In the age of the CSI franchise and Court TV, the sea of forensic medicine, fairly uncharted in fiction when Deaver's first Linocln Rhyme novel, The Bone Collector, was published in 1997, has been explored extensively. It no longer offers a thrill for the reader to uncover clues by sifting through the dirt on the victim's shoes. With that hook fairly dulled, it falls on the author to reach into his extensive toolbox of storytelling techniques and bring out something different in order to keep readers caring. 

In THE TWELFTH CARD, the sixth novel featuring former crime scene investigator Lincoln Rhyme, Deaver introduces us to Thompson Boyd, a hitman so totally devoid of feeling that he occasionally throws curse words into his conversations because that's what people who feel do. Boyd's current target is Virginia Settle, a 16-year-old high school student in Harlem who we meet doing research into the life of one of her ancestors. The initial hit goes wrong, and Virginia escapes. Soon she is brought to the attention of Rhyme, who takes the role of protector and begins his single-minded pursuit of Boyd through an ever-escalating game of cat and mouse, as the hitman draws closer and closer to his victim. There's betrayal, mistaken identitys, uncovered secrets, and more than enough twists to satisfy Deaver's fans, including a startling revelation about Rhyme himself. There's also a gripping sub-plot involving a regular supporting player - police lieutenant Lon Sellitto - that nearly steals the spotlight from the wheelchair-bound Rhyme. 

Yet, for all of that, the book falls flat. Partly because crime scene investigation has reached a saturation point in society, and partly because of the subject matter that Deaver chooses to tackle. The story of Virginia Settle and the world she lives in is stark and urban, but Deaver takes it a little too far - his determined use of urban vernacular is distracting and almost parodic. A third reason is that, with each book, the series has become more formulaic; I no longer worry that Rhyme, Thom, or Amelia Sachs will ever have any harm come to them because Deaver seems far too fond of them to let anything bad happen. Unfortunately, this dilutes a lot of the dramatic tension that he spends so much time and talent developing. 

In light of Deaver's track record, I continue to look forward to his books - there's always something in them that will make you think and clutch the arms of your chair a time or two. And if every once in awhile he puts something out that's a swing and a miss, like THE TWELFTH CARD, well, the times that he solidly connects are more than worth it.