5★
“I glance over the heads of the mourners and see him. A man in the woods.
. . .
And he’s staring directly at me. I am in sunglasses too, Ray-Bans, and can keep my face pointed at the harpist while watching him.”

I do love a good story, short or long, and this is a good one! The narrator is at a funeral. The Goodreads blurb tells you his wife has just died when her car hit a deer and went flying down a steep hillside. He’s a professor of history, someone who likes to research the details, not just cherry-pick a few facts and fabricate the rest.

Yes, she was a bit of a lead-foot and adrenalin junkie. She’d worked in some dangerous places overseas, but now she’s a wife and charity worker. Still, she did like speed.

“Detective Bragg had been right about her driving “pretty fast.” When she plowed off the highway on Palmer Mountain she’d been doing close to seventy. In a fifty-five zone.”

He drags the detective out to the site to have a look. He’s not happy about a few of the details – or rather, the missing details. He knows he may be grasping at straws, but he does have his own history with this sort of thing.

“I step across the road and climb the brush-covered hill. Grassy knoll, I think. I wrote a dissertation on the Kennedy assassination.”

The style of the first part of the story is choppy but keeps things moving. It gets more and more complicated and interesting and is a terrific investigation. I can’t begin to tell you how much Deaver manages to fit into a story that could have been developed into a novel.

Loved it! Thanks NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the preview copy. I’m so glad Amazon is promoting short stories.

This short story built up suspense nicely in the first half, however the resolution felt completely contrived.and unrealistic.

The book was easy to read and get into. The whole story seemed a little far fetched. It was really aggravating that the husband never showed any emotions after his wife passed nor when he starts looking into an affair. . Decent storyline but nothing to write home about.

How well do you really know your spouse? Professor Jon Talbot thought he knew everything about his wife Patience (Paz) until she was killed in a car accident., but once the police start asking questions, Jon begins to look at things in a new light and discover that all is NOT as it seems. During the course of the “investigation”, he finds out some things that make him question if he ever really knew his wife at all. This is a great short story from Deaver—entertaining, with twists and turns and intrigue. I believe that you will root for Jon as he works to find out the truth about his wife’s death. I know I did. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I don't often pick up short stories or novellas, simply because I prefer more space for worldbuilding and character development, and shorter works often leave me feeling unsatisfied. What moved me to pick this one up was that it is by Jeffery Deaver, an author who has yet to disappoint me.
And while the length of this novella about a history professor who does not believe his wife's death truly was accidental doesn't allow much scope on the above-mentioned counts, he really does manage to pull it off in his trademark page-turner style.
Once you get hooked by the mystery of what happened to Pax, you won't be able to put this down until it's finished - and Deaver manages to weave some twists and turns into the story that I for one did not see coming.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and would recommend anyone who is looking for an engaging thriller or mystery but doesn't want to invest the time that a full-length novel requires.

Deaver can write great short stories but unfortunately this ain't one of them. A slow-moving story about a man trying to find out his wife's secret life that barely entertains and become sensationalist rubbish by the end. Too much nothing for the most part and an info-dump-heavy finale. Weak stuff.

4.5★s
Cause Of Death is an Amazon Original short story by American author, Jeffery Deaver. When Pax Addison’s car runs off Route 420 on Palmer Mountain, it looks like an unfortunate accident. But for her husband, history professor Jon Talbot, a few things don’t add up: her cell phone and laptop are missing; the scene of the accident doesn’t look quite right; and there was a stranger lurking in the background at her funeral.

Deputy Terry Garner at Martinsville County Public Safety explains to Jon that it’s natural to want to discover a cause for an accidental death but, before long he, too, is convinced there may have been foul play. As more anomalies emerge, further investigation reveals another body. Now there really is a case to investigate.

The County cops also have a drowning that looks suspicious on their hands, while Jon is busy following up with personal papers in Pax’s study, searching for a clue to that stranger at the funeral: was she having an affair? Does he really want to know?

His protagonist displays logical, deductive thinking that is satisfying to follow and, while it may be only 77 pages long, Deaver manages to pack this short story full of red herrings and twists that will keep the reader guessing right up to the final pages.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories.

A short suspensful story.

Deaver is known for his surprising twists. And of course they are in this short story too. Jon decides to investigate his wife's fatal car accident. He soon finds out that the whole thing is more suspicious than it initially seemed. To make matters worse, a mysterious man follows him. Was he the one who murdered Jon's wife? And if so, why?

Deaver is great at writing a good short stories. Nothing is missing here. Not only do we have an interesting mystery, but the author also managed to create a three-dimensional main character - Jon, in a few efficient and simple scenes. He is perfect for leading us through this story, in which we reveal the layers of this mystery with him.

