Rating: 
Summary: Poor plot sequence and stock secondary characters
Review: I was very impressed with "The Bone Collector", Deaver's first novel featuring the forensic analyst Lincoln Rhyme. The character and his situation were unique in mystery literature, and the novel taught me more about forensic science than I ever thought possible. I bought Deaver's next book featuring Rhyme, and I hope it's just as good as that one. It better be, because "The Devil's Teardrop" is a couple of steps backward, especially for a writer with the talent of Jeffery Deaver.The science and explanation of same are still first-rate - I learned a great deal about document examination. Deaver's main characters - Parker Kincaid, the document examiner; Margaret Lukas, the FBI agent in charge of the case, and Cage, her colleague-...-supervisor, are all believable and fleshed-out people. It's the secondary characters - Mayor Kennedy; Kincaid's ex-wife Joan, and Wendell Jefferies, the mayor's aide-de-camp, among others - who are the problem. They appear to be taken from the generic pile of stock secondary characters that you can find in any B-movie that's been made over the last forty years. You can spot what they'll say or do at least ten minutes before they say or do it. As if that isn't bad enough, Deaver does these weird little jumps in his plotline - he doesn't explain how his characters knew an event was going to happen, or how they got where they are now, until they actually get there and/or save the day - then, and only then, does he have his characters explain what they did. This is an extremely poor sequencing of the plot and is, to say the least, extremely confusing. I still look forward to the next Lincoln Rhyme book, but I hope Deaver hasn't decided that the plot devices in this book are a good idea - because if he has, I for one will drop him like a hot potato.
Rating: 
Summary: Thr Rollercoaster Read of the summer!!!
Review: No need to go to your local rollercoaster for chills and thrill this summer; just read Jeffery Deaver's "The Devil's Teardrop." Parker Kincaid gave up the FBI in order to gain custody of his two children. Now, on the last night of the year he is called into action to decypher a note left by an assassin. The target, various places in Washington,D.C. The purpose, to gain $20 million to stop the carnage. As a forensic document examiner, Kincaid pulls from the note various clues as to who the gun man is and where he will strike again. Into the mix Deaver has added Special Agent Margaret Lucas, Cage another FBI agent with extra ordinary influence and various other characters. Everyone has a hidden aggenda and everyone wears a mask. This novel starts out slow, but picks up speed after the first two gun incidents. From there on it is one puzzle after another. Parker Kincaid reminds the reader of Deaver's other hero, Lincoln Rhyme, in that their area of expertise is beyond the norm. Rhyme is used as a minor consultant in this tale, but is it Parker who captures the reader and makes you hold on tight. Every twist and dead end added up to an in your face thriller. Each time you believe the problem is solved, another facet is added to the maze. This is a great read and shouldn't be overlooked. Parker Kincaid and Lincoln Rhyme give Jeffery Deaver excellent characters to build multiple novels on. I can't wait for the next tale of either men...Hope Jeffery Deaver doesn't wait too long!
Rating: 
Summary: There is Nobody to Turn off the Assassin
Review: It's the last day of the year in Washington DC. It's morning rush hour. All of a sudden a man lets loose with a machine gun in the Dupont Circle Metro station. Later a note is delivered to city hall, demanding $20 million or else the Digger, an emotionless and programmed assassin working for a criminal mastermind, will let loose with his machine gun every four hours until midnight. The mayor agrees to pay. Because of the holidays a lot of the FBI brass are not at work. Special Agent Margaret Lukas sees a potential career making case if she can catch the shooter while her chief is away. Then comes a major complication. The Digger's boss, the mastermind, is run over and killed by a trunk on the way to the money drop, so now there is no one to turn him off. Now Lukas has to catch him, post haste. The only lead she has is the ransom note, so she asks for help from Parker Kincaid, a forensic document examiner, who has retired from the FBI and is now facing a custody battle with his selfish ex-wife. He quit the FBI because a case he was working four years earlier had put his children at risk and he promised to never let that happen again. But he calls a sitter after he learns a child has died during metro shooting and goes to work with Lukas and her team, taking the old-fashioned approaching to studying the note with a magnifying glass, including the "devil's teardrops" (the dots above the lowercase i's). But as hard as the good guys work, the Digger always seems to be one step ahead of them. This story really zips along and it has an unbelievable twist at the end that you'll never figure out. Actually, maybe that twist is a bit too unbelievable. Still, it's a rip-roaring read that is impossible to put down. I know, because I read it at the breakfast table, on the way to work, during lunch, in the bath when I got home and well into the evening.
