CRIME-WRITING genius Jeffrey Deaver deals with the controversial, but topical, subject of asylum seekers in his new thriller featuring quadriplegic forensic expert Lincoln Rhyme.

Wheelchair-bound Rhyme and his partner and lover, crime scene detective Amelia Sachs, are asked to track down a cargo ship headed for New York carrying illegal Chinese immigrants, as well as the notorious human smuggler and killer known as "the Ghost."

But the capture goes terribly wrong, and the Ghost sinks the ship. Many of the immigrants are drowned, but the Ghost, fearful of being caught, wants them all dead. He wants no witnesses to his crimes. Over the next 48 hours, the Ghost ruthlessly hunts for the two families who managed to vanish into New York's Chinese community after the ship went down.

Hot on his tail is Lincoln Rhyme, who can track the location of a killer through items such as soil deposits left at the crime scene. But can Rhyme and Sachs catch the Ghost before there is more bloodshed?

The Stone Monkey is Deaver's best work in years. It speeds like a bullet, has unforgettable characters and a twist to make the hairs at the back of the neck stand on end.

Updated: 08:54 Wednesday, July 03, 2002