A Maiden's Grave

The non-stop action and drama of this absorbing novel demonstrate the remarkable courage of a special group of children and teachers, against all odds.

The book is filled with in-your-face maniacal perpetrators, the bravery of local police, sheriffs, hostage rescue team members and hostage negotiators.

Delightfully, it portrays the innermost thoughts and feelings of the hostage negotiator.

The plot spins you through a roller coaster of emotions, mainly, the plight of the hostages but also of the synergy between the hostage negotiator and the most courageous woman of the group with her clear, yet surreptitious, conveyance of important details.

Above all, it demonstrates the sheer bravery and strength of this group of young children and their teachers, who rise above their unique traits, to fill the reader's imagination
with a richly detailed portrayal of good versus evil.

I've been a fan of Jeffrey Deaver's books for quite some time, most notably his series of books that feature Lincoln Rhyme and Amanda Sachs. (First book: THE BONE COLLECTOR).

While waiting for him to release a new book, I discovered A MAIDEN'S GRAVE at my local library and was completely thrilled with it.

It is a simultaneous blessing and curse that more people have probably seen the film adaptation of Jeffery Deaver's novel A MAIDEN'S GRAVE than have read the book. This is not unusual; in a less harried age viewers would, I think, be more likely to seek out the novel that was the subject matter of the "Based on the novel" tag that would come appended to the beginning, or end, of a film they enjoyed. This is unfortunate; while A MAIDEN'S GRAVE was a fine film adaptation, there is nothing that can compare to climbing into the lounge chair, cracking the binding on this book, and then restricting movement for the next several hours to the eye, the, hand, and the mind.
A MAIDEN'S GRAVE and PRAYING FOR SLEEP are the two novels that really, really "did it" for Deaver; they set the tone for his later books, particularly the Lincoln Rhyme novels, which have brought him the fame, fortune and notoriety that he so long deserved and that was so late in forthcoming. THE MAIDEN'S GRAVE tells a story over the course of 400-plus pages (in the mass market paperback edition) and a little over 18 hours that contains all of those elements that make a Deaver book a DEAVER BOOK: sleights of hand, plot twists, and a suspense level that is ratcheted upward every page or two.
Oh, one other thing. Deaver has become well known for building his novels around topics that you want to know more about but have never had the time to delve into. The Man very kindly does the research for you and drops factoids here and there, but never gratuitously. So it is that when, in A MAIDEN'S GRAVE, a school bus carrying students from a school for the hearing impaired is hijacked by a trio of murderous escaped convicts, the reader learns much more than sign language. There are some pretty ferocious political and cultural differences within the hearing-impaired community, and even some class differences based on impairment etiology. Deaver does a masterful job of bringing these out within the subtext of his story, and making them matter as his story unfolds, without tearing and straining at the plot fabric. That one fact alone would make A MAIDEN'S GRAVE a masterful work.
But...but...there is a lot more to this novel than the hearing-impaired subtext. When it is learned that the bus has been hijacked, and the students kidnapped and held hostage, the politics involved in the containing and resolving of the situation have enough plot lines for an entirely separate novel. Arthur Potter is the FBI's very best point man in the area of hostage negotiation. Potter approaches every hostage situation as a homicide in progress; those responsible must be apprehended and the damage contained. The jurisdictional disputes among federal, state, and local authorities, even when the line of authority is at least theoretically clear, function more to endanger rather than protect the hostages.
What is so remarkable, however, is Deaver's ability, in the midst of jurisdictional chaos, to plausibly create an improbable love affair from afar between Potter and Melanie Charrol. Charrol is a teacher of the hearing-impaired, and one of the hostages. Though she and Potter have never met, and have seen each other only from a fleeting distance, they begin, incredibly, to work together to resolve the situation and to save themselves --- and each other. The result is a tale of suspense and, yes, romance, that is somehow rendered believable. I doubt that anyone but Deaver could ever carry it off.
Whether you have seen the film version of A MAIDEN'S GRAVE on HBO or not, the novel, and the reading experience, are not to missed. It is a work to be read, reread, and shared.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

"A Maiden's Grave", authored by popular mystery/crime thriller novelist Jeffrey Deaver ("The Bone Collector," "The Coffin Dancer," "Praying for Sleep") was first published in 1995. This is a real crackerjack of a mystery novel, folks... chock-a-block full of interesting characters; a tightly knit, thrilling plot; and enough twists and turns to keep even the most hard-boiled reader of mysteries squirming uncomfortably from start to finish.

