"Deaver's Twisted Side Comes Out"

Jeffery Deaver has become famous for his mystery books featuring quadriplegic retired detective Lincoln Rhyme. However, as he says in the introduction to Twisted, he honed his novel-writing skills by composing numerous short stories. Twisted features sixteen short stories (all around twenty pages) by Deaver, including one featuring the famous Lincoln Rhyme and his sidekick Amelia Sachs.

As the title of the collection implies, each and every story in this collection features a twist, some which work better than others. The twists in the first few stories (Without Jonathan and The Weekender, for example), work well because the reader has not yet caught on to Deaver's formula. However, as the stories progress, the reader begins to expect the twists, making some of them not work as well as the first ones did.

Despite this minor drawback, all of Deaver's stories (except for perhaps All the World's a Stage, which features William Shakespeare) are enjoyable and quick reads with endings that make you realize all is not what it seems. While some of the stories will only make you raise an eyebrow, others will have you re-reading the story, shocked that you could be so tricked.

I would recommend this book not only to those who have enjoyed Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series, but also to those who enjoy short stories or those with shocking twists.

Reviewed by Angela McQuay
Posted February 4, 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.