The Midnight Lock

September 20, 2021
In MWA Grand Master Deaver’s disappointing 15th Lincoln Rhyme novel (after 2018’s The Cutting Edge), Rhyme, a former cop who does consulting as a forensic expert, must deal with the fallout from a devastating courtroom embarrassment. His conclusions about traces of sand are discredited on cross-examination, leading to the acquittal of a known criminal who was charged with the murder of “a psychotic wannabe gangbanger.” As this occurs in the middle of a taut gubernatorial race, one of the candidates, the New York City mayor, responds by banning the use of civilian consultants such as Rhyme. That places the criminalist, and his wife, Amelia Sachs, who’s an NYPD detective, in a tough spot as a creep known as the Locksmith begins breaking into women’s apartments, leaving behind evidence he invaded their space. One of his targets finds a note with the word reckoning that’s signed “the Locksmith” on top of some panties. While the mastermind Rhyme seeks has an unusual m.o., the derivative cat-and-mouse plot pulls its punches. Hopefully, Deaver will return to form next time. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelfman Schneider Literary.