On a cloudy, blustery, uncommonly cold early July day in rural Kansas, at a lonely highway crossroads, a simple traffic accident has just resulted in the murder of two innocent people. Three hardened criminals have captured a school bus with eight deaf school girls and their two teachers on board...

Amidst wind-buffeted, golden Kansas wheat fields, FBI negotiator Arthur Potter must begin bargaining for the release of the hostages. For hour after tense hour, Potter calmly, but with a growing feeling of desperation, tries to win release of the hostages By now, the young girls are being kept in a room with an incendiary "booby trap" installed. As Potter continues his negotiations, some of the girls decide to take matters into their own hands, with frightful results...
"A Maiden's Grave" is the first of Jeffrey Deaver's books that I've read, but it certainly won't be the last! This is wonderful storytelling all the way! Deaver brings us a completely believable, well researched, and thrilling plot; "good guys" that, despite their manifold flaws, are easy to root for; and "bad guys" that quickly earn our enmity.

Deaver immediately grabbed my attention on the first page of the book, and never let go. In quick succession, I was transported from a school bus making its way along a deserted highway, to a cemetery where Arthur Potter is tending his wife's grave and two FBI agents approach with a new assignment, and then to a Kansas crossroads where a collision between two cars results in cold blooded murder. Soon Deaver had me completely engrossed with his straightforward but vivid prose. For many hours I was unable to put "A Maiden's Grave" down... I just HAD to find out what happened next...

Deaver's characters are rich and detailed. The "good guys" aren't without their flaws... The "bad guys" are evil personified. I wasn't able to find a single redeeming quality in any of them throughout the book's 419 pages.

Deaver's treatment of the subject of deafness is worthy of a great deal of praise. He spends a great deal of time describing the plight of the eight school girls and their teachers, and in all cases, his hearing impaired characters are treated with compassion and accuracy. In no case is there any evidence of stereotyping in Deaver's character development. Deaver should be commended for his research, his compassion, and his sensitivity in dealing with the subject of hearing loss.

"A Maiden's Grave" is not your typical crime thriller/mystery novel. It has a highly innovative, well crafted, and exciting plot, and superbly drawn characters. Folks, this one's a real, honest-to-goodness, barn-burnin' page turner. I loved it... and, I think, so will you!!

Jeffrey Deaver has the uncanny ability to step in and out of the skin of Lincoln Rhyme, the hero of his major series of work. Unlike many authors, who stop a series to branch out into new fields, or others who continue only in the same vein, Deaver takes breaks from the rhythm of Rhyme, sidebars into completely different and compelling plots, and still comes home to entertain with Rhyme again!
"A Maiden's Grave" may just be my favorite Deaver novel. From the title pun to the complete curveball that is thrown at the end of the story, Deaver never stops compelling you to turn the pages.
Set in a gruesome slaughterhouse, where escaped prisoners have taken their helpless girl hostages (many of whom are deaf) AMG lets you get inside the minds of some of the hostages, of the captors, and of Arthur Potter, the FBI's main hostage negotiator. All of the characters are flawed, in rich and sometimes curious ways. While stretching the tale, Deaver transports you to the scene as you can visualize what it would be like to be one of the hostages. Friends tell me that Deaver has done phenomenal research into the world of the deaf, in order to be able to describe what life is like for them, and how the camaraderie of groups of hearing-impaired people can sometimes be a burden, when one decides to become more involved with those who hear. Odd intricacies of plot background are a hallmark of Deaver's stories....but this one is hard to put down.
Enjoy!

This nail biter of a thriller involves a hijacked schoolbus carrying eight deaf school children and two teachers. Sound familiar? Mary Willis Walker's "Under the Beetle's Cellar" develops a very similar premise. Both books even include an asthmatic among the kidnapped children.

