A collection of devious short stories from Jeffrey Deaver, including appearances by Lincoln Rhyme and Colter Shaw. Amongst the mysteries we have a murder at a crime writer's convention, an intelligence analyst sent out to do some on the ground spy work, and a Sherlock Holmes super fan turning his deductions to helping police find a serial killer.

I traditionally avoid short story collections because I find they can often be hit and miss with a few dud stories in the mix. This one was definitely not like that though, I enjoyed all of the stories in the book, with some of them being stand outs.

I haven't read any of Deaver's Colter Shaw series as yet, but enjoyed Forgotten so much that I now want to read the full series - I've already got the audiobooks queued up ready to go.

Ninth and Nowhere was another favourite. I particularly liked the style of this one, with us seeing several characters seemingly on their own trajectories all come together for the key event. There was a lot of misdirection in this one and many of the characters didn't turn out to be who you initially thought.

Others that stood out were The Writer's Conference, Unlikely Partners and Selfie, but as I said all of the stories in this collection were enjoyable.

If you are a fan of Jeffery Deaver then you will definitely appreciate this short story collection. If you are new to his writing, but enjoy well constructed crime thrillers then this would be a great starting point to get a taste of his style before you dive in to one of his full lengh books. Either way it's worth adding to your reading list.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

"Dead Ends" by Jeffery Deaver is a masterful collection of thirteen short stories that showcases his talent for unexpected twists and turns. Featuring well-known characters like Lincoln Rhyme and Colter Shaw, the anthology also introduces new tales, including a fresh take on Jack the Ripper. Each story is meticulously crafted, with Deaver's signature misdirection keeping readers guessing until the end. While a couple of stories may not be as strong, the collection overall is compelling and diverse. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to Deaver's work, "Dead Ends" is an engaging read that highlights his unparalleled ability to surprise and entertain.
Very grateful to the publisher for my copy, opinions are my own.

I’m not the biggest fan of short story collections – you’ll see that I’m not great at reviewing the British Library compilations, for example – but that’s always a little different when it comes to collections from the same author. And in particular when that author is Jeffrey Deaver, the master of the surprise twist.
You could also add in there the master of the surprise setting. Yes, there’s a Lincoln Rhyme story and a Colter Shaw story, but the other ten tales here are completely original, including one giving a new spin on Jack The Ripper – I use “spin” as I think it’s a bit outlandish to consider it an actual theory.
I’m not going to go through the stories one by one as analysing each one risks spoiling it. One or two of them aren’t as successful as the others – I appreciate the ambition with Ninth And Nowhere, for example, but I thought it didn’t work as well as some of the other tales. The other that sticks in my mind is the Colter Shaw story, which is a surprisingly straight whodunit. To be honest, I’ve never got into the Shaw books, but I’m glad to say that the Lincoln Rhyme story is excellent – a tale of what Rhyme is capable of when he has no physical evidence to work with.
What is impressive is the number of tricks that Deaver is capable of pulling. I’ve read a lot of his work over the years, and I was still caught out in most of the stories. Take the shortest story, Selfie, where I thought I was being really clever with spotting what was going on, only for everything to turn on its head as it becomes an intensely creepy little tale. I mentioned a couple of lesser stories, but the rest are really strong indeed. This is a very impressive collection that you really should dip into.

Well... I'm not usually a fan of short stories, but I am a big fan of Jeffrey Deaver, especially his Lincoln Rhyme and Colter Shaw series - both of which have shorts included in this book - so it was a no brainer that I would jump all over this...
And I have to say that I was incredibly impressed. I enjoyed every single story contained herein. The twists were sublime, the characters real and well created. Containing everything I'd want from a full length story but contained in just a few pages...
Obviously my favourites included the Shaw and Rhyme stories, but I must also single out the Writers' Conference, the one set around the Quick Mart, the Presidential Candidate Assassination Attempt, and his own take on Jack the Ripper...
If you are into shorts, get this collection. If you are into Deaver, get this collection. If neither then download the sample... worth a look at least!
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Nice collection of short stories from Jeffrey Deaver, couple of stories including his most popular characters - Lincoln Rhyme and Colter Shaw. All the stories had different themes and were very well written, as can be expected from Jeffrey Deaver. Overall I enjoyed reading this book and would definitely recommend it,
Thank you HarperCollins UK for an advanced copy of this ebook and giving me a chance to review this book!

