The Burial Hour

February 20, 2017
The abduction of a business executive on Manhattan’s Upper East Side by a man calling himself the Composer kicks off Thriller Award–winner Deaver’s intriguing, if overly complicated, 13th novel featuring forensic expert Lincoln Rhyme (after 2016’s The Steel Kiss). A witness finds a small hangman’s noose at the scene, as well as a torn currency exchange receipt, which suggests to Rhyme that the man was intending to leave the country. When the Composer later kidnaps a traveler at a remote bus stop near Naples, Italy, he leaves a little noose hanging from the bus stop bench. Rhyme and his lover, Det. Amelia Sachs, fly to Naples, where they join forces with the Italian investigating team led by hard-nosed prosecutor Dante Spiro, who’s initially dismissive of Rhyme. Meanwhile, Charlotte McKenzie, a legal liaison with the U.S. State Department, needs Rhyme’s help with the case of an American college student in Naples who’s been arrested for sexual assault. Too many twists and unlikely connections may puzzle some readers. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents.

Deaver's latest entry in the Lincoln Rhyme series takes the familiar characters to Italy in pursuit of a serial killer called The Composer. There could be no better narrator for this audiobook than Edoardo Ballerini. With his stellar acting talents and language skills, he moves fluidly among male and female characters speaking English, Italian, and English with a musical Italian accent. He fully captures the impatient and brilliant Lincoln Rhyme, who, from his wheelchair, can express himself only with his voice. He also brings to life the imperious Italian prosecutor, the earnest forest inspector who stumbles into this high-profile case, and the insane murderer. Ballerini gives each character his or her unique portrait while keeping listeners on the edge of their seats. E.Q. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine