The Edge by Jeffery Deaver

The Edge is a stand-alone thriller and not a Lincoln Rhymes novel.  The first several Lincoln Rhymes books were really good, but some of the more recent ones have not  satisfied me. At any rate, Deaver introduces a new character who is not connected with the Lincoln Rhymes series (or Katherine Dance spin-off series).

  Corte works for a government agency similar to Witness Protection. In the agency's jargon, he is a shepherd, the one whose job it is to keep his individual(s) safe.  He has been assigned to protect the family of a D.C. cop.

His opponent is Henry Loving, a lifter, whose purpose is to extract information through torture.  His victims die, but simply removing them is not the main intention--gaining information is.

There is history between Corte and Loving, and Corte's decisions concerning the protection of the Kessler family may be a little different than usual.  He wants more than to keep the Kessler family safe; he wants Loving.

As in all of Deaver's books, there is a twist or two.

I thought Corte's character was a little thin, but wonder if this is really a stand-alone-- or a possible new series.  If it is a new series, maybe Corte will give Deaver a little more scope (since Lincoln Rhymes is paralyzed, the Rhymes' novels must follow a certain course), and Deaver will flesh out Corte a bit more.

Fiction. Crime/Mystery.  2010.  416 pages.