4.5⭐

Dead Ends is a collection of short stories by the master crime writer Jeffery Deaver and a great way to be introduced to a new author. Especially one as prolific as JD. Who has written over forty novels including the long running Lincoln Rhyme series as well as the Colter Shaw and brilliant Kathryn Dance series.

And this collection offers a little bit of everything with appearances from the aforementioned Lincoln Rhyme and Colter Shaw. As well as hitmen, bodyguards, serial killers and stalkers.

And whilst only two of the stories are new new. All of the stories were new to me, and I enjoyed them immensely. As they offered a lot of variety and I can clearly see where JD drew his inspiration from Jack the Ripper and one of my favourite detectives Sherlock Holmes. And honestly there wasn't one story I didn't enjoy. Although some were certainly more compelling than others.

But overall this is a cracking collection from a cracking crime writer. Who really knows how to deliver a series of short stories.

I would happily recommend to all. 😊

Reviewing short story collections is tricky, because the usual synoptic approach can’t be done, so headlines only here to give a flavour of the range:
A babysitter is the target of a hitman; Colter Shaw is hired to save a prisoner’s life; CIA desk-jockey gets the chance to go undercover; Californian Deputy Sheriff assigned to a Crime Writer’s Conference; Another solution to the mystery of Jack The Ripper; Suspected Mexican cartel boss is target for a hit; Genius level New Yorker performs ‘Holmesian’ deduction; Husband and wife team search for French archaeological site; Lincoln Rhyme has to solve a crime with no forensics; Hunt for serial killer in Milan; Seven characters in search of a Quick Mart; Attempted assassination of Presidential candidate; Man strives to save his girlfriend from a murderer.
The first eleven have been previously published individually, the last is new. The only thing they have in common is that they are Deaverishly constructed. The art of the short story is to lead the reader towards a conclusion and then pull off a twist they couldn’t foresee. The art here is to mislead the reader towards at least two conclusions, then twist them at least a couple of times. The writing is strong and consistent, with the author’s stylistic language always evident, which includes a tendency towards literary references (and a possible fondness for Starbuck’s). They are all at least 4/5, at least half – based on the surprise level of the final twist – are 5/5 star. That gives an average of 4.5 stars, rounding to 5 overall.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

A great selection of short stories by the master of suspense. I really enjoyed the fact that some of his more well known characters made an appearance.

It's been quite some time since I read short stories by Jeffery Deaver. (I think it must be two decades since reading his collection 'Twisted'). In this new collection (and devoted fans of Deaver might want to note the selection as, although they were all new to me, a number of them have appeared in previous anthologies or as individual pieces released previously) of 12 stories there are stand alones and two featuring series characters (Lincoln Rhyme and Colter Shaw - the latter character who was new to me so I maybe didn't get the story in the way a series reader would have done).
As any reader of his full length works will know, Deaver writes incredible twists - with mechanical precision that tease the novel reader and often lead them down false alleys before springing the surprise. While some of these stories DO have big twists I occasionally felt the manner of them resulted in what felt almost like a finale of explanation after the 'punchline'. (As a sort of, probably terrible, comparison - a bit like in the movie Psycho where we get the scientific explanation after the big reveal...).
There's certainly variety in the book - as well as the series characters there is an espionage tale, a modern day US set Sherlock Holmes tribute, a Victorian England set piece (one of the longest, but for me the least successful in the collection), and a touch of the meta in a writers conference mystery.

