Notes from a bibliophile

There are several storylines going through this novel. The main plot line is a serial killer case where the perpetrator is called The Watchmaker. He leaves very particular clocks behind - they have one of those windows for the phases of the moon - as well as a poem referencing the moon. Plot line 2 is a police corruption story, where two men were possibly killed because of their dealings with these dirty cops. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are the detectives on the case. This is the seventh novel with Rhyme and Sachs, although it's the first one I've read. I did see the movie of The Bone Collector, which is the first in the series, so I'm at least familiar with the characters. Rhyme is paralyzed and Sachs serves as his eyes at the crime scenes. I can't speak for all these novels. Maybe this one is unusual to the series, but I found it very dull throughout most of the novel. About two-thirds of the way through it picks up as things begin to come together. I just fel...

From all I'm reading, it looks like this is going to be on everyone's most-buzzed-about books list. Goodreads is comparing it to Gone Girl , The Silent Wife , or Before I Go to Sleep , the latter of which I really enjoyed.  The story revolves around three women. We first meet Rachel on the train. Her London train stops next to the row of houses where she sees a couple she imagines to be perfect, naming them Jess and Jason. She creates whole lives for them, so different from her own. Her own life is on a downward spiral. She's an alcoholic, recently divorced, and even more recently fired from her job, due to her alcoholism. She's a highly unreliable narrator, obviously. Her actions are embarrassingly erratic. It's a fascinating character study. I'm not an alcoholic, nor do I know one (as far as I know), so this is like getting a glimpse into the life of an addict.  There is one particular drunken fugue state that is proving problematic. Rachel can't recal...