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Double Cross
Things started out so sweet. Everyone was going to be rich. All because of Trunk Man. He was the guy Papa and his meatheads stuffed in the back of a stolen Nissan and drove to a forest preserve outside Detroit. He owed Papa big-time. To save his own sorry neck, Trunk Man made an offer: a million dollars in bonds tucked away in a safe. Boost it, split it, and toss Trunk Man from a roof. Easy.
They hadn’t counted on a few things: like a broken axle, or the witness…or all that blood. Before this scheme is over, the road to a seven-figure heaven is going to feel a little more like hell.
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 18, 2017
2903 people are currently reading
685 people want to read
About the author
Jeffery Deaver
509 books11.7k followers#1 international bestselling author of over thirty novels and three collections of short stories. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages. His first novel featuring Lincoln Rhyme, The Bone Collector, was made into a major motion picture starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. He's received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews
May 20, 2023
Anonymous! 😶
The narrator of this story, and his friends are predicting a sweet robbery and murder.
With “Papa” in charge, Dave, Marcos and The Narrator, kidnap “The Trunkman,” and coerce a million dollars in bonds from him.
Everything is looking rosy…
Four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The narrator of this story, and his friends are predicting a sweet robbery and murder.
With “Papa” in charge, Dave, Marcos and The Narrator, kidnap “The Trunkman,” and coerce a million dollars in bonds from him.
Everything is looking rosy…
Four stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
December 12, 2020
A not too complicated story about two triggermen robbing and broker and getting rid of an unwanted witness. The twist with Larkin and the episode with the gay/transgender protest march was okay but nothing that gets you off the rocker. The "double cross" is properly explained. For a short story it was okay, a bit predictable and nothing too special. Recommended if you like to have a quick read about hitmen fighting each other.
April 24, 2017
This standalone short story from Jeffery Deaver is a nice diversion from his usual Lincoln Rhyme & Kathryn Dance novels. It's told in the first person from the point of view of a minor villain & as always with Deaver's work there's a little twist or two.
December 10, 2020
Another very short story by the master itself!!
In fact so short, that I want to say only this:
Brilliantly and excellently written!!
If I could, I would like to give Mr. Deaver a reward for this one!!!
Two gangsters want to eliminate a witness..
But something goes very wrong indeed!!
A kick ass of a short story thriller with a bombastic ending!!!
Dean;)
In fact so short, that I want to say only this:
Brilliantly and excellently written!!
If I could, I would like to give Mr. Deaver a reward for this one!!!
Two gangsters want to eliminate a witness..
But something goes very wrong indeed!!
A kick ass of a short story thriller with a bombastic ending!!!
Dean;)
July 25, 2017
I've thoroughly enjoyed nearly everything I've read from Jeffery Deaver, including his short story compilations and short story singles, but Double Cross laft me rather puzzled. It was written from the perps point of view and ended rather abruptly. It seemed more like an experimental piece rather than what you would typically expect from Deaver which would be twisting the tale many times, solid character development and depth of detail. I understand changing it up from time to time (I.E. October List & Blue Nowhere - both of which were great) but Double Cross was hopefully what I mentioned earlier - just an experiment.
June 29, 2017
Not much of an ending
Not much of a story and the ending leaves you wanting more. But over a good short read that you can finish in one sitting.
Not much of a story and the ending leaves you wanting more. But over a good short read that you can finish in one sitting.
December 20, 2021
I'm a big fan of Deaver's work, but this one was just meh for me. The ending wasn't what you expect from a Deaver story. Not gonna summarize this one as it'll give the plot away. If you're looking for a quick (~20 minute) read, this will do.
June 8, 2021
What? Finished already??
September 25, 2024
Entertaining mystery listening ✨😎🎵
This kindle novella is from my Kindle Unlimited account kindle single.
They rob a store of bonds. The get away does not go as planned. Now the clean up begins.
I would recommend this series and author to readers looking for a quick mystery read. 2024
This kindle novella is from my Kindle Unlimited account kindle single.
