Jeffery Deaver in Belfast to launch latest Lincoln Rhyme Thriller (@NOALIBISBOOKS)

Jeffery Deaver in Belfast to launch latest Lincoln Rhyme Thriller

International best-selling crime writer Jeffery Deaver will make his first visit to Belfast on June 26 to launch ‘The Kill Room’, his latest in a series of acclaimed novels featuring the brilliant quadriplegic sleuth Lincoln Rhyme, played by Denzel Washington in The Bone Collector.

Deaver, a former journalist, folk singer and lawyer from Illinois, will be at the Ulster Museum at 7pm, June 26 courtesy of No Alibis Bookstore, to discuss his career and his latest book with top Irish crime novelist, John Connolly.

The ‘Kill Room’ which is being released in the UK on June 20, is the first in a trilogy of political novels and deals with the case of a US citizen who is shot and killed in the Bahamas by a sniper, sanctioned by the US Government.

Rhyme and his partner Amelia Sachs, played in The Bone Collector by Angelina Jolie, are drafted in to investigate the killing. . While Sachs traces Moreno’s steps in New York, Rhyme travels to the scene of the crime in Nassau, where he finds himself on a dangerous path trailed by the sniper himself.

Deaver in an interview this month with the Washington Post, said he first became interested in the ethics of government-sanctioned killings when he wrote a historical thriller nine years ago called ‘Garden of Beasts’ which dealt with a hit man recruited by the government to kill a Hitler aide.

He added: “A few years ago, the Anwar al-Aulaqi incident took place: two U.S. citizens killed in Yemen. I thought, now I want to update the story. I want my readers to think, “To what extent and when should the U.S. government take a human life, outside a combat situation?””

Deaver, who owns guns and shoots as a hobby, said that he believed it is justified under certain circumstances, for the government to take a life.

He added: “I wish they (the Government) were more circumscribed than they are now. There’s no reason why the government can’t use the truly remarkable resources of the intelligence and forensic community to make sure the bad guy is the bad guy. I have no problem with us taking out bad guys. I want to do whatever I can to limit collateral damage.”

David Torrans, owner of No Alibis Bookstore, said: “It is obvious from the sentiments expressed that Jeffrey Deaver has moved into the complex arena of ethical/moralistic political thrillers – an area dominated by such writers as Le Carré Cummings and Furst. He is asking difficult and uncomfortable questions that not everyone will agree with. We are very excited to have Mr Deaver visit Belfast for the very first time to launch his new book.”

Deaver is regarded as one of the world’s top psychological thriller writers. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the globe, including the New York Times, the Times of London, Italy’s Corriere della Sera, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Los Angeles Times. His books are sold in 150 countries,  have been translated into over 25 languages and have sold 20 million copies worldwide.

The author of thirty novels, two collections of short stories and a nonfiction law book, he’s received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world. His ‘The Bodies Left Behind’ was named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers Association, and his Lincoln Rhyme thriller ‘The Broken Window’ and a stand-alone, ‘Edge’, were also nominated for that prize.

He has been awarded the Steel Dagger and the Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers’ Association and the Nero Wolfe Award, and he is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Readers Award for Best Short Story of the Year and a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award.

Tickets for this event are priced £5 are available now from No Alibis Bookstore by emailing david@noalibis.com or by calling 02890 319607. For further information on this and other events, visit: www.noalibis.com

No Alibis Bookstore are very pleased to invite you to celebrate the launch of Jeffre, r’s latest novel, THE KILL ROOM, on Wednesday 26th June at 7:00PM in the Ulster Museum. Jeffrey will be discussing his career in crime fiction with John Connolly. Tickets, priced £5 each, are available now.