Jim's Reviews > The Twelfth Card

A slightly better than average thriller in the Lincoln Rhyme series from author Jeffery Deaver. "The Twelfth Card" once again brings Rhyme and top forensic CSI Amelia Sachs together to solve a deadly riddle and uncover a 140 year old secret. The sixth book of the series opens with high school student Geneva Settle at a local library trying to research one of her civil war ancestors, Charles Singleton. Geneva was reading through a obscure old periodical from the civil war days when she's attacked. Geneva initially fools her attacker which allows her to get away unharmed. The attacker however left behind a complete rape kit he was planning to use on Geneva. Inside that rape kit was a tarot card (#12), showing picture of guy being hanged. This novel's main villain and all around bad guy is named Thompson Boyd, 41. Curiously Boyd was a former a jail guard who was also an expert on death row and execution protocols. Boyd had worked in several states where he was known as the Execution Officer(EO). After botched attack on Geneva, Boyd in his escape committed a murder on the sidewalk creating a diversion. Digging into their newest case, Rhyme and Sachs label their unsub "109". I found this a pretty interesting story that delves into certain areas to the end of the civil war, and slavery's aftermath. Also, its look into the 14 th amendment did add to the overall mystery. It seems Charles Singleton was a somewhat important man in the late 1860's. Geneva's story of poverty and abandonment really is a strong wall for the plot to lean on. I thought Alonzo "Jax" Jackson's story, and his link to the case were very important plot pieces. Jackson can be a bad guy, or he can also be one of the good guys. Book was very historically detail written. Well over 500 pages this one is a bit tough to chew on sometimes. It's far too long for the actual story. However, I really do like all these types of historical fiction. It's very obvious author Jeffery Deaver did a lot of research in writing this one. The inter city vernacular was a bit much at times. Though it did add some laughs at times. Going with three stars out of a possible five stars for, "The Twelfth Card". I think what bogged it down for me was the length. There were too many passages were nothing was happening but pages went on and on. If you're a big fan of Lincoln Rhyme/ Amelia Sachs suspense thrillers fan, this one is a must.