Rating:
Summary: You won't cry over this one
Review: A silent, non-descript man enters the D.C. subway on New Year's Eve morning and silently kills 20 people without being noticed, melding into the crowd and mayhem. Shortly thereafter, the mayor receives a letter that the killing will commence every four hours thereafter until $20 million is paid. The catch, the letter-writer is not the killer, but is the only one who can contact the killer and stop the slaughter. On his way to pick up the money, the letter-writer is killed, with the letter serving as the only clue to stopping the killing. With that, Deaver sends the reader on a highly-charged, action-packed thrill ride that we come to expect from the creator of the Lincoln Rhyme series. The FBI calls on Parker Kincaid, former FBI forensic document and handwriting specialist, to help track the shadowy killer before more people meet their maker. Currently in a custody battle for his children, Kincaid reluctantly assists the lead FBI agent, Margaret Lukas, herself with past secrets that could jeopardize the mission. Even Lincoln Rhyme makes an appearance to add flavor to the mix. The pace is frenetic throughout, not letting up even to the last pages. The ruthless killer trying to contact his partner to see if the killing is to continue, Kincaid being lead down one false trail after another, Lukas battling her own demons as well as the D.C. mayor who is trying to save his political career amid the carnage, and a mysterious reporter lurking in the shadows. Enjoy the ride, but you'll need to hang on!
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but too many holes
Review: With an intriguing premise and engaging characters, not to mention a relatively enjoyable pace, this book starts off well, but disintegrates at the end. The characters are well-fleshed out for the most part and the suspense and guessing game are first rate. However, there were three considerable flaws that downgraded the book from a first rate thriller to Grisham-style reading. First, the fact that Parker and Lukas could think about anything other than catching the killer is ludicrous. Second, the important phone call toward the end of the book from bad guy to bad guy is unbelievable, I believe the authorities monitor all activities and conversations of felons. Lastly, the final shooting in the book was simply beyond the realm of reason. Still, not a bad read, just odd that Deaver goes into such arduous details about foresnic processes but so sloppily handles some of the plot development.
Rating:
Summary: Devil's Teardrop will grab and hold you from the first page.
Review: Devil's Teardrop is an edge of the seat thriller that is the perfect introduction into the diabolical world that is Jeffrey Deaver's mind. If you read any of his prior works, then you pretty much know what to expect. For those of you who is a first time reader of Deaver's books, such as myself, then prepare for the most intensifying reading before Y2K. Which is ironic, because that is exactly the date that this story takes place. At 9a.m., Dec. 31, 1999, a mass murder takes place in the Metro Station of Washington D.C. committed by a man only known as the Digger. After the murders, a note is left in a phone booth near the Mayor's office. It warns that if $20 million is not paid in full within the next four hours, another mass murder will commence. This will happen every four hours all the way until the midnight hour until the money is paid. To make matters worse, if the writer of the note is killed, the Digger will continue to kill. If the writer of the note is captured, the Digger will continue to kill. With time against them, former forensics expert Parker Kincaid and Special Agent Margaret Lukas have only four hours to decipher the note before another massacre occurs. Devil's Teardrop is wonderfully written. Deaver's knowledge of forensics and law enforcement slang thrusts the reader into the psychotic and dangerous life of the FBI. The characters have real personalities that help bring the book to life and it successfully thrusts you into this alternate world of chaos and disorder. A highly recommended anyone who likes suspense and thrillers. Then again, it's a highly recommended book for just about anyone who likes to read.
Rating:
Summary: EXPLOSIVE
Review: A dynamic, most explosive book, made for the modern era, craft for the modern mind, tells of this blood thirsty- mad killer, emotionless with no feeling and even a sense of self. Unleashed, and Loosed in the street of Washington. His goal is to kill in a scheduled blood bath that is to take place 4 times within a single day. Time is of the essence, the FBI and the local police have their hands full, in this New Years eve. Already more than a dozen people have been killed early this morning in the metro station shooting. And more is doomed to be: @ four, eight, and twelve if a demand for $ 20 million is not met before the prescribed hours. "The end is night." Cry the note, which was the only link to the perp, "The Digger is loose and there is no way to stop him." The stand off is on between good and evil, and evil seems to be prevailing, even in death. The perpetrator, entitled the UNSUB (unidentified subject), has been killed on his way to the drop by a truck, a freak accident that leaves the FBI with only a corpse that might as well has a John Doe stamped to his forehead. The body is untraceable, no profile, no connection or identification, and no record. Clean as pure water, nothing to go by, and the worse is yet to come, the digger now can't be stopped, he will continue to kill passed 4:00, 8:00 till midnight... may be, that is why the end is night!!?? A book that will render the mystery lovers capricious, and keep the action ones on the edge of each page. It is more than a page turner, it is also a mind juggler. (3 ½ Stars)
Rating:
Summary: The eve of horror
Review: THE DEVIL'S TEARDROP is a suspense/thriller that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys the ups and downs of a roller coaster ride. Deaver lets your imagination work as you try to figure out his villain. You think you know who the mastermind is, but do you really? You will want to know what happens next as each chapter leaves you wanting more. The Digger who is he really?
