How much would you pay to find the "perfect mate"? Well, in Lincoln Child's Death Match, clients of Eden, Inc. are willing to pay $25,000. That's because Eden offers a match-making service like none other in the world. Able to match people based upon a million different criteria, Eden has successfully paired thousands of couples, none of whom have ever regretted their decision. Yup, Eden seems like the ultimate success story, when it comes to making happy couples.

The Thorpes were matched by Eden and are unbelievably happy in their marriage. So how come their bodies have been found, an apparent suicide pact? Forensic psychologist Christopher Lash is brought in to study the case. Surely there must be something in the Thorpes' lives that could explain such a desperate act?

But Lash can't find anything to explain it. And then, a second Eden-success couple is found dead, another apparent suicide pact.

That's when Lash decides to dig deep into the inner-workings of Eden, Inc. Because something is not right, and other couples might be in danger. Worse, the deeper Lash digs, the more apparent it becomes that his own life is in danger. Someone is desperate to keep him from the truth.

Most of the book takes place inside the walls of Eden, Inc. Lash gets to know some of the company's personnel, in particular, Tara Stapleton who is assigned to work with him. Together they dig through every aspect of the company, trying to find what's gone wrong.

Lash's character is fairly well developed. We learn that events currently unfolding are eerily similar to a traumatic event in his past, which is described to us in small snippets through his dreams and flashbacks. No one else in the book is well developed. We are given very little information about Tara's life. As far as the rest of the characters, only Richard, the founder and brains behind Eden is given any personality at all. Everyone else is just a cardboard cutout.

For the first two-thirds of the book, the story is quite exciting. You never knew which way it would unfold. And as Lash's life gets ever more unraveled, the suspense increases. Sadly, the final third was a disappointment. The "big reveal" wasn't nearly as exciting as I was expecting. All along I was trying to figure out "whodunit" and, of course, "why". Some of the scenarios I came up with were far more exciting, I thought, than the one Child gave us. Not that his ending is terrible, it isn't. It just wasn't the direction I would have taken.

I did enjoy learning about the various personality tests to which Eden clients are subjected. Child gives us a very good overview of how the tests are administered, and how results are obtained. We even get to look at some inkblot tests, and learn what the evaluator is looking for, when it comes to the clients' responses.

However, towards the end of the book, Lash and Tara have to delve into Eden's computer systems. There is a lot of technical jargon used. Child does a reasonable job explaining what they are trying to accomplish, but I think non-techno-geeks might get a bit lost during parts of it. They get into the bits and the bytes of the computer's core memory, and the assembler commands used to manipulate the data. It might not be necessary to understand all the details in order to understand the story, but I think the jargon will be off-putting to some readers.

Still, this is an exciting story, one that will definitely make you think. Just how far can technology go, when it comes to interpreting human emotions? How far should it go? Lovers of thrillers, especially ones revolving around artificial intelligence and technology, will enjoy this one.

Also by Lincoln Child:
Deep Storm


Recommended: Yes