But in Deaver's skillful hands, the story works again. The two protagonists are Arthur Potter, senior FBI negotiator, nearing retirement, and Melanie Charrol, a young, timid deaf teacher whose lonely passion is music. The three kidnappers are prison escapees who have already killed three people before holing up in an abandoned slaughterhouse with the terrified hostages. Potter works against time to get inside the head of their leader, Lou Handy, and derail his threat to kill one hostage every hour until his demands are met.
Meanwhile, state officials have their own agenda, as does the press, and their machinations ratchet up the suspense in several different directions. And, inside, Melanie fights her fears, holding onto an image of Potter (who she has glimpsed outside) as inspiration, and works feverishly to save at least a few of the girls.
Deaver's characterizations - the outbursts of rebellion and tears among the children, the gleeful coldbloodedness of Handy, Potter's feverish analysis and risky gambles, Melanie's terrified bravery - hurtle the plot forward, while the slaughterhouse atmosphere is dank and cold, and the action is non-stop, right up to a couple of switch-back twists at the end.

Jeffrey Deaver is the master of suspenseful page turners, and this book delivers. Like Lincoln Rhymes, the lead character in this book is not a lovable guy. Art Potter is a hostage negotiator whose only goal is to get the hostage takers to surrender. When he is called in on a case where 8 deaf children and their teachers have been abducted, the choices he makes often seem cold blooded. Yet we are rooting for Potter to succeed in ending the stand-off.
Writing a book where most of the characters are deaf could not have been easy, but Deaver seems to be able to get into the psyche of a deaf group of young girls, and write great "speaking" parts them. We are very in tune with the girls, and most especially the teacher, Melanie, whose character undergoes a metamorphosis during the captivity.
Deaver is the master of the "I didn't see that one coming", and he does that again here. Just when you think everything is over and done, he shoots you right back into the action.
My biggest complaint with this book was the ending, certain things seemed out of character. It seemed a little pat. Regardless of that, the book was well worth the roller coaster ride, and puts me in mind of another of Deaver's books. Read this one, and you'll be "Praying for Sleep", for you are certain to be up all night, worried about those hostages.

I'd have to consider myself a "newbie" to Jeffrey Deavers, as I've only read four of his books, but am definitely a fan. His writing is intense, the stories draw you in from the beginning and won't let go, and the endings are always full of surprises. Well, that's what I thought about all of the books, except this one - Maiden's Grave - it didn't grab my attention but let me wander for about 50 or so pages. When the action did pick up, it was intriguing and then lax - definitely not a book that you couldn't put down on the coffee table. This one actually took me a while to finish.

The story begins with a busload of deaf students riding along the highway between the Kansas wheat fields. The reader isn't sure exactly what they're doing, except they are going to a type of recital, the purpose of the trip is eluded to but never clarified until much later in the book. The bus comes on the scene of a fatality accident so the bus driver and teacher leave the bus to see if they can help the victims. But this wreck was no accident, and the students and adults are soon thrown into a nightmare.

Three escaped convicts take the eight deaf students and two adults hostage and hold them in an abandoned slaughterhouse a few miles from the accident scene. The leader of the thugs, Lou Handy, is intelligent and seems to have thought of all possibilities. The other two are more hard-core - Shepard Wilcox is young and doesn't blink if he needs to kill someone; "Sonny" Bonner is a child rapist who's gazes toward the girls gives everyone the creeps.

The FBI sends in their best hostage negotiator, Arthur Potter. He's personable and sincerely cares about the captives. Also trying to help rescue the girls is a variety of local law enforcement agencies who are all trying to come up with their own rescue endeavors and don't want to work as a team. In addition is a local politician who is more worried about how he'll look on camera than helping these girls.

When initial contact is made, Handy tells Potter that he'll kill one girl an hour unless his demands are met, and so the story goes...

I learned a lot about hostage negotiations in this book - they never give in to the "taker" and only appease him/her until they can find a way to get the hostages out. But the trick in these negotiations is making the "taker" think they are going to give in and meet the demands.

The character development was, as always, excellent. The depiction of the abandoned slaughterhouse made my skin crawl with the descriptions of bloodstains and stench of decaying flesh (ewww!). The story flowed well, it just wasn't as action packed as The Bone Collector, The Coffin Dancer, or The Devil's Teardrop.

I often found my mind wondering why. (Ok, here are specific details from the book, so if you're planning on reading it, please skip this paragraph!). Why did the bus driver get raped? Why did the girls keep repeating part of the poem that was to be delivered at the recital - was it pertinent? Why did Arthur fixate on the young schoolteacher and begin to have intimate feelings toward someone he'd never met? There were just too many questions without answers for my taste.

