A Review: Speaking in Tongues by Jeffery Deaver

Hardcover: 333 pages
Publisher: Highbridge Co Dec 2000
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0684871262
ISBN-13: 9780684871264



Although I liked this book, it isn't one of his best. The characters lack the dimension of other Deaver characters such as Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs. Deaver weaves his usual complex web of suspense with plenty of twists and turns to keep you turning the page.

I didn't care at first for Tate Collier or his ex-wife Bett, the parents of a kidnapped teenage girl. Tate considered Megan to be an "inconvenient child" and Bett was more interested in her looks and her love life than caring for her daughter. Megan's emotional issues were completely ignored by both her parents as she filled the void left by their neglect with alcohol and sex. The self-centeredness of these parents really put me off. But as the story evolved, I saw a change in Tate's and Bett's attitudes toward Megan. They risked a lot in their attempts to track down Megan's kidnapper and save her. However, with all of the attempts made by Tate and Bett, it's Megan who is the real hero of this story.

All in all, a good read with a satisfying ending.

Description (from the author's website)

Tate Collier, once one of the country's finest trial lawyers, is trying to forget his past. Now a divorced gentleman farmer, land developer, and community advocate in rural Virginia, he's regrouping from some disastrous mistakes in the realms of love and the law. But controversy — and danger — seem to have an unerring hold on Tate. Even as he struggles to rebuild his life, his alter ego is plotting his demise.

Aaron Matthews, a brilliant psychologist, has turned his talents away from curing patients to far deadlier goals. He's targeted Tate, Tate's ex-wife, Bett, and their estranged daughter, Megan, for unspeakable revenge. Matthews, ruthless and hell-bent, will destroy anything that inhibits his plans. When their daughter disappears, Tate and Bett reunite in a desperate, heart-pounding attempt to find her and to stop Matthews, a psychopath whose gift of a glib tongue and talent for coercion are as dangerous as knives and guns. Featuring an urgent race against the clock, gripping details of psychological manipulation, and the brilliant twists and turns that are trademark Deaver.