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3.5 Hearts This is a very short story only about 60 pages. I have been a fan of Deaver for a number of years and I liked this story as much as her usual novels. There is a lot in these few pages. Killers and Detective Neville’s family in danger at one point and leaving Russian Stacking Dolls.

Because this is so short it is almost like Deaver had this story in his mind but it just wasn’t going anywhere so he gave us a short story between novels.

Worth the read.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Turning point by Jeffery Deaver

This is short and brilliant story

It's a story about the battle of wits between a detective and a serial killer. Nothing is as it seems, I loved the ending so much!

A serial killer kills women with simple tools and leaves a Russian nesting doll as his calling card. There is no forensic evidence left behind and he seems to be taunting the detectives on the case too!

Neville, the detective in the case is desperate to catch the guy with pressure from the press and the threat to his family! He has to outwit a unknown egomaniac to solve the case. Can he do it in time?

This a very engaging short read and I loved how it was built in layers to give us the final twist. I recommend it to everyone as nobody should miss this easy, entertaining read

Wow, what a great read. A serial killer and a Russian nesting doll. This has it all. Enough twists and turns to please even the most discriminate reader. I am always amazed with Mr. Deaver’s ability to come up with new and unique story lines. I thoroughly enjoyed every page, and could not put it down.

🌟🌟🌟🌟
What a book OMG! A scray twisted book about a serial killer and detective and so much more that you will just have to read one more chapter late into the night. I loved this book!! Highly recommend

An interesting, surprising short story, which pits a serial killer against a detective, as they engage in a battle of wits. This is an engaging, fast-paced, and action-packed short story. Sure to appeal to fans of Deaver's longer fiction, but should also serve as an introduction to his work for newcomers.

I thank Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had heard about Jeffery Deaver but had never had the chance to read one of his books. I found out 𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 was around 70 pages long and thought it could be the perfect story to read as a way to approach this author for the first time.

𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 is a short crime story with plenty of action and with just the right amount of unpredictable twists.
The thing I enjoyed the most were probably the characters, written well enough considering the length of the book.
The major flaw perhaps is that, being it a short story and a mystery/thriller at that, I expected to be able to read in one or two sittings at the most, instead it didn't grip me enough for me to do that.

⭐3,5/5
...
Ringrazio Netgalley per la copia in anteprima in cambio di una recensione.

Avevo sentito parlare di Jeffery Deaver ma finora non avevo avuto occasione di leggere uno dei suoi libri. Avendo scoperto che 𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 era lungo circa 70 pagine, ho pensato avrebbe potuto essere la storia perfetta per approcciarmi all'autore per la prima volta.

𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 è un racconto breve pieno d'azione e con la giusta dose di colpi di scena imprevedibili.
L'aspetto che mi è piaciuto di più probabilmente sono i personaggi, scritti abbastanza bene considerata la lunghezza del libro. Il difetto più grande è che, essendo un racconto breve, per di più di genere mystery/thriller, mi aspettavo di leggerlo tutto in una o due sedute di lettura al massimo, invece non mi ha presa abbastanza da spingermi a farlo.

⭐3,5/5

Because "Turning point " is a very short read -it is under 60 pages- I cannot say much about the narrative without giving away too much. What I can say is that we follow all the efforts made by the police to stop the so called "Russian Doll Killer", once and for all.

This had everything we desire in a good police procedural - engaging premise, well-developed characters, and clever plot twists. I was actually surprised to see this many twists and turns in such a short story , but I still feel that the narrative could have used a few more pages to keep the story tight.

Overall, I liked it and would recommend it to anyone who has not read anything by Jefferey Deaver, as I believe this is a very good sample of his work.

This was a fun and super fast read. I really liked the detective, Neville. He was stern when needed but otherwise he was fair and trying to keep everyone safe. The MC is a bit rough, but he's supposed to be. I liked the mystery and trying to figure out where the story was going. The twists were great and the tidbits of humor were excellent. I really enjoyed this one!

Over the years I've read a large number of Deaver books and without fail they have held my interest while often not revealing key story elements until the end.
This long short story was particularly interesting although the primary character, Michael Stendhal was one of the more obnoxious characters I've run across. I developed a strong dislike for him in a remarkably few pages, which is as it was intended to be by the author.
This is a murder mystery in which Detective Ernest Neville and his police department need to solve the mystery surrounding a series of brutal murders and believe they know who the murdered is. But just like the reader, they will learn how little they really do know.
Irritating, captivating, mystifying, everything a mystery is meant to be in a small wrapper. Thank you again Michael Deaver. Well worth the read!

Published digitally by Amazon Original Stories on January 19, 2021

Coming in at more than 60 pages, “Turning Point” is a longish short story in Amazon’s series of original stories. The story is a standalone that features none of Jeffery Deaver’s popular series characters.

A serial killer has murdered three women. After he tortures his victims, he leaves a Russian nesting doll at the scene of his crimes. Capturing the killer requires a creative plan that I won’t spoil.

The most interesting of the story’s characters is a fellow named Michael Stendhal. Michael is a jerk and a bully. Even apart from his criminal tendencies, he’s just mean. He goes on a date and belittles the woman who meets him for leaving her daughter home alone. In a dispute over who got to a taxi first, he asks a woman why she dresses her daughter like a slut, a strategy that gets him the cab when the daughter flees in tears. Michael is not a people person but he likes himself just fine.

A police detective named Ernest Neville seems to be playing a collateral role in the story as he searches for the killer, even after he finds a nesting doll on his property. Yet roles played by characters evolve as the story evolves. Multiple characters are not what they seem to be.

