Turning Point by Jeffery Deaver

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.

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