'Cold Moon' (Jeffery Deaver)

Deaver’s great. His novels are always a little heavy, and his forensic and geographical descriptions tend to be long and self-indulgent, but the sheer quality of his writing and his sink-your-teeth-in storylines typically transform those quirks into positives. He’s also the king of the New York City setting.

For me, Deaver’s greatest talent is creating strong, memorable characters. The cynical and brilliant paraplegic, Lincoln Rhyme. Amelia Sachs, the speed freak, who is constantly chewing her nails and pulling out strands of her hair. The splendidly dressed decoy cop, Fred Dellray. And those are just the good guys.

In The Cold Moon, Deaver writes it a little more complicated than usual, and gives us a lot more insight into the personalities at work. There are twists and turns, surprises and suspense, homicide and human drama – and all the while, the Watchmaker, a sadistic serial killer obsessed with time, is leading Rhyme’s team into a merry maze of murder.

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