The Victims’ Club

Great writing! Great plot! Great simplicity! Deaver is a Pro!
I read “The Victim’s Club to take the bad taste from the preceding review out of my mouth. And I’m glad I did. Jeffery Deaver’s novella (called ‘Kindle Single’ by Amazon) is just what the doctor ordered.A sleepy county police establishment in a Massachussets college town sees Detective Jon Avery take over a colleague’s case while she’s away on a family emergency. There was nothing sinister or overly dramatic about someone posting on the internet a drugged college professor’s semi-nude photo. Like I said, there was little drama and hysteria to the plot.I could have been “on the rebound” from that last, awful review. But I don’t think so. Plain and simple: Deaver is an excellent writer who hooked me, wowed me and carried me to the plot’s satisfying conclusion in a couple of Sunday afternoon quiet hours.Deaver’s style is superb in an understated, colloquial kind of way; a story a buddy would tell you about the hell of a week he just had. He paints beautiful pictures with his words. The pictures mold to your imagination in a suggestive manner, not forcing you to see the scenes through his eyes, but enhancing the reader’s mental film production. Here’s an example: “The two of them entered the building — gothic and, of course, crowned with fearsome limestone spires — and found the massive food court, filled with hundreds of energetic students. The high ceilings and hard tile floors accentuated the noise. It seemed impossible to have a conversation over the din, but students were certainly trying. The smell of limp burgers and onions warming on the steam table was pervasive.” Wow! That short paragraph is equivalent to a three to four minute pan from a ceiling mounted camera! Better.Here’s another: “The place was decorated in what his wife, Becky, called 1970s Uninspired. The style included brushed aluminum, yellowing acoustic tile and beige walls last painted two budgets ago.” See what he did here? He let the reader experience a physical location first hand, developed a minor character, painted the scene’s mood and foretold the state of mind his protagonist would be walking into as he entered the police station.Finally, the author holds a conversation with the reader: “It really was gorgeous, two stories high and built of intricately carved white stone. And it was crowned, you bet, with spires like those on a Game of Thrones palace.”No doubt about it. This was the best $1.99 I spent today. Moreover, it introduced me to a writer I will be reading more of.A well deserved Five Stars out of Five!

THE VICTIMS’ CLUB by Jeffery Deaver (A Kindle Single Short Story)
Rating: 2.5 StarsI was really looking forward to this little story after reading the description, but unfortunately it did absolutely nothing for me. Not only did I find it very underwhelming and not at all exciting, but I never felt a connection to either the victim (Rose) or the detective (Avery) investigating her sexual assault case either. In fact, the only thing that saved this from getting a two star rating was the actual ending which I honestly never did see coming. Compared to some of Mr. Deaver’s other work however, this brief story felt uninspired and slow going in my opinion.NOTE: I read the kindle version while simultaneously listening to the audio book. The narrator did a nice job with his pacing and expressions I thought. My only issue would be with the female voices which were too breathy and/or not very feminine sounding. On a whole he definitely did pretty good though.Length: The story itself ended at the 95% mark on page 36 and location 578.

THE WINNERS’ CLUB
This book puts Jeffery Deaver in the Winners’ Club of Mysteries and Detective Stories. I appreciated his ability to bring real life together with heroism. My only criticism is that I wish it was longer! Thank you all the hard work that it took to bring this story to me and the rest of the reading public.

A college professor was roofied at a party and had naked photos upload
Detective John Avery has been assigned this case while its original investigator takes some personal time. He meets brick walls everyone turnsInteresting investigation!

A well written development of a criminal case that is believable and appropriate to the present day difficulties in investigating cyber crimes.

Love Jeffery Deaver

You really can’t go wrong with a Jeffrey Deaver novel and this one certainly lived up to expectations. Well written story, and again I did not figure it out, had to. Be told. I recommend a great read.