The character with whom the reader spends the most time is unlikable, but that doesn't detract from the story's pleasure. With a tongue-in-cheek attitude, the story asks whether assholes play a useful role in society. Deaver knows that the answer is either “no” or “rarely,” although assholes will likely have a different answer. Given the prevalence of self-satisfied jerks in America, the question is timely. Jerks do seem to think they’re serving a useful purpose by annoying the crap out of everyone they meet.

The story takes multiple twists, using misdirection that makes it difficult for the reader to guess what will happen next. Crime fiction fans have grown accustomed to Deaver’s ability to create intriguing characters and surprising plots. “Turning Point,” while not as weighty as Deaver’s longer work, accomplishes those ends.

RECOMMENDED

4.5★
“The month was November and at this latitude in this midwestern clime the evening was chill, so the cap was not suspicious, nor the gloves, though they were thin cloth; leather would have been warmer, but would interfere with his dexterity.”

This is a short story, so Deaver takes us straight into it. Michael Stendhal is in the back of an old-fashioned taxi rather than use his own car or even an Uber. Not “for something like this”, we’re told. “He was presently unemployed but that didn’t mean he didn’t work.”

He’s a pretty unpleasant guy who revels in insulting everyone – taxi drivers, mums with kids, a homeless man, and a guy who stops to interview him near a crime scene. That’s an interesting exchange!

There has been a serial killer in the area, the police seem to be stumped, and the mayor is nervous because she’s up for re-election and ‘her’ police had better catch this guy quickly. He’s known as RDK, the Russian Doll Killer, because he leaves a Russian nesting doll at each crime scene.

“. . . the delicate and colorful Russian nesting doll, whose face was not unlike Michael’s at the moment: placid and content and more than a little mysterious.”

A fancy police psychologist flies in, has a look, flies back, writes a report and says the dolls mean the guy had an unhappy childhood.

I never read any of French author Stendhal’s works (pen name), but Michael’s name intrigued me, so of course I had to look it up. Here’s what the Goodreads bio says:

“Known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology,. . . “

Interesting, because we find ourselves immersed in Michael’s thought patterns, and I suspect the name was chosen with care. He goes on creepy dates and tries to play nice and polite at first. But it’s not long before . . .

I’ll leave you to find the story and see how the investigation pans out, which is not how you'd think.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Originals for the preview copy. I haven’t read Jeffery Deaver before, but I may have to correct that.

Very well developed characters and an extremely engaging story. Well thought out and very suspenseful story line that keeps the reader guessing until the final twist! This is the book to read this year! Highly recommended!

Another enjoyable read from Jeffery Deaver. I enjoy his short stories and this one is no exception. There is unlikable characters, police procedures, and a serial killer, I was intrigued with the Russian Nesting Dolls that the killer left at the killings. I enjoyed the narration feature which made it a quick story to enjoy while on short car trips and/or runs/walks. The narration was well done. Deaver is a master at adding in many twists and turns even in this a short story. Fun quick read!

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the digital advance reading copy of this book.

I love Jeffrey Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme series, while this short story wasn't as amazing as the Lincoln stories, it was still great!

The novella was full of twists and turns (that I did not see coming), and some weird and interesting characters.

This was such a good short story. I imagine it would be hard to write a story less than 100 pages and make it not rushed but and this one was not rushed at all.

I loved the characters especially Michael.
And that little twist at the end, I really did not see that coming

An absolute rollercoaster of a short novella by Jeffery Deaver.
This story tells the tale of the Russian Doll Killer and the attempts by Detective Ernest Neville to catch him.
The characters are beautifully crafted and the story has so many twists and turns that makes the story a compulsive read.
Keeps you guessing until the end and a highly recommended read.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley in allowing me to read in return for a review.

Jeffery Deaver has delivered a cleverly crafted story. He disguises some hints of what will happen in this very interesting short story.

A great fast paced short story from Jeffrey Deaver. The Russian Doll killer is murdering women in the Midwestern suburbs of Handleman county leaving the nesting doors at each scene. Detective Ernest Neville has no leads and is under pressure from his superiors to find and stop this killer before he strikes again. I was hooked from the first page and didn’t see the major twist coming. Would definitely recommend!

He’s called The Russian Doll Killer: a serial killer who stalks single women, murders them in their homes, and leaves behind his calling card, a Russian nesting doll. The vics are stacking up and Detective Ernest Neville’s under pressure to catch RDK before he strikes again - and that’s when he hatches an ingenious plan. But when a Russian nesting doll shows up on his doorstep, will he be the cat or the mouse?

I’ve never read any Jeffery Deaver before but I’m definitely going to pick up more after this - Turning Point is an excellent crime short story! Looking back at it, the story itself isn’t that original an idea but the brilliance is in the execution of how Deaver tells it so that you never really have a strong grip on where the story’s going or how it’ll play out.

The bulk of the story is pretty good - we see Michael, this obnoxious man, go through his days, putting everyone he comes across down and behaving like a shitweasel, interspersed with scenes of Neville trying to figure out who the killer is - then we get the finale which was totally unpredictable; a reveal worthy of Agatha Christie!

Deaver spends maybe too long on Michael being a dickhead. I wouldn’t expect there to be much fat on a short story so I’m not sure what the point of the date night scene was given that all it did was underline what we already knew about Michael’s personality. That unnecessary padding is the only part of the story that I could’ve done without.

The rest of it though is really great. A tense, exciting, gripping, and cleverly constructed crime story from a writer who’s clearly a master. Turning Point is a highly entertaining, twisty read.

Serial Killer Chiller....
Nothing is quite as it first appears in this serial killer chiller from Jeffery Deaver. Enjoyable, well plotted and entertaining short, punchy read with a neat twist.