If you enjoy the author's writing style and series characters there will be much to enjoy here: there's certainly a range of story matter and explorations of the various crime and mystery sub genres.

This is a collection of short stories from the established and popular crime and mystery writer, Jeffery Deaver, some of which you may already have read previously as they have been published before. It features his specialist, Colter Shaw, with his mobile home, and Lincoln Rhymes, operating outside of his home territory. There is a baby sitter, tales that draw inspiration from Jack the Ripper, and Sherlock Holmes. There are murderous goings on at a writer's conference, a book lover in Mexico, and a Sunday serial killer in Milan. My favourites included complicated, longer, and multiple character stories that grip and where nothing is as it first appears. As might be expected with a short story collection, some stories are likely to appeal more than others. However, this is Deaver, so a collection that I recommend! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC

There were 13 short stories in total that were published in various magazines, anthologies or as novellas. I was very excited about Lincoln Rhyme's and Colter Shaw's stories and liked them best. Ercole Benelli from The Burial Hour makes an insignificant appearance. Not having a known protagonist and just being a crime thriller with new characters, made it difficult to be impressed with the characters or even see a character arc for that matter. Some stories were really good, some were pretty average so a 3.5/5 seems to be fitting.

Dead Ends is a collection of short stories cultivated by the master of the twist.
Tales from different parts of the world, and different parts of history.
Stories about Sherlock Holmes, Moriarty, Jack the Ripper and of course Lincoln Rhyme and Colter Shaw.
In amongst these short stories there are some sumptuous tales that will stump the reader until there climax, and some that will delight in their intricacies.
Jeffery Deaver is the best in the business with his ability to trick the reader into thinking one thing, and devilishly doing the opposite.
Whether it’s a novel or short stories, Jeffery Deaver is as good as it gets. Dead Ends shows what a truly remarkable writer he is. I personally think no one can write this kind of fiction better. Outstanding.

A good collection of short stories that are great if you’re short of time but still want to get through an entire story. I knocked a star off as I love getting into all the intricacies of a full length Deaver story.

Dead Ends is a collection of Thirteen short stories from Jeffery Deaver and,as you'd expect,there's not a dull one amongst them. Deaver exercises his imagination with a very diverse collection , from his take on Jack the Ripper to a lowly Intelligence Operative who finds himself an accidental hero ,an inquisitive Baysitter who finds herself in peril and many more,every one is a gem, As usual with Jeffery Deaver readers will be looking for the inevitable twist,and as always he completely wrong-foots those who are smugly thinking, " Ah,I've worked it out,obvious really".

This is a great collection, including appearances by Colter Shaw and an extremely cerebral piece of detection by Lincoln Rhyme ,many of which have been published before in various publications but as an avid Deaver reader all new to me. The stories are often funny,always original and very clever.

I read and loved The Bone Collector, I went on to read most of the Lincoln Rhyme series. I tried other books by Jeffery Deaver but was still chasing that Bone Collector buzz.

Thirteen short stories, 400 pages, two are brand new and the others have been previously published in a variety of anthologies and publications. This collection came at exactly the right time to reconnect with Jeffery Denver’s writing.

There’s a huge variety of themes, hitmen, bodyguards, serial kill*rs, stalkers and much much more, so many original plot ideas that I’ve never read before. The writing is precise and sharp, set the scene, build the characters, start the rollercoaster, watch out for those twists! There’s rarely a dull moment.

I won’t pick favourites, too many to mention, and only two didn’t quite hit for me.

Probably the best single author short thriller anthology I’ve ever read. Very highly recommended and an absolute must for fans of Jeffery Deaver.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, Harper Fiction

Dead Ends by Jeffery Deaver is a collection of short stories by the master of storytelling. All of the stories are excellent and some are very clever and devious.
Even as a short story all of the collection are of a very high calibre and are stories which are all completely different.
I have enjoyed reading this collection of stories from the master storyteller that is Jeffery Deaver.
Highly recommended