Overall the book was a good read, but I'd put others ahead on your Must Read list - save this one for a time when you've run out of "great" reading material and are delving into the "good" reading material.

Yikes, being a Deaf educator and a Deaf person myself, I read this book straight through. I hated having to go to school and not know where the book went! Mr. Deaver has an incredible insight into people with malfunctioning brains...wonder why. He did a fair job on research concerning Deaf people, and certainly he captured my own parents' fears concerning people taking advantage of my own deafness. Luckily, I've never run into anyone like Handy in spite of my neuroscience degrees and hope I never will! As a Deaf person and one with a failed cochlear implant, I wish he had been a little more careful about his presentation of what a cochlear implant can and can't do. I realize he tried to be fair in presenting the militant Deaf side and the feelings of those who hearing was lost over time, like mine was...but the cochlear implant will not help the person feel better about themselves if they are taught they are somehow not fit to be in society without hearing of some kind. But enough of the lecture...otherwise the book was outright frightening because of the fact that something as horrible as this could happen. I just hope Deaver doesn't feed any wackos out there new ideas! Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh, [email protected]

There is nothing spectacular about this book, but there is plenty to like. While Patricia Cornwell writes books in which her characters speak in pseudo-intellectual prose, Deaver's characters speak in a manner that rings true to the reader. As Thomas Harris hits you over the head with grotesque violence, the actions of the characters in Deaver's book fit their motivation like a (bloody?) glove. While other authors make your head spin with unbelievable plot twists and shifting point of view, Deaver makes the transitions seamless and for the noble purpose of heightened suspense.
Maybe you can tell that a string of poorly written suspense books has put me in a mood as sour as Kilgore Trout. It is a pleasure to read a book in which I care for the characters and have at least some uncertainty that everything will turn out all right in the end. Deaver seems to storyboard his stories with intriguing characters and setting before he takes on the plot, and the results speak volumes. Mr. Deaver deserves all the movie deals he gets, something Mr. Crichton stopped earning a few years ago.

I have enjoyed every Jeffery Deaver book I've read, so I ordered this one on a whim. I'm glad I did--it's a real page-turner. If you've read some of the other reviews, you know the basic story--deaf girls being held hostage by bad guys.
Mr. Deaver draws his characters well, and each one has strengths and weaknesses. Some of the hostages are survivors because they're always on the lookout for ways to survive, while others give up without a fight. The bad guys are really bad but the good guys are surprisingly normal. There are no supermen in the story, only regular people responding to a bad situation as best they can. And just when you think it's safe to breathe again, the suspense builds anew.
That's what makes Jeffery Deaver's books so extraordinary. Sometimes I get the feeling Lincoln Rhyme is a little too superhuman, but all of Deaver's books are like intricately woven tapestries that tell stories with richly colored detail.

On the plus side... at least there was some degree of plausibility about this... unlike the twists of plot amply illustrated in many of Rhymes tales.... Watchmaker... yes, I'm talking about you. Now let's discuss the ideas explored here. Imagine if you will a co-worker at - let's say - the bank where you work. He's a middle aged male, look a lot like Deaver and after work during a few beers he starts a conversation that goes "... have any of you ever imagined hijacking a bus full of deaf girls, some as young as 8, and torturing and killing them?... maybe holding them captive in a blood soaked slaughterhouse?... maybe raping their teacher?"... OK, now who would think a) this guy is sick and I'll be staying well away from him in future or b) this guy should be a millionaire because that was a most entertaining discussion? Finally... although I saw it coming... I hoped he wouldn't do it... but yep, he created a love interest between middle aged flabby Arthur and young vibrant Melanie, whose infatuation with him is based on a fantasy that he's Abbe L'Epee who died in 1789. And may I add she's giving him the come on a matter of hours after the villain was holding a knife to her virgin genitals. Yeah, that'd put you in the mood.

