Jeffery Deaver’s ‘The Midnight Lock’ May Turn You into an Insomniac [REVIEW]

When New Yorkers lock their doors and go to bed, they never know what they will awaken to find in Jeffery Deaver’s latest Lincon Rhyme thriller, The Midnight Lock. This time around, Deaver has created a criminal mastermind so clever, no one is safe.

Years ago, after reading Deaver’s book The Skin Collector, I co-produced a segment for a radio talk show in New England. In it, the host of the show interviewed the author, and I remember him saying that he loved to manipulate his readers and give them a good scare. Well, Deaver certainly succeeds in this book!

This time out, he has created a deranged criminal known as “the Locksmith,” because he is absolutely obsessed with picking supposedly impregnable locks. He loves to sneak into unsuspecting people’s homes and watch over them while they sleep, rearranging their belongings, even sitting beside them on their beds without them realizing it, at least until morning.

I know, can you say creepy?

Enter our heroic duo, Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs. They are quickly enlisted to help track down and identify this psycho before the break ins turn deadly. But no sooner do they get started on the case, they are embroiled in an internal investigation which finds a crucial mistake they made in one of their previous cases. Talk about bad timing! Suddenly the NYPD toss Lincoln out on his ear. But those of us familiar with him know that he never gives up, so he must continue his investigation in secret.

Meanwhile, “the Locksmith” ratchets up his game, eager to prowl through people’s best kept secrets. Will Lincoln and Amelia catch him? Or will this case be one they just can’t crack? Find out in The Midnight Lock.

I swear, I’m a Deaver junkie, especially when it comes to his Lincoln Rhyme series. Every time he announces a new book will be released; I can’t wait to read it. Once I unwrap the novel from its package, I am enthralled for the next three to five hours until I have read the last word. The Midnight Lock was so worth the wait!

The villain in this book is unlike any I’ve ever encountered in suspense fiction before. It never even occurred to me to create a voyeuristic character with a disturbed psyche and a penchant for puzzling out locking mechanisms, but that is exactly who we find in The Midnight Lock. One just never knows what little incidental thought or experience Deaver will use to breathe life into our worst nightmares! But I can picture him sitting back at his desk, rubbing his hands together with glee as he prepares to scare all of his faithful fans to death!

I have to say when I lock my doors at night, now I can’t help but wonder how easily someone would be able to pick our locks. This book is definitely enough to bring out the insomniac in anyone. Could this be why I have been so tired recently? Now my unconscious mind is constantly aware of my surroundings, so a good night’s sleep is proving rather elusive.

Whatever the case may be, I simply won’t miss the opportunity to read the next volume in this mind-bending series. Boarding a high-octane thrill ride with Lincoln, Amelia, and their merry band of cohorts is simply too much fun to resist. After all, Deaver is one of the few authors who consistently delivers whodunits with enough twists and turns to always keep me guessing!

THE MIDNIGHT LOCK
By Jeffery Deaver
448 pp. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. $28.

Order The Midnight Lock direct from Jathan & Heather Books or from one of these other fine online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Half Price Books, Hudson Booksellers, IndieBound, Powell’s, Target, or Walmart.