They rob a store of bonds. The get away does not go as planned. Now the clean up begins.
I would recommend this series and author to readers looking for a quick mystery read. 2024
March 27, 2018
A short story to read over a 20 minute cup of coffee
May 7, 2022
3.5*
June 20, 2020
A Deaver tale, told from one of the henchmen
This is a great Jeffery Deaver tale, and the one main difference is that one if the henchmen tells it.
Still great though! I highly recommend it!
This is a great Jeffery Deaver tale, and the one main difference is that one if the henchmen tells it.
Still great though! I highly recommend it!
May 30, 2017
Quick read
Interesting perspective, and a surprise ending, as usual. I expected it to be longer when I downloaded it, but it is complete just the way it is.
Interesting perspective, and a surprise ending, as usual. I expected it to be longer when I downloaded it, but it is complete just the way it is.
August 20, 2025
Wanting to fill my summer with a mix of novels and short stories, I came upon some stuff by Jeffrey Deaver. I have read some of his short works before and have promised to delve into the full-length stuff. For now, this short piece captured my attention. A young guy wants to impress his father and support rhe family business. When he’s tasked with killing a witness that could create a headache, it’s time to act. However, this witness has a plan all their own to make things interesting. Deaver impresses with another of his short stories.
There is nothing like trying to impress one’s father in order to be in his good graces. Such is what this young guy did by coming up with a plan for a guy to pay his debt, vig and all. However, there can be no loose ends. Leaving the scene of the ‘clean-up’, our protagonist gets into some car trouble and is assisted by a random stranger. More loose ends to tie up, which means more bloodshed. The hunt for the witness begins a while later and when it’s time to pull the trigger, something changes the entire parameter of the event and the witness has a plan of their own to create confusion. Deaver impresses with this short piece and the ending that makes it all worthwhile.
I enjoy short stories that entertain and get to the point all at once. Jeffrey Deaver does that with this piece. The narrative flies out of the gate and keeps the reader guessing until all is said and done. There is little time for character development, as things speed along with a list of loose ends to neutralise. The plot simmers from the outset, at least until the twists begin and then there is no stopping it. Deaver weaves a great ending to this piece that turns the tables and executes the ultimate double cross.
Kudos, Mr. Deaver, as you make your mark with my summer short story reading.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
There is nothing like trying to impress one’s father in order to be in his good graces. Such is what this young guy did by coming up with a plan for a guy to pay his debt, vig and all. However, there can be no loose ends. Leaving the scene of the ‘clean-up’, our protagonist gets into some car trouble and is assisted by a random stranger. More loose ends to tie up, which means more bloodshed. The hunt for the witness begins a while later and when it’s time to pull the trigger, something changes the entire parameter of the event and the witness has a plan of their own to create confusion. Deaver impresses with this short piece and the ending that makes it all worthwhile.
I enjoy short stories that entertain and get to the point all at once. Jeffrey Deaver does that with this piece. The narrative flies out of the gate and keeps the reader guessing until all is said and done. There is little time for character development, as things speed along with a list of loose ends to neutralise. The plot simmers from the outset, at least until the twists begin and then there is no stopping it. Deaver weaves a great ending to this piece that turns the tables and executes the ultimate double cross.
Kudos, Mr. Deaver, as you make your mark with my summer short story reading.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
April 25, 2020
3.5 ⭐️
May 19, 2021
An unexpected witness must be dealt with by some hitmen, but the unexpected witness has something unexpected about them.
A brilliant, and darkly funny, short story by Deaver.
A brilliant, and darkly funny, short story by Deaver.
June 13, 2022
Jeffrey Deaver’s Double Cross is entertaining but it is just too short-there is never enough time to get to know or care about anything here before it is over. Three stars for a nice pun.
December 29, 2022
Double Cross
In this short story, hit men need to take care of a witness, but the twist is who gets double crossed.