Jeffrey Deaver is well recognized for his visciously violent mind. And the ability to dig deep from within and transfer those thoughts to paper has been rewarded with two Edgar nominations. I just read the the store review he did with Barrie, and am anticipating his computer thriller presently being molded. As he stated, "Noone will ever go on-line again after reading this one".
In, "A Maiden's Grave", eight deaf girls and their teacher are pulled off a school bus along a wheatlined Kansas road. They are held hostage in an abandoned slaughterhouse by escaped murderer, Lou Handy, and two fellow inmates. The threat--to kill one hostage an hour unless demands are met.
Enter Arthur Potter, the FBI's senior hostage negotiator. Killer Lou Handy may just be Potter's downfall. This book moves like an out of control train. Of course with Mr. Deaver, you never know where those solid serpentine tracks will take you.
Tick-tock Tick-tock--do not miss this emotional crime novel.
other reading suggestions: "The Devils Teardrop" by Jeffrey Deaver and "The Lions Game" by Nelson DeMille
I appreciate your interest & comments--CDS

Incredible heart palpitating suspense that never lets up right until the very last page !!! Haven't read many Jeffery Deaver books in awhile. I was certainly missing a lot. He is a master story teller ! Wish I could give the book TEN stars ! Even though it's from 1995, do not miss this super charged masterpiece of suspense. Truly amazing plot and characters. Just over 415 pages it's a grand slam.

Jeffrey Deaver is well recognized for his visciously violent mind. And the ability to dig deep from within and transfer those thoughts to paper has been rewarded with two Edgar nominations. I just read the the store review he did with Barrie, and am anticipating his computer thriller presently being molded. As he stated, "Noone will ever go on-line again after reading this one".
In, "A Maiden's Grave", eight deaf girls and their teacher are pulled off a school bus along a wheatlined Kansas road. They are held hostage in an abandoned slaughterhouse by escaped murderer, Lou Handy, and two fellow inmates. The threat--to kill one hostage an hour unless demands are met.
Enter Arthur Potter, the FBI's senior hostage negotiator. Killer Lou Handy may just be Potter's downfall. This book moves like an out of control train. Of course with Mr. Deaver, you never know where those solid serpentine tracks will take you.
Tick-tock Tick-tock--do not miss this emotional crime novel.
other reading suggestions: "The Devils Teardrop" by Jeffrey Deaver and "The Lions Game" by Nelson DeMille
I appreciate your interest & comments--CDS

Incredible heart palpitating suspense that never lets up right until the very last page !!! Haven't read many Jeffery Deaver books in awhile. I was certainly missing a lot. He is a master story teller ! Wish I could give the book TEN stars ! Even though it's from 1995, do not miss this super charged masterpiece of suspense. Truly amazing plot and characters. Just over 415 pages it's a grand slam.

Jeffery Deaver is one of my favourite authors and this book does not disappoint either. As a plot it is very simple... 8 deaf girls are taken hostage in an old slaughterhouse in Kansas by three criminals who have escaped prison. Arthur Potter, the FBI's best hostage negotiator is called in. A what a fantastic job Deaver does in keeping the momentum taut and gripping. Definitely a good read!!

I read roughly 90 books per year, all fiction, and generally in the same genre, and this novel has remained on my top ten list for many years. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I found it to be gripping from cover to cover, and could easily have stayed up all night in order to read it in one sitting. Despite this being one of his "early works", I still believe it to be his best. He manages to produce real fear and suspense without cheap thrills and gore. The characters are well drawn, and easily understood and related to. And hey! My wife loved it too. We keep a copy in our "library" to loan out to friends, and probably always will. We don't typically read a book twice, but we will both do so with this one. Guaranteed. Hey, and it's really cheap!

When a busload of deaf girls are kidnapped and forced into an old building by murderous convicts within the first pages of this novel, I felt as if this book was doomed to go downhill. The police have surrounded the building, there is little or no chance for escape,and how can the police hope to coordinate a succesful rescue when they cannot communicate with the hostages?
Jeffrey Deaver manages to take what seems like a dead end, and turn it into an entertaining roller coaster ride. We watch as the hostage negotiator dances verbally with the head of the convicts to keep him from killing the hostages and as the eldest hostage uses subtle sign language to calm the others.But just as the seige seems to comes to an end, we learn that surrender isn't always a permanent thing.

Jeffrey Deaver's mind is an interesting place. I'm not sure I would want his dreams after reading this book and The Devil's Teardrop. I also know that I will always look at a hostage situation with much more insight and understanding as a result of having spent 419 pages with the FBI's top negotiator, Arthur Potter. The bad guys are really bad. One of them (Handy) is really deviously clever. You don't ever want to be held hostage by him. The plot twists and turns as deadlines arrive and hostages are in peril, not only from their captors, but from some of the misguided politicians and law enforcement folks on the good guys side. Through all of the plot changes, Art Potter keeps his eye on the target. And just when you thought it was over...it isn't. If you are looking for an author to keep your interest and attention...Mr. Deaver is your man.