The Digger looks like you, the Digger looks like me. He walks down the wintry streets the way anybody would, shoulders drawn together against the damp December air....
Maybe he's fat, maybe he's thin. Looking like you, looking like me. Nobody ever notices the Digger and that's one of the reasons he's so very good at what he does....
The proceeding excerpt from chapter 1 introduces us to the Digger, who is our villain. The villain is common looking and never sticks out in a crowd. He is about to terrorize the citizens of Washington D.C. The Digger is programmed to attack every four hours unless twenty million dollars is delivered to his accomplice. The plot thickens when suddenly his partner in crime is killed in a freak accident. The problem lies with the sudden death of his friend, see he is the only one who can contact the Digger and shut him down and the only evidence is the ransom note. That brings us to the best FBI forensic guy for the job, Parker Kincaid.
Former document examiner Parker Kincaid, top specialist in his field, is reluctant to help. He is a divorced from his wife and has custody of his two small children. He was working another case when a killer had threatened his family. They caught the suspect but now his boy has nightmares and Parker doesn't know what to do. This is why he no longer wished to work for the FBI. He knew he didn't want to risk his family again but the guilt of all the innocent people being slaughtered by the Digger turned out to be too much. Agent Margret Lukas agreed to keep his identity a secret and to protect his family.
Special Agent Margaret Lukas is a determined woman. She is on the fast track to move her way to the top. This could be the case to do just that. The Digger is her first case to be in charge. Lukas has no family to go home to and devotes all her time on the case. She works hard and puts in long hours. She has only one thing on her mind and that is the Digger. The Digger is the destructive force that has no regret for human life. Deaver notes from an interview from Book Page August 1999;
I wanted a complete cipher. He really has no condition other than just brain damage. I'm so sick of the abused child who turns into the psychotic killer. And here's a case where I wanted, not some run-of-the-mill cheap psychological explanation for why somebody was the way he was. I just wanted a killer. It would be like trying to profile a gun. He is simply a tool. That, to me, was completely terrifying.
I believe Deaver was successful in achieving his goal with the Digger. I feel a sense of horror when the Digger attacks his victims. The Digger acts as if it was an every day occurrence and there was nothing wrong with his actions. The Digger would kill and go about the rest of
his time acting as if nothing has happened. He is waiting for his next attack like a roller coaster approaches its first hill and the FBI following close behind.
I feel THE DEVIL'S TEARDROP is best is described as a roller coaster ride. The excitement of the story has peaks and valleys. Deaver purposely tries to hold your excitement with the search for clues for forensic evidence. Parker searches through each letter in the ransom note to find clues for the next location. Each lead brings anticipation. You as the reader feel like you're involved in the chase as you search through the crowds to spot the Digger. The excitement rises like the hill of the roller coaster. Is that him, what about her? Than all of a sudden gun fire rings out, people panic and scatter. The roller coaster climaxes at the top. The agents look all around but can't seem to focus on one person. The roller coaster spirals down the hill. As the crowd dissipates the Digger is nowhere to be seen. The agents grow frustrated and settle down as they realize the Digger has escaped again. The roller coaster car comes to a stop. The coaster goes through this feverish ride few more times until they finally have a man trapped in a school bus and open fire on him. As the gun fire stops the suspect is found dead. The FBI believes they have their man. But do they? The truth will only be known by reading the book.
When reading THE DEVIL'S TEARDROP the peaks and valleys of the ride will keep you wanting more and you may find you're not able to put down the book. The Digger is a great villain because of his ambiguity. This way Deaver doesn't allow you to feel sorry for him. The idea that a human being could commit such a terrible act of violence would anger and terrify most anybody. Each chapter will keep you wanting more.
Rating:
Summary: The Devil's Teardrop
Review: Sure wish Mr. Deaver actually READ the Tolkien trilogy before alluding, erroneously, to characters. sigh.....
Rating:
Summary: Deaver's Best
Review: Of all of Jeff Deaver's books, I enjoyed this one the most. I particularly liked how he incorporated something about handwriting (the devil's teardrop) into a suspense/thriller like this. The characters are interesting, the plot takes the appropriate twists, and the writing held my interest page by page. I highly recommend this novel for anyone who likes something slightly different than the norm.
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