The Empty Chair is the third in a series of Lincoln Rhyme novels. The first, The Bone Collector, appeared in 1997. It introduces the paralyzed criminalist in a story where a serial killer leaves clues that can only be solved by someone intimately familiar with nineteenth-century New York—which, of course, Rhyme is. The novel establishes Rhyme's expertise, and it is interesting to compare Rhyme's encyclopedic knowledge of the city with the "fish out of water" he becomes in the North Carolina swamps of The Empty Chair. The Bone Collector also introduces the young cop who will become Rhyme's protege, Amelia Sachs. The Coffin Dancer, published in 1998, is the case of a psychotic killer who has chameleon-like qualities, allowing him to blend into any setting. This presents a real challenge for Rhyme as he struggles with evidence leading to a killer with no identity. In this...