Although Jeffery Deaver is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE AUTHORS, this was my least favorite book that he's written since the mid 90's. His books usually have many twists & turns, but for some reason, this book was slow for me. It's been a long time since I read this book but it just didn't hit me like most of his books do! I see that others really enjoyed it so I may have just not been in a book reading mood at the time!!! If you've read some of Deaver's earlier books/series, namely, the "The Rune Series" or the "The John Pellam Series", and did not enjoy them, please do not judge him by those books. His writing style changes completely with the "Lincoln Rhyme" books and if you like mystery & suspense, you will LOVE the "Lincoln Rhyme Series". I recommend that you start at the beginning though because it enables you to get to know and appreciate the characters so much more as they grow & develop throughout the books! I also really liked "Praying for Sleep", and "The Devil's Teardrop" is probably my favorite Deaver stand alone book. I wish he'd do a series with the characters from that book!

Jeffery Deaver does it again! I would compare him to Dean Koontz in the ways that he really gets you involved in the characters in his books. Jeffery Deaver as so many little stories going on at once with each of the characters in his books. You can really feel what the characters in his books are feeling and going through. This story was so amazing how the law enforcement has to try to feel and know the mind of the criminal to know what, when and how to act or say to them. You can feel their stress levels go up as they try to predict the criminals next moves and try to negotiate with them. Jeffery Deaver has some surprising twist at the ends of his books. You will really enjoy this book. You must read this

Jeff Deaver is a master of suprise twists and turns and will have you on the edge of the seat turning pages as quickly as possible to see what happens next. You will think you have it all figured out and then Mr. Deaver hits you upside the head with a doozy.
The subject matter of deaf children as hostages was done very tactfully and well. I learned a lot about deaf culture and the courage and strength of the people in the culture.
Characterization was done extremely well. I was able to get to know the characters and feel the passions, anger and anxiety that they felt.
A thoroughly enjoyable read from the get go

In "A Maiden's Grave" Jeffery deaver spins an excellent tale of the hi-jacking of a school bus carrying 7 deaf girls to Topeka. The three kidnappers are escaped convicts who have already murdered two people. The group is chased into an abandoned packing plant where negotiations with FBI agent Arthur Potter begin.
The author does a nice job of weaving all the subplots of the negotiation process together.
The book is well written and is quite believable except for a lapse in logic at the plot twist.
I enjoyed this novel more than any I've read in quite a while. I highly recommend this book.

Eight deaf girls and their two teachers are taken hostage on a lonely, deserted Kansas road. A merciless killer and his friends with no pity. A hostage negotiator fighting to get the girls out alive. This is the starting of A Maiden's Grave. The girls are from a local school, their teacher is Melanie Charrol. The killer is Lou Handy. And then there is Arthur Potter, the FBI's senior hostage negotiator. It is a battle of wills as Arthur struggles to get the hostages out safely, while Melanie takes on their captors in a desperate fight to keep her students alive. A skillfully wrote book, flawlessly put together.

While there have been many novels written using a bus load of kidnapped children as their central story line - A Maiden's Grave certainly leads the pack and stands out as a gut wrenching thriller.
This is an interesting take on hostage negotiations and Deaver really makes it work - you can feel what it is like to be one of the hostages and you can feel the pressure place on the negotiator - it is so wonderfully well written that the plot seems as if it is so new.
You can feel the terror and bravery of the characters. I hope that Mr. Deaver writes more like this one. All of his books are wonderful so if you liked this one read them all!

There are many novels written with kidnapped children as their central story line, but this book certainly leads the pack and stands out as a gut wrenching thriller. A Maiden's Grave is an interesting take on hostage negotiations and Deaver really makes it work. You feel the tension the hostages feel and the pressure the negotiator goes through. You can feel the terror and bravery of the characters. It is so wonderfully well written that the story is almost palpable. I look forward to reading more books written by this author. Great thriller...

Deaver has portrayed Deaf individuals in A Maiden's Grave in exceptional clarity and realism. Being Deaf myself, and a Teacher of the deaf, I was delighted to see the realistic portrayals. Deaver at times includes people with disabilities in his writing and he is to be congratulated for putting his characters in real roles and not patronising people with disabilities. He has an insight into people with disabilities and is refreshing to see this awareness.Truelly educational reading as well well as exceptional on the edge thriller material!

A hostage situation, set in an old slaughterhouse that is dark and sinister and smells of death. Bad enough already! But to have the hostages deaf children and their teachers was genius as the whole communication aspect is turned on it's head.

I found the characters compelling, even the bad guys!

Having finished it, I feel I have far more understanding of the complexities of a hostage situation and far more insight into the experiences of the deaf.

A thriller that stands out!

Mr. Deaver is an excellent writer, evident in his flowing, non-stilted prose and sense of pace. The last section of A Maiden's Grave contained the best writing, with its dark, fast-paced build up to the surprising climax.
Certain aspects took away from the book, however. Some of the characters, such as Special-agent-in-charge Hendersen, seemed almost uncessary to the story; in fact, Mr. Deaver builds up expectation of a new subplot involving Hendersen, then lets you down, almost as though he had forgotten all about him, only to bring him back later for convenience to justify the character's existence. The two technical agents assisting the main character Potter seemed interchangable in personality -- Mr. Deaver could have combined the two into one character. The romantic blossoming between Potter and Melanie seemed also a little bit forced, without much explanation, forcing the reader to take it for its face value.
Despite the small flaws, the novel wows the reader with its rich realism and fabulous dialog and the intricate plots and subplots. It's an enormous feat given that the novel takes place virtually in one place in less than a 24 hour period. I highly recommend it to anyone. A Maiden's Grave transcends the thriller genre. It's an excellent fiction, period.

I, like most Deaver fans, started out with the Lincoln Rhyme series books and got addicted. I have also read a lot of other books by Jeffery Deaver outside that series and have thoroughly enjoyed them all... until I started reading A Maiden's Grave. The first 50-70 pages or so are so crammed with vital information about each and every person involved in the story that I found myself having to look back at the beginning to remember who was who. I understand that each character needs to be introduced within the first couple of chapters, but in this one, the hostage takers have nicknames and the negotiating teams can't decide whether they are going to call each other by the first name or their last.
The story itself is very interesting and I learned a lot about hostage situations and what they involve. One of Deavers best attributes is that he does a lot of research about everything he writes about which gives a sense of confidence that you know he's not stretching to truth to make his story better.
Once you figure out who everyone is and the stage is set for the negotiating, the book gets very good and I couldn't put it down. The only other thing I didn't really like about A Maiden's Grave was that I found it to be very predictable. Even the twists and turns that Deaver is so popular for I saw coming from a mile away.

A school bus full of young deaf children happens onto a horrific scene. They see the aftermath of a car crash and stop to help when they are taken hostage.

Their shelter is a slaughterhouse and the FBI immediately moves in for negotiations. Meet Art Potter, the head negotiator; Stevie Oats, a brave trooper; Melanie, a deaf school teacher; and Handy, murderer and hostage taker.

Deaver's love of excruciating detail has certainly exasperated many readers caught in his exciting stories: come ON!! Get on with the story!!!
I am not going to spoil the ending of this novel for you (you're welcome). Simply allow me to say, the plot really picks up just when you think all the dust has settled.
So find a comfortable chair for the long haul, and happy reading!
PS: If you read at night, you will probably want to turn on ALL the lights.

Eight young deaf girls and their teachers are abducted by three escaped convicts and held hostage in an abandoned slaughterhouse. Arthur Potter, senior hostage negotiator with the FBI, is called to the scene. He soon finds in Lou Handy, the convict in charge, a diabolical adversary. Deaver is at his best when describing police procedure in detail without complex jargon. Excellent juggling of multiple scenes and varied characters.

While there have been many novels written using a bus load of kidnapped children as their scentral story line - A Maiden's Grave certainly leads the pack and stands out as a gut wrenching thriller. You can feel the terror and bravery of the characters. I hope the Mr. Deaver writes more like this one. All o fhis books are wonderful so if you liked this one read them all!

A gripping thriller, ideal for a long train journey or flight. What makes it stand out is its compassionate and intelligent portrayal of the world of the Deaf (with a capital D). Any run-of-the-mill writer would have used deafness as a McGuffin without taking it any further. Deaver's sensitivity makes his book stand out from the rest of the pack.