"A mélange of chilling Tales, with a sting"

Beginning with a humorous preface by the author himself in which Deaver takes an amusing look at his journey into becoming an author, he then goes on to tantalize the readers with hints of what to expect in the devious tales contained in this anthology. And needless to say, the stories are all that and more.

There are altogether sixteen stories in this collection. In the first story, 'Without Jonathan', Marissa Cooper heads out to meet a man on a date but, while on her way, she's continuously tormented with thoughts of her husband lost at sea. Meanwhile her date is busy murdering a woman. Is Marissa about to go on a date with a serial killer....... or is it quite something else? In 'For Services Rendered' a woman is slowly growing more and more paranoid as she's convinced that her husband's trying to drive her crazy. But her shrink, in whom she confides all this, doesn't take her seriously. When a murder takes place, secrets come tumbling out. 'Beautiful' is the story of a woman who gets rid of her stalker in a manner most ingenious. 'Triangle' is the probably the most inventive of all the stories in this collection, for here, instead of the characters, it's the author, who very cleverly tricks the readers. 'All the World's a Stage' has William Shakespeare playing a crucial role in a historical tale of revenge and justice. 'Lesser- Included Offense' is a story in the footsteps of Law & Order, only here the clever criminal isn't about to go scot- free. 'The Christmas Present' is a Lincoln Rhyme story in which the normally cantankerous Rhyme and his most able partner Sachs, solve a crime which turns out not to be a crime...or so it appears. The rest of the stories are equally suspenseful, brilliant and devious.

All in all, readers are advised to keep an open mind and make no assumptions as Deaver challenges even the most die- hard mystery fans to find the catch in his stories. For, as he himself puts it, 'I can make good bad and bad badder and, most fun of all, really bad good". A must-read for every reader, this anthology of Jeffery Deaver's short stories only whets the appetite for more and more such tricky tales.

Reviewed by Rashmi Srinivas
Posted January 26, 2004

Summary

New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver has long thrilled fans with tales of masterful villains and their nefarious ways, and the brilliant minds who bring them to justice. Now the author of the Lincoln Rhyme series has collected for the first time his award-winning, spine- tingling stories of suspense -- stories that will widen your eyes and stretch your imagination. A beautiful woman goes to extremes to rid herself of her stalker; a daughter begs her father not to go fishing in an area where there have been a series of brutal killings; a contemporary of the playwright William Shakespeare vows to avenge his family's ruin; and Jeffery Deaver's most beloved character, criminalist Lincoln Rhyme, is back to solve a chilling Christmastime disappearance. Diverse, provocative, eerie and inspired, this collection of Jeffery Deaver's best stories exhibits the amazing range and signature plot twists that have earned him the title "master of ticking-bomb suspense" (People). With nods to O. Henry and Edgar Allan Poe, these beautifully crafted pieces, never before compiled in one volume, pulse with subtle intrigue and Deaver's incomparable imagination.