Book info

• Title The Devil's Teardrop
• Author Jeffery Deaver
• Year 1999
• Genre Thriller

9am, 31st December. A man gets onto the packed escalator of a metro station and fires a silenced machine gun through a paper bag. He escapes without being spotted in the chaos that follows. A note is delivered to the mayor of Washington, D.C., demanding $20 million, or the writer will instruct the gunman to strike again, at 4 pm, 8 pm and midnight. The mayor decides to pay up. But then a man is killed in a hit and run accident - and his fingerprints match the ones on the note. With the brains behind the operation dead, there's no way of stopping the gunman killing again, and again, and again... The only evidence the FBI have is the note. And Parker Kincaid, forensic document expert, is the only man who can stop the killer. But he's running out of time...

Thoughts

It’s New Year’s Eve and a killer called The Digger is shooting people at random. The FBI have a ransom note which needs to be responded to before he goes on his biggest spree yet. They call in ex-agent Parker Kincaid, who is an expert in examining documents to find the clues they need.

As you would expect in a Jeffrey Deaver novel, there are plenty of twists and turns, especially towards the end, and it’s never as simple as it seems. I’m used to reading Lincoln Rhyme books, but no matter who the protagonist is, they are a) not going to have an easy time of it and b) going to make a great story as they work to catch the killer.

Parker seems to be pretty uptight, although he is in the middle of a custody case so it’s hardly surprising. His love for his children is immense although may be a little overstated. At several points, I was like: “We get it!” but it just ramps up how much he really wants to protect them.

Things are set up perfectly, technical bits explained without being patronising and the structure of the story is great. It takes place over one evening, with each chapter a new time, with the hours marching ever onwards.

Rating: 3 / 5