The Bone Collector (book)

Summary
The Bone Collector is a 1997 thriller novel by Jeffery Deaver. The book introduces the character of Lincoln Rhyme, a quadriplegic forensic criminalist.

Plot
Two colleagues, T.J. (Tammie Jean) Colfax and John Ulbrecht, catch a cab at a New York City airport. After a brief ride through New York, they find themselves in an abandoned warehouse district. The cab's doors are locked and the driver ignores their pleas to let them out.

The next day NYPD Patrol Officer Amelia Sachs is called to a possible homicide near some train tracks in Midtown. Her initial search is fruitless until she spots what she thinks is a dead tree protruding from the ground near the tracks. She climbs down the embankment and as she gets closer she sees that it's actually a hand sticking out of the ground, with the flesh removed and a large diamond ring placed on one bony finger. She digs into the earth and uncovers the face of John Ulbrecht, who has been buried alive.

Amelia calls in the find and secures the area by stopping a train and traffic up above.

Quadriplegic and ex-forensic criminalist Lincoln Rhyme is waiting for a visitor at his apartment when the doorbell rings. His caregiver Thom answers the door and informs him that he has two unexpected visitors, homicide detectives Lon Sellitto and Jerry Banks. Rhyme tells Thom that he doesn't want to see them but ultimately agrees to speak with them.

Sellitto is Rhyme's former partner, and the officers are there to get Rhyme's help on the kidnapping and murder case, but he says he is in no state to help. Sellitto says that all he wants is for Rhyme to look over the case file and give them insight into what it means. The detective explains that the kidnapper still has one hostage they need to find. At this point Rhyme's expected visitor arrives and he asks the detectives to leave, telling them he will read over the case notes. He finds himself drawn into the case, and agrees to work on it with the help of Amelia Sachs as his eyes on the ground.

The killer is Peter Taylor, Rhyme's doctor. Real name Colin Stanton, he lost his family years ago when Lincoln failed to fully check out a crime scene. The suspect was hiding under a bed and started a shootout in the street, gunning down Stanton's family. Stanton subsequently had a breakdown and was admitted to a hospital where he attempted suicide. Once released, he planned to murder a now-quadriplegic Lincoln Rhyme, and created the identity of Peter Taylor. The name was inspired by James Schneider, a New York serial killer from the early 1900s - "Schneider" is "tailor" in German. However, when Stanton/Taylor realized that Lincoln was becoming suicidal he had to give him a reason to live so that he could murder him. He took on Schneider's alias, "The Bone Collector", and began copying his crimes. Stanton picked his victims at random and thought of them as Schneider's own.

At the climax, Stanton coaxes his way into Rhyme's apartment, murdering Rhyme's former superior, Polling, who had come to admit his own guilt for his perceived role in Rhyme's accident. The investigating team had a witness to the crime Rhyme was investigating when he was injured and didn't need Rhyme's testimony. Stanton reveals his true identity to Rhyme, and his plan to murder all the people he cares about then slowly kill him. Following a struggle, Rhyme manages to bite Stanton's neck, tearing into an artery and mortally wounding him.

After Stanton is taken away, Rhyme is convinced to assist in another investigation, and accepts the offer under condition that he's allowed to continue working with Sachs.

Characters

 * Lincoln Rhyme
 * Amelia Sachs
 * Lon Sellitto
 * Thom Reston
 * Peter Taylor
 * Jerry Banks