the quadriplegic Rhyme and his "walk-the-grid" colleague, Amelia Sachs (as spectacularly neurotic as ever) are involved with the underworld of illegal Chinese immigration. They have to fight not only the perpetrators, but possibly a mole among the various organizations--NYPD, FBI, INS, Coast Guard, U.S. State Department, the Chinese government--involved in the case. Since the book is part of a series, you know the good guys will win, but how? That's where the thrills are. Notes and asides: on p. 282 the term NYFD is mentioned. Sorry. It's NYPD but FDNY. Mr. Deaver, familiar as he is with things NYC, must know that. Somewhere in Outsourceiana (Indiana? Idaho? Iowa? India?) is a copyeditor who thinks "wow! I saved Jeffery Deaver from an obvious error." Err, no.

Not Anywhere Near His Best:
Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs, along with INS, are in hot pursuit of the criminal mastermind and international fugitive known only as the Ghost...with the trail leading off Orient Point, Long island and a Chinese cargo ship carrying refugees and human slaves. But as the Coast Guard moves in to arrest, the ship is destroyed in a suspicious explosion and the Ghost once again escapes the law and flees into New York's Chinatown. He's determined to silence forever any survivors who could reveal his identity. Now Lincoln and Amelia embark on a desperate search, uncovering clues along the way that will either lead to success-or certain death. The book is OK, but the outcomes were predicitable and the answers came to Lincoln too easily. Seems like he had access to every bit of information in the world. He didn't have to work hard enough to get the answers Someone should tell Mr. Deaver that there are 26 characters in the English alphabet, not 25. I found that rather odd, coming from a writer.

Does not yield the best of Deaver:
I would say this book can be enjoyed or not depending on the reader If you are a new Deaver reader and to this crime genre then you will be jolted by his tricks and turns but if you are an experienced Deaver reader seeking to drink the best juice of his brains as you did in past experiences I can tell you that this story was written employing old gimmicks that will not satisfy your expectations, because you can infer beforehand what card is under his sleeve In respect of the story, illegal Chinese alien smuggling into the U.S, in my opinion exhibits some research about Chinese culture but poor recollection of INS procedures. The alien movements from the first time they set foot on US soil with no knowledge and not language look not plausible due to both time span and events. Well, miracles can happen !!! The ending is poor too, our hero Lincoln Rhyme comes reeling off the whole truth hidden behind the tale in a very confusing way, vomiting one fact after the other in many layers and in few pages, all of a sudden, as to definitely nail down the bad guy. Well, miracles can happen !!!