The Bone Collector

By: Jeffery Deaver

Narrated by: David McCallum

Length: 3 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

DON'T MISS THE NBC TELEVISION SERIES LINCOLN RHYME: HUNT FOR THE BONE COLLECTOR

The first novel in the New York Times bestselling series featuring forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme—from the author of The Never Game.

“Lightning-paced…a breakneck thrill ride.”—The Wall Street Journal

Lincoln Rhyme was once a brilliant criminologist, a genius in the field of forensics—until an accident left him physically and emotionally shattered. But now a diabolical killer is challenging Rhyme to a terrifying and ingenious duel of wits. With police detective Amelia Sachs by his side, Rhyme must follow a labyrinth of clues that reaches back to a dark chapter in New York City’s past—and reach further into the darkness of the mind of a madman who won’t stop until he has stripped life down to the bone.

Includes the short story “A Perfect Plan” and a chapter from The Midnight Lock.

©1997 Jeffrey Deaver (P)16 9; 1997 Penguin Books USA Inc.

Critic reviews

"The Bone Collector is so dazzling, it makes your eyes water.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“The headlong narrative...never lets up, and there is plenty of genuine forensic knowledge in evidence. There are dramatic switcheroos up to the very last page, and a climactic battle to the death.” (Publishers Weekly)

"Deaver marries forensic work that would do Patricia Cornwell proud to a turbocharged plot that puts Benzedrine to shame.” (Booklist)

After seeing the film, I expected more.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Since I have seen the film before, the audio book was a disappointment to me. A lot of things left out. I would most likely not recommend it, especially not to someone who has read the book or seen the film. The narrator did a good job, though, not reading in a monotone manner.

What was most disappointing about Jeffery Deaver’s story?

The leaving out of a lot of details that are in the film / book.

What aspect of David McCallum’s performance would you have changed?

None - he did a good job narrating.

Did The Bone Collector inspire you to do anything?

No.

Any additional comments?

I am glad I didn't pay more for this audio book.

No more abrided books ever

This was a good enough book that I didn't feel like I wasted my credit but I could tell that a lot of good characterization and personality was left out due to it being abridged. This is the one and only time I'll ever make that mistake. From now on if there isn't an unabridged copy I'll just get the book.

I did like the narrator. David McCallum did a great job.

Good diversion

I have not seen the movie so did not have any preconceived notions of the story other than knowing who played the 2 main characters, so I envisioned Denzel and Angelina as I listened. I had not realized I downloaded an abridged version (which I never do on purpose), but the story didn't seem to suffer from being shortened. In fact, reading reviews of other unabridged Deaver books, perhaps abridged is the way to go to avoid what appears to be a habit of drowning readers in detail.
I'm conflicted about the reading by David McCallum - I think he is an excellent reader, and might be a great choice for a British mystery - perhaps Adam Dalgliesh. But this is clearly a New York story and cries out for an American reader, preferrably a native New Yorker. As much as I enjoyed McCallum's voice, there was a definite disconnect with the setting that was difficult to get over, and for that reason I've dropped it to 4 stars.

So much better than the movie

Great mystery and thriller! Very creative. Deaver, is there something we should know? You have GREAT books! Keep them coming.

Twisting end

If you could sum up The Bone Collector in three words, what would they be?

thought predictable, not

Did David McCallum do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

No.... not much different than his reading voice

Any additional comments?

Not as good as some of his later stories.

First in an Interesting Series

What did you love best about The Bone Collector?

Learning more about the origins of Rhyme and Sachs.

What did you like best about this story?

The whole idea of a paraplegic detective is intriguing from the get-go. I have read some of the later books because this one was never available on CD, and there are a lot of details in the later stories that make more sense after reading the first one in the series.

What does David McCallum bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Nothing stood out.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

If you thought Ironside was challenged, try Lincoln Rhyme!

Any additional comments?

It's a typically gruesome tale with typically detailed detective work needed to solve the mystery. I could do without some of the gratuitous violence.

Great book!!!

This is a great book! Story was amazing! I did not like the narrator at all. made the book hard to follow.

Horrible reading for an AMAZING book

Would you try another book from Jeffery Deaver and/or David McCallum?

I am currently reading/listening through Jeffery Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series. I absolutely love this series. However, I would NEVER get another book read by David McCallum even if it was a Jeffery Deaver novel.Let me just say this about this audio version. It was the bare bones of the story. I absolutely loved the story and the characters. It was just the right about of creepy and gruesome thrown in together with a kick-ass detective and a forlorn police specialist. I loved this book! However, that said I really wish they would have made this "abridged" version less abridged. It's running time is only about 3 hours whereas Deaver's other abridged versions run between 5 and 6 hours. This novel was amazing but whoever cut down the book into this abridged version should have called it not abridged, but a rough cut version. There were points in this abridged version that had me confused because they suddenly jumped to a scene that had nothing to do with what was just being spoken. Things were cut down so much that if you weren't paying attention closely you'd miss a major part in the story.Now, let me move on to McCallum's performance. Oh boy, was he the worst reader ever! There were times in the reading where I couldn't even understand what he was saying! He is a british man reading for a book set in New York with characters that are from New York. Enough said on that point. Now, let me talk about the quality of this audible. It sucked, to say the least. Not only do you have a man you can't understand, but it almost sounds like they had McCallum recording this in a bathroom on an old record then decided to change from the LP to digital audio without fixing the sound quality. It was AWFUL!

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Bone Collector?

There is nothing more that could have been cut. As stated before, this version should really be called a Rough Outline of Events rather than Abridged. It was so cut down that scenes changed when you least expected them to and with no real break for you to realize that you were now with a different set of characters in a different location.

Any additional comments?

If you really really really want to read this book I would suggest getting it from the library and actually reading it. That said, if you don't have the time and just want to start the Lincoln Rhyme series via Audible then it's not the worst purchase you could make especially since this is the ONLY abridged version out there and the unabridged version is about $50.00 if you can even find it. The only place I've found it is from the UK on Amazon.

Disappointed.

Description should mention that this is an abridgement. Having the same iconic graphic of the novel's cover makes it deceiving. Or, too easy to assume it is a version where one can read for awhile and then listen for awhile in which case, well done.

Too gorey for me...

Couldn't finish it... I'm pretty hardy when it comes to murder and mayhem, but this guy's imagination was too, too ... much for me!