Detective Lincoln Rhyme, the foremost criminalist in the NYPD, is on the hunt for an elusive murderer, the Coffin Dancer. He's a brilliant hit man who changes his appearance even faster than he adds to his trail of victims, only one of whom has lived long enough to offer a clue: the assassin has an eerie tattoo on his arm of the Grim Reaper waltzing with a woman in front of a casket. Rhyme, tragically paralyzed from a line-of-duty accident, continues to tutor his beautiful protege, Detective Amelia Sachs, in the art of criminal hunting. Rhyme's suspicion of an earlier encounter with this killer fuels his bitter taste for vengeance. When the chameleonlike assassin targets three federal witnesses for death, the stakes reach a new high. Rhyme's brainpower and Sachs' legwork are the only tools they have to track the cunning murderer through the subways, parks, and airports of a darkly painted New York City. They have 48 hours to keep the witnesses alive before a grand jury convenes. With The Coffin Dancer, Deaver uses his trademark plot twists to keep this fast-paced, masterly thriller steamrolling along with breathtaking speed.