Rating: 
Summary: Jeffery Deaver is amazing!
Review: While the twists and turns in this fast-paced story are sometimes a wee bit stretched, the story, the familiar characters, and the surprises are up to Deaver's very high standards. This is another "can't put it down" book that is a most exciting, enjoyable read.
Rating: 
Summary: BORING READING
Review: Tbis book had to be the most boring I have read in a long time The plot is not even believable, the dialogue chapter after chapter was a drag to even read. I stop after about the 6th Chapter. I can only think that Deaver must be under contract to produce so many books a year and this one is what I call a "pipeline product" I am so sorry that I purchased it. If this is the best Deaver can do I suggest he gives up writing. A perfect book for anyone with insomnia.
Rating:
Summary: Deaver Never Ceases To Amaze Me
Review: While I must admit that the entire insect thing was not all that interesting to me, once again Jeffery Deaver has managed to create a magnificent piece of literature. Nobody spins a web of mystery quite like him and takes a reader on more of a rollercoaster ride. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something else comes out of the woodwork. There is a simple word for that: SUSPENSE, and Deaver is a master of it.
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Summary: No Deaver-ation from the formulae
Review: After finishing this book, I was able to put it down without any feelings of anticipation for the next 'Lincoln Rhyme' novel, or indeed any subsequent work by the author.Any book in a series featuring the same characters will have some carry-over of information, but I see this as an unavoidable and acceptable facet of a story, and is not the cause of my disappointment. The book has some things to commend it, like an intriguing opening and some interesting characters. The pace is terrific. But these positives are outweighed by the many negatives. I found far too little in the way of excitement in the story, with some of the ancilliary characters to be mere stereotypes, their actions predictable, and robbing the plot of much of its tension. This is fiction, and requires some suspension of disbelief in order for the reader to continue, but I was unable to do suspend my disbelief for much of the remaining half of the story. In retrospect, I got the feeling the writer was either tired or had a set word limit. Either way the compression of the story relative to the first half was profound. Consequently, many of the scenes were dealt with so briefly as to lack credibility. The court room scene in particular had me shaking my head, and convinced Deaver had never set foot inside a court room, let alone witnessed an actual *trial*. So too, as in previous works by Deaver, there were gaps or flaws in the presentation of forensic work, something a conscientious author would not have done. The repeated mention of brand names had me checking the cover on several occassions to see if it carried sponsor's details, so invasive was this practice. A problem that many authors have is making the location come to life for the reader. Here again, Deaver failed me. If I was an American, I (hope I) would have had little trouble imagining the location. But I am not. I had to refer to an atlas to get a feeling for the location. Furthermore, Deaver resorted to simplistic ways of letting the reader know which parts of the (included) map were being scrutinized, by mentioning grid reference points. This too, was invasive and damaged the reading. Contrast this with the excellent work in John Connolly's two novels (Dark Hollow and Every Dead Thing), where I was able to imagine myself in his locations, and move around them without 'getting lost'. If someone is to include a quote by another person in their book, then I tend to feel it should at least be checked for errors prior to publishing. In summary, the book is not without merit, but a reader must decide if pace and the comfort of known characters are worth the obvious deficiencies, particularly in the latter stages of the book.
Rating:
Summary: A definite page turner!
Review: I am never disappointed when I read Jeffrey Deaver's novels. I first came upon his stories when I read the "Bone Collector." I was pleased to see that they later came out with a movie about that book. I do hope that they make a movie with this latest novel "The Empty Chair." This was a really fabulous sequel to his last book. I always find sequels to be laking the same energy and suspense the first books had. That is definitely not the case with this story. It has all the suspense, suprise and excitement the previous story had and more. I can't wait for another adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Running on empty
Review: Sorry folks, but there's less reason and too much Rhyme to Deaver's latest. The Carolina setting not only leaves Rhyme and Sachs adrift, but the author too. If Rhyme solves another mystery by analysing soil deposits, I'm going to ask for my cash back. Thin on plot throughout, it crams too much exposition into the final pages and, far from delivering a trademark Deaver double-whammy ending, it just peters out. Sorry, but it's time to put the forensic duo out to pasture for good (provided, of course, the soil will sustain them).
Rating: 
Summary: Great Read
Review: Jeffrey Deaver brings back my two fav characters in Sachs and Rhyme (what's up with Donahe in the move?) The Empty Chair takes you on a rollicking ride AGAIN and serves to surprise in the end. I'd recommend all the Deaver books as I haven't been disappointed yet.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Disappointment
Review: Trite and contrived. I could not wait to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Big Payoff Makes It Worthwhile
Review: " The Empty Chair" in it's first twenty pages gives you a scene so horrific Deaver has a hard time keeping the pace. The story begins to drag about 50 pages in as the manhunt for the insect boy gets underway. But dear reader press on because the last 150 pages are classic Deaver. He not only pulls the rug out from under you once, but four times. And just when you think everything has played out there is one more twist. While not as lean and fast paced as his previous books this is still an intelligent and satisfying thriller.
Rating: 
Summary: What happened here?
Review: I listened to the abridged audiobook version of this book. Not having read the book itself, I don't know how much of my dissatisfaction is due to the abridgement. The premise is that the protagonist is in town for surgery. There's a big build up followed by a big let down. I'll try not to give too much away here, but was there or wasn't there an operation when all is said and done? The other problem was the reader. As in past Deaver audios, the reader is fine for the continuing characters. But in this book, his Southern accents are awful. The 16-year old boy sounds like an 80-year old man, ala Walter Brennen's Granpappy Amos on the Real McCoys. Very irritating.
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