In this short story, hit men need to take care of a witness, but the twist is who gets double crossed.
November 9, 2019
Unlike the other short stories, this one was the worst. It's like the author needed an ending and just tossed one in there just to finish the book. So disappointing.
August 10, 2021
Not quite sure what the point of this one was.
May 13, 2017
At first, the way it's written was difficult to navigate. Then I got into the story more and found that the writing style, with little punctuation and run on sentences, got you into the character's head.
And I absolutely love the ending!
And I absolutely love the ending!
May 10, 2017
Classic Deaver Twist
For a kindle single this story packs in the classic Deaver Twist. The story is not new but has the Deaver treatment!!
For a kindle single this story packs in the classic Deaver Twist. The story is not new but has the Deaver treatment!!
November 12, 2017
Jeffrey Deaver is best known for his Lincoln Rhyme novels, but Deaver's favorite detective is nowhere to be found in the short story, "Double Cross." In his place, readers will find some cleverly humorous dialogue, lowlife characters straight out of Damon Runyon, a double twist ending that seems to come out of nowhere, and some questionable pricing. The end result is an entertaining, albeit overpriced story that's somewhat less than prime Deaver.
Before discussing this story, I’d like to point out that this is, in fact, a short story, not a novel. The title describes “Double Cross” as a Kindle Single, the description on the Amazon page states that it is 29 pages long (some of which is an excerpt from one of Deaver’s novels), and the story is classified under “Short Reads 45 Minutes (22-32 pages). Contrary to what some of the reviews imply, the author and Amazon are being straightforward in their description of this story; there is no deception involved. Whether “Double Cross” is worth the list price is another matter altogether.
The narrator of the story is a loan shark’s enforcer who, along with some of his fellow goons, steals a fortune in bearer bonds from an investment banker’s office. The robbery goes so smoothly that no one else in the office will knows that the bonds are missing for a couple of months. However, as the robbers are getting away, they are spotted by a passerby near the building. The loan shark is a cautious man and doesn’t any potential witnesses to the crime, so he orders the narrator to eliminate the bystander. This would-be hit, however, proves far easier said than done.
The plot of “Double Cross” is fairly bare bones. Deaver spends only a couple of paragraphs describing the robbery, and the showdown between the witness and the mobsters doesn’t take much longer to relate. However, the relative simplicity of the storyline doesn’t detract from the author’s clever use of language. Simply put, the narrator isn’t the best grammarian in the world, so Deaver is able to deliberately mangle the descriptive passages and dialogue. The result is a fun read in what is definitely not the Queen’s English
And that leads up to the ending. “Double Cross” has a trick ending, two of them as a matter of fact. The ending is clever in one sense; most readers won’t be able to guess it. But it’s also very frustrating in another because it simply doesn’t follow from anything that’s in the story leading up to it. To be fair, the author drops a couple of clues, but when all is said and done, the ending really has nothing to do with the rest of the story. It’s a twist in search of a story.
There’s another factor to be considered in rating “Double Cross,” namely the price. I would have a tough time justifying paying the usual list price for the book. However, “Double Cross” is also available on Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited for free for those having either of those services (I read the book for free through Prime Reading).
In rating “Double Cross,” I would strongly caution anyone against paying full price for the book unless they are a Deaver completist or big fan. However, for those who have access to the book for free, it’s a decent way to spend a lunch hour or similar short stretch of time. My three-star rating would apply to the latter group. Otherwise, “Double Cross” might be too pricey a cross to bear.
Before discussing this story, I’d like to point out that this is, in fact, a short story, not a novel. The title describes “Double Cross” as a Kindle Single, the description on the Amazon page states that it is 29 pages long (some of which is an excerpt from one of Deaver’s novels), and the story is classified under “Short Reads 45 Minutes (22-32 pages). Contrary to what some of the reviews imply, the author and Amazon are being straightforward in their description of this story; there is no deception involved. Whether “Double Cross” is worth the list price is another matter altogether.
