From Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Deaver's second story collection (after 2003's Twisted) is best enjoyed in small doses, since, as the author states in his preface, each of the 16 suspense tales contains a "gut-wrenching twist," a formulaic final reversal that loses its punch with too much repetition. That said, readers will find a number of clever and concise thrillers. The standout, "Born Bad," about a mother waiting in fear for her estranged daughter to kill her, does a superb job of matching up the clues at the beginning with the tale's resolution. Sherlockians will get a kick from a pastiche narrated in third person, "The Westphalian Ring," pitting Holmes against a crafty jewel thief. In an afterword to the tale "Afraid," Deaver (The Bone Collector) explains how he works the concept of fear into his fiction. (Jan.)
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From
Deaver, author of a string of best-selling thrillers, says in the introduction to this story collection (his second, following 2003's Twisted) that short fiction is inherently different from a novel. And he proves it in every one of the 16 stories, which include a new Lincoln Rhyme mystery. These stories aren't about character development or setting; they're about misdirection and plot twists, Deaver's signatures. Every one of these gems includes at least one act of narrative sleight of hand: sometimes it's a subtle shift in direction, but more often it's a neck-wrenching, right-angle turn. And they all feature Deaver's sharply observed dialogue and jackrabbit pacing. The majority of the stories were previously published in magazines and anthologies, but even the most devoted of the author's followers will find a few things here they have never seen before. David Pitt
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