Jeffery Deaver

Thrilling, riveting, suspenseful, page-flipping, sleep-depriving: all of these descriptions have been used about previous Jeffery Deaver novels. Unless Webster’s dictionary has coined a brand new term for heart-pounding, change-of-direction thrillers then Deaver’s recent novel Roadside Crosses will have to be described as just that.

Jeffery Deaver, the mega-hit-selling author of numerous best sellers such as The Bone Collector, The Vanished Man, and The Stone Monkey, featuring quadriplegic criminologist Lincoln Rhyme, has returned once again with another winner spinning a multilayered web of deceit with his newest novel showcasing heroine, Kathryn Dance. Deaver has delivered as the master of suspense with a technological thriller that preys on all our modern fears of cyber space and the mysterious world of serious online role-playing gamers.

Dance, an up and coming investigator with the California Bureau of Investigation possesses an uncanny ability to detect falsehoods simply by gauging others’ verbal and non-verbal cues. Dance, appearing in her third novel, uses her sixth sense to track down a vicious killer who uses a modern tactic of cyber-bullying and stalking through social networking and cyber space to fuel a streak of savage attacks that leave the victims either brutally murdered or clinging to their lives. As the novel progresses, the reader will discover that nothing is as it appears in our real world as well as online.

Kathryn Dance is fresh off a case (The Sleeping Doll) in which a brutal string of incidents left gaping open wounds among not only the public, but her family and colleagues as well. Now in Roadside Crosses, she must tackle a psychopath in a classic Deaver plot ripped (now cut and pasted) straight from 2009 headlines.

An opinioned and arrogant blogger, James Chilton, has been attempting to make a splash on the general California population with his headline grabbing and extremely controversial blog. In an attempt to garner as large as audience as possible, Chilton hosts a site (for the dedicated readers and Deaver fans you can check out the interactive site at www.thechiltonreport.com) that engages a wide variety of divisive topics ranging from homosexuality to environmental issues and even teen tragedies. Chilton’s increasingly popular blog spot provides an outlet for teens tragedy especially for the troubled and angered students looking for answers. Travis Brigham, a disturbed and isolated teenager, becomes the target for the angry mob of online protestors because of his involvement in the fatal car accident that took the lives of two young teenagers. Subsequently a string of brutal attacks and murders occur and the victims all have one thing in common; prior posts on The Chilton Report.

Although Dance is still dealing with the repercussions of her previous case, she is thrust into the investigation after the violence escalates and puts the community into a frenzy both in the real world as well as in the cyber world. She soon finds herself pursuing Travis Brigham, the troubled teen, who finds his sanctuary in online role-playing games where the violence is all too real.

In an intoxicating novel, Deaver utilizes twists and turns to keep the reader flipping pages into the early morning hours. Never is anything as it seems. Visit Deaver’s website by clicking here.

Jeffery Deaver will make a rare Michigan appearance at the Ann Arbor Kerrytown BookFest, 4 P.M., Sunday September 13. Click here for a complete BookFest Schedule.