This newest adventure of Lincoln Rhyme takes place on the rough streets of Harlem and centers on Geneva Settle, a black high school girl researching a term paper on her ancestor Charles Singleton, a former slave, rights activist and accused thief, in hopes of proving his innocence, and her stalker, Thompson Boyd, a professional assassin expertly trained in the use of arms, explosives, poison gas, and elusive tactics, contracted to eliminate her.

After an opening assassination attempt on Geneva in a midtown library, Rhyme and his partner, Amelia Sachs, enter the case, beginning a contest of wits and wills between Rhyme (brilliant analysis and following the evidence) and Thompson (skillful tactics and deceptions). Through a variety of twists and turns, this cat-and-mouse game hinges on the research of Geneva and the terrible secrete that Charles Singleton harbored to his grave.

A fast-paced thriller complete with enough plot twists and multiple surprise endings, along with deeply defined characters Rhyme and Boyd, makes The Twelfth Card one of the best Lincoln Rhyme novels yet.