Part of Lincoln Rhyme, book 5
First published 2004
Lincoln Rhyme faces his strangest case yet when a murderer disappears from an impossible situation. The killer strikes at a New York City music school, then barricades himself inside a classroom. Police surround the room within minutes. They hear a scream, then a gunshot. When they break down the door, they find nothing but empty space. Rhyme and his partner Amelia Sachs must track a criminal who uses illusion as his weapon. The investigators call him "the conjurer" as bodies pile up around the city. Each crime scene defies logic and physical laws. Time runs short as the killer prepares his ultimate trick. Rhyme and Sachs race to see through the deception before the conjurer pulls off a final vanishing act that could destroy everything they care about.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller, detective, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, cat-and-mouse, impossible-crime
Setting: New York City
560 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Pocket Books