The narrator of the story is a loan shark’s enforcer who, along with some of his fellow goons, steals a fortune in bearer bonds from an investment banker’s office. The robbery goes so smoothly that no one else in the office will knows that the bonds are missing for a couple of months. However, as the robbers are getting away, they are spotted by a passerby near the building. The loan shark is a cautious man and doesn’t any potential witnesses to the crime, so he orders the narrator to eliminate the bystander. This would-be hit, however, proves far easier said than done.
The plot of “Double Cross” is fairly bare bones. Deaver spends only a couple of paragraphs describing the robbery, and the showdown between the witness and the mobsters doesn’t take much longer to relate. However, the relative simplicity of the storyline doesn’t detract from the author’s clever use of language. Simply put, the narrator isn’t the best grammarian in the world, so Deaver is able to deliberately mangle the descriptive passages and dialogue. The result is a fun read in what is definitely not the Queen’s English
And that leads up to the ending. “Double Cross” has a trick ending, two of them as a matter of fact. The ending is clever in one sense; most readers won’t be able to guess it. But it’s also very frustrating in another because it simply doesn’t follow from anything that’s in the story leading up to it. To be fair, the author drops a couple of clues, but when all is said and done, the ending really has nothing to do with the rest of the story. It’s a twist in search of a story.
There’s another factor to be considered in rating “Double Cross,” namely the price. I would have a tough time justifying paying the usual list price for the book. However, “Double Cross” is also available on Prime Reading and Kindle Unlimited for free for those having either of those services (I read the book for free through Prime Reading).
In rating “Double Cross,” I would strongly caution anyone against paying full price for the book unless they are a Deaver completist or big fan. However, for those who have access to the book for free, it’s a decent way to spend a lunch hour or similar short stretch of time. My three-star rating would apply to the latter group. Otherwise, “Double Cross” might be too pricey a cross to bear.
September 7, 2020
Ever Wonder How Criminals Think? Now You'll Know.
A short-story vignette that definitely will get your attention. This first-person narrative told through the eyes of a Detroit thug is a fast-paced crime story of the "thrill" of being on the inside of a mob operation.
The author's tough-toned writing quickly gets you into the main character's head, exposing how he thinks and why crime motivates him. Lots of surprises will keep the story going, until it's over before you were ready. Ugh!
I've become a fan of these shorter Amazon reads, perfect for a fast "escape" reading break. Deaver's great character development helps you sample his writing style in this focused work. Loved the drama added with Audible's narration that added to my enjoyment.
Not disappointed! I'll be thinking about it at least the rest of the day. Now back to work.
A short-story vignette that definitely will get your attention. This first-person narrative told through the eyes of a Detroit thug is a fast-paced crime story of the "thrill" of being on the inside of a mob operation.
The author's tough-toned writing quickly gets you into the main character's head, exposing how he thinks and why crime motivates him. Lots of surprises will keep the story going, until it's over before you were ready. Ugh!
I've become a fan of these shorter Amazon reads, perfect for a fast "escape" reading break. Deaver's great character development helps you sample his writing style in this focused work. Loved the drama added with Audible's narration that added to my enjoyment.
Not disappointed! I'll be thinking about it at least the rest of the day. Now back to work.
April 10, 2018
This was my first time reading anything by Jeffery Deaver, and this short story left me scratching my head. The story only had 4 characters and a bunch of nothing going on. The two main characters who are "hit men" for Papa are not the brightest light bulbs in the box. I don't think Papa is that bright, because how do you have a "hit man" who comes to a scene to "rescue" a fellow "hit man" in a bright yellow sports car, knowing that there is stolen items worth millions in their possession. I found that scenario absolutely unbelievable and ridiculous. The only reason I gave this short story 3 stars, is due to the ending. I totally didn't see a transgender/sex change being part of the story line. Overall, this story was meh and I would not recommend it to anyone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 30, 2020
At less than 30 min this is a short story and quick listen. I can’t imagine purchasing it - but included as an Amazon Prime or Kindle Unlimited benefit, it’s a nice little lunch break listen.
