Part of Lincoln Rhyme, book 12
First published 2016
Detective Amelia Sachs pursues a suspect through a Brooklyn department store when disaster strikes. An escalator suddenly fails, its steps collapsing and trapping a man in the mechanical gears. Sachs abandons her chase to help the victim, but the damage is done. Her target escapes while she watches a man die in agony. Sachs teams up with Lincoln Rhyme, the brilliant forensic investigator, to examine what happened. The escalator malfunction wasn't random mechanical failure. Someone deliberately sabotaged it, turning everyday machinery into a killing device. This attack marks the beginning of a larger campaign of terror. The killer they face possesses exceptional intelligence and a twisted vision. He transforms ordinary consumer products into instruments of death, making every public space a potential crime scene. As more victims fall to his ingenious traps, Sachs and Rhyme work desperately to identify him. The detective duo must decode his methods and uncover his ultimate goal before the body count climbs higher. They're racing against a murderer who has weaponized the modern world itself.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, detective-duo
Setting: Brooklyn
486 pages · Hardcover · Grand Central Publishing
Content warnings: death, graphic-violence