Lincoln Rhyme has travelled to a world-famous spinal cord injuries center in North Carolina for some risky, experimental surgery. It may make him a tiny bit better, it may kill him. But before he has a chance to undergo it, the local police department are drafting in Rhyme and Amelia, using their forensic skills to help find two women kidnapped by a psychotic young man known locally as the Insect Boy. After a cat and mouse game through the abandoned swamps of North Carolina, Lincoln and Amelia manage to find him - then Amelia, convinced of his innocence, breaks the boy out of jail. And Lincoln has to find them both, while Amelia uses all the skills her mentor and lover has taught her to evade him. Her actions are to have more disastrous consequences than either of them anticipate . . .

This is my favourite in the Lincoln Rhyme series. Amelia got more of a look-in and the novel benefitted from that. It is a well-crafted tale of detection.

This is No. 3 in the series. I hope you have Nos. 1 and 2.

Sorry I didn't do the journal when I received it. Yes I did have 1 & 2 and after reading those I couldn't understand why I had left it so long before I started reading his books. I really enjoyed The Empty Chair, it was one that I kept picking up day and night to read. I was awake at such an early hour finishing this off this morning and just as well it was Saturday because I had quite a lot of pages to read. Can't wait to start book 4 which I have got. I shall then be searching the charity shops for the next few in the series.