This is my first book by Jeffrey Deaver and I'm definitely interested in more. Double Cross is 1st person POV entirely by an unnamed organized crime member. It’s an engaging story with a very surprising ending fitting of the title. It does end abruptly - but I liked it.
Scott Merriman’s narration really makes this story. He does a great job with the various voices. The original text is full of run on sentences and little punctuation. I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much if I had just read it.
This is my first book by Jeffrey Deaver and I'm definitely interested in more. Double Cross is 1st person POV entirely by an unnamed organized crime member. It’s an engaging story with a very surprising ending fitting of the title. It does end abruptly - but I liked it.
Scott Merriman’s narration really makes this story. He does a great job with the various voices. The original text is full of run on sentences and little punctuation. I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much if I had just read it.
January 23, 2023
I wish I could have liked this more. For a small crime story about a couple of tough guys pulling a robbery and then cleaning up some loose ends afterward, I really liked the setup and the 1st person pov.
It was interesting to be in the pov of someone who didn't seem very sharp but who was evidently smarter than they (and the reader) gave credit for, considering how competent they were at certain things. It reminded me a bit of Immortal Technique's phrase "a feeble-minded young man within infinite potential."
I can't say I was in love with the way the story ended. Sure, it looped around to explain itself, but I didn't find it too satisfying. This was still a fun little crime read and probably an enjoyable exercise by the author to embody the character for a while.
It was interesting to be in the pov of someone who didn't seem very sharp but who was evidently smarter than they (and the reader) gave credit for, considering how competent they were at certain things. It reminded me a bit of Immortal Technique's phrase "a feeble-minded young man within infinite potential."
I can't say I was in love with the way the story ended. Sure, it looped around to explain itself, but I didn't find it too satisfying. This was still a fun little crime read and probably an enjoyable exercise by the author to embody the character for a while.
February 17, 2019
A good short story from a fine author who demonstrates his ability here in a brief tale of mob life in Detroit.
Told through the eyes of a junior member making his way through the junior ranks up to his first kill.
You learn not to be in debt to Papa.
You learn not to mess up on a job.
You learn that loose ends always get tied up.
What I did not see coming was the double cross. I love a simple story of crime and punishment. Mob culture always intrigues the average Godfather fan. This is low key but delivered with a clever plot minus all the stereotypes and cliché riddled language.
Well worth a read and finished in less than 30 minutes.
Told through the eyes of a junior member making his way through the junior ranks up to his first kill.
You learn not to be in debt to Papa.
You learn not to mess up on a job.
You learn that loose ends always get tied up.
What I did not see coming was the double cross. I love a simple story of crime and punishment. Mob culture always intrigues the average Godfather fan. This is low key but delivered with a clever plot minus all the stereotypes and cliché riddled language.
Well worth a read and finished in less than 30 minutes.
November 13, 2017
Realize this is a very short story - a 29-page eBook good for maybe a ten-minute read, if that. It's about some stupid criminals that decide to steal bearer bonds from a brokerage firm, but then need to "off" a good Samaritan that tries to help them when their getaway car gets stuck. One of the younger thugs gets the assignment with a helper, and that's when the tale twists to a surprising conclusion.
We usually like Deaver's short stories a lot and consider him a master of the medium. This one probably didn't strain him much -- and we were entertained in about the same proportion.
We usually like Deaver's short stories a lot and consider him a master of the medium. This one probably didn't strain him much -- and we were entertained in about the same proportion.
July 31, 2020
I think you have to rate something like this for what it is, not what it isn't. So it isn't a novel but a short story and for a short story I think it is pretty good. He moves the pace along, has some nice twists. Have enjoyed other books by Mr. Deaver. The writing style worked well of a story like this. Written in the first person and displaying the criminal perspective. A nice little read while you are waiting for a medical appointment (or any other event where you have to sit waiting on someone else.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews