Product Description

New Year's Eve, 1999. After an early morning machine-gun attack by a madman man called the Digger leaves dozens dead in the Washington, D.C. subway, the mayor's office receives a message demanding twenty million dollars by midnight or more innocents will die. With the ransom note as the only evidence, Special Agent Margaret Lukas calls upon retired FBI agent and the nation's premiere document examiner Parker Kincaid, to join the manhunt for the Digger -- or for hundreds, the first moments of the new century will be their last on earth.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #167362 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 480 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780671038441
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Thriller readers can always count on getting extra value from Jeffery Deaver--strong plots, fascinating research, believable characters, and plenty of surprise endings. Like in The Terminator, the bad guys in The Devil's Teardrop just won't quit, and they create enough havoc in the last 50 pages to fill a whole new book.

Although Deaver's brilliant, wheelchair-bound forensic expert Lincoln Rhyme makes a guest appearance, the muscular scientist in charge here is Parker Kincaid--an expert in document analysis who'd much rather be checking the authenticity of letters from Thomas Jefferson than figuring out when a crazed shooter known as the Digger will strike again. But it's New Year's Eve, 1999, and the Digger has begun a reign of terror--promising to shoot into crowds in Washington, D.C., every four hours until he's paid $20 million. As Kincaid searches an odd ransom note for clues (and tries to maintain a low profile so that his vindictive ex-wife won't get custody of his young kids), we get to know the Digger better. He is a frighteningly invisible character with serious brain damage, who methodically obeys a set of instructions from an unknown handler. We also learn many amazing facts about paper, ink, and handwriting analysis, and watch as a relationship slowly and reluctantly develops between Kincaid and the FBI agent in charge. All this as the devious Deaver leads us down several garden paths overflowing with dead bodies. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly
starring Denzel Washington.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA-A gripping thriller that grabs readers' interest on page one and doesn't let go until the last exciting word. Parker Kincaid is a retired FBI forensic document examiner who is compelled to put himself and his family at risk in order to help save the lives of hundreds of Washington, DC, residents. It is the last day of 1999 and a grisly machine-gun attack in the Dupont Circle subway station has left dozens dead and wounded. Authorities have been notified that the killing spree will continue every four hours unless the mayor pays $20 million in ransom. When the lead terrorist is killed in a hit-and-run accident on his way to the money drop, the ransom note becomes the FBI's sole piece of evidence. Intricate forensic details are explained in easy terms so that uninitiated readers will understand every clue. With its fast-moving story line, this novel will take teens on a roller-coaster ride of adventure with twists and turns that lead up to the surprising conclusion.
Anita Short, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Absolute Original
This book was phenonmenal! The plot was completely original: using an extortion letter to figure out the criminal's next target and steps for capture on New Year's Eve. The author researched the information very very thoroughly. I had no idea so much detail was entailed in document forensics! From the writing of the words, to conjuctions and sentence structures. It was about thrill to read this book! Each page revealed and new twist. The ending seemed a bit cliche, but Mr. Deavers provided an original twist.

This is a must read. Great GREAT JOB!

Devil's Teardrop will grab and hold you from the first page.
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.

Cheese, but good cheese
I really enjoyed this book, but several things about it bugged me. First of all, I think I'm getting tired of Deaver's writing style. The problem is that because it's a Deaver book, I knew well ahead of time that there would be a twist at the end. I didn't know exactly what it would be, but I knew it was coming. So when it did, I wasn't all that surprised; instead, I just thought, Yep, there he goes again. Secondly, I'm well aware that to read a story like this one must suspend disbelief, but the stuff that happens in this one is really very ridiculous. I won't go into any of that for the sake of anyone who hasn't read it yet, but quite a few scenes had me rolling my eyes. I find it really odd that what starts out as an intelligent, very well researched novel descends into a sort of comedy of errors where every scene plays out in the least believable way.

But despite all my whining here, I enjoyed the book for what it was: a thriller that's meant to keep you guessing until the end, more fantasy than reality. It's not as good as A Maiden's Grave, but it's a good time-killer.