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.

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