Garden of Beasts: A Novel of Berlin 1936

I delayed reading this book for years because of other books by Deaver that were like a gumbo of The West Wing and a basic cop procedural. This book was trippy, scary, sad, and erudite. I wouldn't have imagined Deaver could weave such a captivating tale. Bravo!!!!!!

I saw the movie, “The Bone Collector,” a few years ago. I remember, Denzel Washington lying in a hospital bed, and that’s about all I remember.

I bought the book last week using a very sophisticated system to pick books, “Eeeny, Meeny, Miny Moe.” I had no idea what I was spending my hard earned money on. Jeffery Deaver owes me some money. I was late to several jobs because I stayed up all night reading the book. There is no warning anywhere on the book cover about keeping readers up till wee hours in the morning. Where the hell is, Jeffery Deaver, anyway? If he hasn’t won an award for this book I’ll personally hand deliver one.

The book is about a Serial killer on the loose in the streets of Manhattan. The killer tortures his victims then lets them die slowly. The police are usually one step behind the killer leaving the reader in nail biting suspense; wondering if the police will save the victim in time.

Sachs, one of the main characters in the book is a women cop. I fell in love with Sachs. She was definitely marriage material. She was courageous, attractive, and she can handle a muscle car.

The two main characters, Sachs and Lincoln Rhyme had a debate on the subject of suicide. Both main characters presented a strong argument. The argument scared the hell out of me because the main character, Rhyme presented such a strong argument for suicide I agreed with him.

The book was powerful. It made me appreciate life, and realize just how fragile it is. At any moment anyone of us readers can become quadriplegic, or even worse.

I really felt for the main character, Lincoln Rhyme. I fought back tears for Lincoln. The book made me think of an old friend who’s in the same situation as Lincoln. I haven’t seen my friend in years because I couldn’t bear to see him in that condition. After reading the book I looked my old friend up.

Thank you, Jeffery Deaver for such an exciting ride.

Jeffrey Deaver really knows how to plot a novel that builds up suspense; keeps you on your toes until the last minute. This was my first Deaver and Lincoln Rhyme novel. I went back for more and have read several others

While the books condition was much better than expected, the story it self is on of Jeffery Deaver's best. That's not to say any are bad. This takes you back to a time and place few know of in Berlin. The shipper did an excellent job of getting the product to me (market) in very good condition and on time. I would recommend buying from this vendor again and will.

This is one of Jeffery Deaver's better earlier books. My only wish is that he had developed the subject more and written a series of books on the central character. As opposed to his later books this was more of a period piece and you learned a little something about the era and the people of that time. Even the worst villains in this book had some redemable qualities and made their tales more interesting.

A good read for this author.

The movie was my actual introduction to Jeffery Deaver's work, but this was the first book of his I read. It was a real page turner. The description of the forensic evidence is fascinating. Even though I "knew" the ending, it wasn't exactly the same as the movie, and the entire book kept me on the edge of my seat. Deaver develops his characters well, so you get a good sense of how they think.

I enjoyed the book and found the movie closely followed the book. Unfortunately, having seen the movie first, the book is slightly different. Which is understandable as you can't possibly make a movie exactly the way the book is written.
On the whole, I did enjoy the book.
The book would be better if you haven't seen the movie first.

Sometimes too intricate. I know nothing about CS but it seemed impossible for many of the clues to be found. Having said that, I think as a character, Rhyme was brilliant and even liked his interactions with Sachs.

This book is exceptional. It is well written with characters that are true to life. The plot is absolutely engaging. I really like that there was a glossary of terms for those of us who are forensically challenged. I found it difficult to do anything until I knew 'who did it'.

Good job Mr. Deaver. You have a fan for life.

This was my first Lincoln Rhyme novel. I was hooked in the first couple of pages and as the story went on I enjoyed it even more. Great cast of very believable characters. Lots of scientific equipment and processes involved in crime scene investigation is presented and explained in the story, but in simple, easy to understand language.

When I finished the story, I immediately purchased the next two books in the series. I highly recommend this book. You will enjoy meeting Lincoln Rhymes and Amelia Sachs.

Deaver, as always delivers a well researched, fascinating look at a story with factual background.. history with a personal, mysterious twist in several characters. I read every book of his I can find.

I loved this book by Deaver and would recommend it for anyone who enjoys a thriller that grabs you from the first sentence. Very descriptive and detailed venture into the world of pre-World War II Berlin and the 1936 Olympics. Great characters with unpredictable twists and turns. It was very hard for me to put this book down and I am looking forward to the next Jeffrey Deaver adventure.

This fast paced medical thriller draws you in from the opening and keeps you guessing until the very last page!!! Amazing detail and character development!!! One of the best medical thriller novels I have ever read!! Can't wait to read his other novels!!!!

I really enjoyed this mystery. The book was a fast read and I was kept entertained throughout. There are multiple persons kidnapped in this book. When the time came for the last kidnapping I did wonder if going through another entire kidnap story was really necessary for purposes of the story. While I feel it could have been left out it was interesting enough. The suspect in the book is a copycat of sorts working off of ideas from an old book. Many passages of this other book are included in this book and at times I felt myself glossing over those portions. Despite this, I feel I didn't miss anything. Deaver was descriptive and painted a vivid picture through his writing. I look forward to reading another book by this author. You will never guess who the killer is!

While the plot of this book is interesting, I was primarily fascinated by the actual story of Germany during this period, prior to WW11, up to the time of the Olympics in Berlin, and of the citizens who were living in Germany at this time. I was particularly interested in the climate of fear pervasive in the country where gangs of SS, Brownshirts and Gestapo were allowed to roam at will, kill on a whim, and where anyone could be denounced by a neighbor, friend or colleague as being Jewish, a Socialist, a pacifist, anarchist, Catholic, or for not being loyal enough to Hitler, and where the radio harangued for hours on end about health, about keeping the country free from germs, (all code for eradicating Jews.) I believe I understand better why the average German turned away from recognizing the horrors of their leadership. They had been demoralized by an inchoate terror for years to the point of immobility. The actual story is great, but the atmosphere was what interested me. And I saw similarities between then and now that are alarming.