The focus of my blog is to review book series and not individual novels. But writers are going to continue writing novels within a series even after I have done my review, so I plan on reviewing the individual novels as they come into circulation.  Jeffery Deaver has recently added book #14, The Cutting Edge to the Lincoln Rhyme series.

So what do diamonds, earthquakes, and murder have in common? In Jeffery Deaver’s latest Lincoln Rhyme novel, The Cutting Edge, the answer to that question would be ‘a whole lot’. The story begins with the murder of a prominent diamantaire as well as two of his customers. The diamantaire’s protégé, Vimal Lahori, makes the unwitting mistake of walking onto the murder scene while the murderer is still there and barely escapes with his life. Lohori is now a witness on the run.

The media dubs the murderer as the Promisor, who targets engaged women or couples that have recently purchased an engagement ring showing off a large diamond. The Promisor wants to save what he considers to be the most perfect geological specimen from being cut and used on as what he refers to as baubles and is willing to kill for that cause.  It is up to Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Saks to find him before he kills again.

For any of you that have read a Jeffery Deaver thriller, knows that what seems obvious on the surface is only a cover-up for something considerably more complex and The Cutting Edge is no exception. Once again, Deaver, who is well known for the master of the ticking-clock plot, entertains with heart-stopping thrills. Entertainment is not the only feature of this novel, but it is educational as well, with interesting tidbits on the often unscrupulous world of the diamond industry. Deaver ends The Cutting Edge with a bit of a cliff hanger, so I am looking forward to the next addition to the series.

I would like to thank NetGalley for my Advance Reader Copy of The Cutting Edge.

To learn more about the series check out the Lincoln Rhyme series.