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The Twelfth Card (2005)
A high-school girl in Harlem, Geneva Settle, is the target of a ruthless professional killer—Thompson Boyd—who has been hired to murder her for reasons unknown. His first attempt, in a deserted museum
early one morning, is a failure but it's clear to Lincoln Rhyme that he's going to strike again, from clues the killer leaves behind, one of which is the twelfth card in the tarot deck, The Hanged Man, whose
meaning resonates eerily throughout the story.
Assisted by Fred Dellray, Mel Cooper and Lon Sellitto (suffering from a severe case of shattered nerves due to a near miss by the killer), Rhyme and partner
Amelia Sachs work frantically to learn who the hit man and his partner are and when they will strike next, all the while trying to crack a very "cold" case: Rhyme believes that Geneva may have been
targeted because of a paper she's writing about her ancestor, Charles Singleton, a former slave who was instrumental in the civil rights movement in the 1860s, but who was arrested for theft and disgraced.
In his correspondence Charles wrote about a "secret," that could have tragic consequences if revealed. This secret, which Rhyme is convinced will provide the key to why Geneva is in danger,
revolves around some mysterious doings in the area known as Gallows Heights, a neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan that in the 1860s was a tense mix of wealthy financiers, civil rights leaders,
political crooks like Boss Tweed, and working-class laborers and thugs. What was the truth behind the crime Charles was accused of? And what was his secret? Does it have to do with stolen gold? Or does it have a far
broader implications?
Other complications keep the pot boiling: Rhyme is struggling through extensive therapy; will it have any effect on his quadriplegic conditions? And fiercely independent Geneva Settle
battles both the killers and her protectors to maintain order in her life so that she can escape from Harlem to college and Europe as soon as possible.
The Twelfth Card
takes place over two days' time and is Deaver's typical cat-and-mouse chase, culminating in several unguessable twists and turns. And, yes, for anyone wondering, readers will finally learn the answer to the missing-shoe murder from the final chapter of
The Vanished Man.
Reviews:
"Lincoln Rhyme, Deaver's popular paraplegic detective, returns in a robust thriller that demonstrates Deaver's unflagging ability to entertain. ...this
is one of the more lively thrillers of the year and will be a significant bestseller." — Publishers Weekly
"A new Lincoln Rhyme novel is cause for excitement among fans of twisty-turny thrillers.
This time out, Rhyme, the quadriplegic forensic investigator, is trying to find out why a man was stalking a high-school student. Turns out it might have something to do with the death of one of the student's
ancestors nearly 140 years ago. Deaver, who must have been born with a special plot-twist gene, somehow manages, in every book, to pull two or three big surprises out of his hat. He also has a knack for drawing us
immediately into the story. For some readers, it's his detailed description of investigative techniques; for others, it's Rhyme himself, the crusty, bad-tempered (but secretly lovable) detective who, with
the help of his protege (and lover), the beautiful Amelia Sachs, solves crimes that most other investigators couldn't begin to crack. The Rhyme novels are among the cleverest of contemporary detective fiction."
—Booklist
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