To compare a full-length novel to a short story, as so many reviewers do, isn’t fair. The author IS. A great novelist, and has shown strength as a short-story writer as well with this entry. He squeezes a lot into a a quick read, and he even manages a twist to keep you guessing.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories and the author, Jeffrey Deaver, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of Cause of Death in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I really enjoyed reading this story.
Plenty of action and well defined characters keep you turning pages.
Well worth a read

Downloading this book, it seems very small, but I assure you there's a full story inside. The plot is interesting, the characters are great, and the writing is very good.

Hmm, Cause of Death didn’t take me in as much as I’d hoped. I don’t really know.

I guess I was expecting a lot, considering it’s from THE Jeffery Deaver. I’ve heard lots of good things about him. I’ve seen a lot of his stuff at my favorite secondhand bookstore too.

The premise is interesting, I’ll give it that. The resolution was actually quite good, too.

It’s just that… I found the first half of this really difficult. And that’s saying a lot, because it only took me like 30 minutes or so to finish the entire book. But man, the first 20 minutes were just… I wouldn’t say boring, but it was definitely bland. I didn’t feel anything. I was only vaguely interested.

I found that I didn’t care much for the characters until about the halfway mark. That’s when it started picking up, and that’s when I started becoming more interested. The twist was quite unexpected so I actually enjoyed the ending.

Anyway, thank you NetGalley for the free copy!

Jon Talbot is obsessed with finding out the cause of his wife’s death. This is a short story that has a twist that requires you to suspend reality. It is enjoyable short story but not quite as good as other things I have read by this author. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Cause of Death is another very good mystery by Jeffery Deaver. A history professor is obsessively involved in discovering the real story behind his wife’s “accidental” death. I am not usually a super fan of the short story but I was fully engaged from beginning to end.

I've heard great things about this author. I've read a few of his books, and I've been less than impressed. They were just "meh," and that's how I felt about this one, as well. Thankfully, it was quite short. I didn't really connect with the characters or story, though there were a couple interesting twists.

Thank you NetGalley, Amazon Original and Author for me his ebook copy!

This is crazy to say but this was my first Deaver book! And I'm here to say I'm obsessed!
Jeffrey's writing is like no other, and the stories he tells are flat out amazing, interesting and well written!
Cause of Death kept me wanting more. I had to keep turning the pages because I couldn't get enough.
I couldn't stop reading and that guy's makes for a awesome read!
The characters were very well written and developed. Jon was a determined man who wanted answers and I loved that about it!
Guys just read in. Its great and I can't wait till this hits the shelves so I can get my hands on a copy!

Again thank you for the opportunity to read and review this outstanding novel!
I'll post to my Goodreads, Bookstagram and Facebook accounts closer to pub date!

This very short mystery centers around history teacher, Jon Talbot, who refuses to accept the official verdict of accidental death when his wife’s car plunges into a ravine. Entertaining, but I’d like to see it as a full length novel

It is a short story, not a book.

I loved the premise and 80% of the story but afterwards it went down the hill and quite steep. At least it is a short story so not much time was wasted. Having done research on the author post-story the choice of the ending is predictable.

The world seems to love Deaver. Amazon certainly does. They are always selecting them for their short story publications. And then I read them, for some reason, mostly because I really like novella formats and because I’m trying to understand the appeal of the author.
Deaver is a pro, he’s had a lot (a lot) of experience. And like most pros he has learned to pander to the general public with the easily digestible slickness of his writing. This story is yet another prime example of it, but it’s actually slightly above average in that it isn’t too dumb down or preposterous.
It’s one of those how well do you really know your wife scenarios when a woman dies in a seemingly everyday shafu of a car crash but upon further investigating somewhat mysterious circumstances emerge. Where’s her computer or her phone? Where are the skid tracks on the road? Was it 9gasp?) a murder? And who would want to murder such a nice woman? And why?
It’s decently written in clipped sentenced of the attention deficit powered neonoir narrative and has a wild (and by wild I mean wildly out there, suspend your credulity) twist, but it’s a fairly decent read overall. It doesn’t insult one’s intelligence quite like most of Deaver’s stories do. And goes by quickly too. Thanks Netgalley.

How well do you really know your spouse?

Jon thought he knew his wife Patience. (Or his pet name for her – Pax). But he is soon to discover that there may be pieces of her last that she kept from him.

Jon heard the news that his wife Pax was killed in an accident on a mountain road. Her car drove off the shoulder and tumbled down the embankment. The police are quick to say it was an accident. But Jon believes there must be something more. He thinks she may have been murdered! But who would kill his wife? And why?

This was a super quick short story that I read in only a sitting. I was intrigued right from the start what secrets would unfold.

This would have made for a great full length book with the characters given more time to develop. But Jeffrey Deaver provides enough depth to give you the connection you need.

I’ve read most every book written by this author and he never disappoints!

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Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories.