Lincoln Rhyme has travelled to a world-famous spinal cord injuries center in North Carolina for some risky, experimental surgery. It may make him a tiny bit better, it may kill him. But before he has a chance to undergo it, the local police department are drafting in Rhyme and Amelia, using their forensic skills to help find two women kidnapped by a psychotic young man known locally as the Insect Boy. After a cat and mouse game through the abandoned swamps of North Carolina, Lincoln and Amelia manage to find him - then Amelia, convinced of his innocence, breaks the boy out of jail. And Lincoln has to find them both, while Amelia uses all the skills her mentor and lover has taught her to evade him. Her actions are to have more disastrous consequences than either of them anticipate ...

當代偵探小說巨匠

傑佛瑞．迪佛 JEFFERY DEAVER

一九五○年出生於芝加哥郊區的傑佛瑞．迪佛，從小即嶄露寫作的天分，他在十一歲時便完成個人第一部小說，而後更以詩作、小說得過多項文學獎。他曾當過記者、民謠歌手；從密蘇里大學新聞系畢業後，一度為雜誌社撰稿；之後又進入福特翰大學就讀法律系，取得學位後，曾在華爾街工作數年，而也就是在這段漫長的通勤時日裡，他開始以自己所熱愛的偵探小說進行創作。

他至今已出版近二十本小說，作品被譯成二十五種以上語文版本。在他眾多的作品中，最受矚目的是讓他躋身暢銷作家之列的『神探萊姆』系列，其中《人骨拼圖》被環球影業公司改拍成電影，由丹佐．華盛頓和安吉莉娜．裘莉主演。

迪佛不僅是全美各大暢銷書榜的常客，亦曾獲『安東尼小說獎』提名、兩度獲選『艾勒里．昆恩讀書會』年度最佳短篇小說獎，以及五度獲美國偵探作家協會提名『艾德嘉獎』等多項榮譽，《空椅》一書亦曾榮獲『W.H.史密斯好讀獎』。毫無疑問的，傑佛瑞．迪佛是當代偵探小說界最耀眼的大師級作家！

傑佛瑞．迪佛官方網站：www.jefferydeaver.com