Surprise Ending

by Jeffery Deaver

The number one priority for Bradley Reynolds of Maryland’s Organized Crime Taskforce is Andre Hector Federico. The mob boss is old school—a devoted family man, treacherous as hell, and paranoid enough to have escaped Reynolds’s sting. Now Reynolds has a new plan: enlist prize-winning crime novelist Alan Seybold to concoct a foolproof chapter-by-chapter scenario on how to lure Federico out of his safe zone and collar him. There’s just one condition: Seybold has to play by the rules of real life. Beyond that, the king of bestselling page-turners can have all the fun he wants. But as skilled as Seybold is, even he can’t foresee where this thriller is headed—or just how dangerous its plot twists can be.

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories, Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

44 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 21, 2017

About the author

#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.

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story by Jeffery Deaver that is full of twists and does has exactly what the title promises a 'Surprise Ending'. Well woven plot and packs so much information and intrigue into so few pages.
A good little read from this experienced author putting me in the mood for a Lincoln Rhymes novel.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeffrey Deaver at his best

This short story is well written. Descriptions of each character is insightful as to their individual personalities. The plot seemed interesting as it did have an original twist.

I rated this a 4 rounded up from 3.5 as I never saw the ending coming at all and it was the best part!

[SVETLANA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Deaver's short stories. They are always full of twists and unexpected endings.
The story is about 2 gangs in Baltimore and how fight for power between them is solved by crime novelists.
The story has what title says: a Surprising Ending.

[Shannon M (Canada) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Deaver short story that has unexpected twists and turns. In the beginning, it appears to be a gangster tale, with the murder of a drug dealer who moved into the wrong turf. It then switches—unexpectedly—to a writer's conference and the musings of a successful, and noticeably arrogant, writer named Alan Seybold.

Rather unexpectedly, Seybold is approached by the police who ask for his help in bringing down a major drug kingpin without using entrapment or illegal means. Seybold complies by writing a plot line that should work, and the plan is put into action.

Any more said would get into spoiler territory, but as usual, with a Deaver story, there are several unexpected deviations. It was primarily a four-star plot, but, for me, the ending pushed it up to five stars. Yes, it was definitely a "surprise ending".

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

When a thriller writer becomes involved in the real crime world it results in a decidedly average short story from Jeffrey Deaver. The concept is interesting, but the payoff is poor.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another wickedly enticingly short story. Surprise Ending is about the rivalries within the shorefront in Baltimore and it pulsates with tension.
Two competing gangs; one secure with the older statesman never putting a foot wrong, on top of his game and the established player. The other a young wannabe, under gunned leading a loyal group but unable to tip the balance his way.
All this happens in front of a career detective unable to break the gangs but dreaming of taking down the old man and then mopping up the dregs.
In town for a book convention and festival of literature are two authors who mirror the literary world. One male, successful full of ideas and thanks to his editor brings forward another best seller but not universally welcome as good but money earning. Against a young novelist, from a creative writing background full of tight plotting, well mapped out stories and with interesting and new ideas within the genre. Trouble is Alan Seabold is full of himself, and has no time for the younger more talents but less well known Maggie Daye.
He is approached by the police to offer plot suggestions for a real life case of arresting the major villain Andre Frederico without entrapment or illegal means. Trouble he can’t keep himself out of the case and compromises himself if not the sting itself by wanting to capture his ideas taking Frederico down.
I loved the way Jeffrey Deaver sends up book events and author’s panels in a gentle way. The writer’s link with law enforcement a fact and fiction fusing together in a real case. It would be interesting to learn if he modelled Seabold on anyone.
Certainly, the action is fast and furious with the dark aspects of enforcing crime syndicates detailed.
You feel a sense of identity to all the well drawn characters, even the thugs get more thought than the annoying author Seabold shows himself to be. You can’t help hoping he comes to a sticky end as he helps the reader want to condone violence by his iterating selfishness. We leave Deaver to apply the twist and read on, in hope and a certain longing.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 state law enforcement officer has his eyes set on Andre Federico, a mob boss who dabbles in drugs and has left Maryland in dire straits. Past attempts to capture the man have failed, so a new plan is in the works. Using the mind of a popular novelist, a new plan is hatched, which goes well, but someone does not follow the rules. Now, there’s blowback and Federico might escape once again. Deaver does well with the twist in this piece.

Bradley Reynolds works for the Maryland Organized Crime Taskforce and has a tough case on his hands. Andre Hector Federico is a mob boss who uses old school rules to run his empire, making it harder for Reynolds to capture him. After many failures to bring down a drug ring, Reynolds seeks the assistance of popular writer Alan Seybold, who happens to be in town receiving a reward. Seybold loves the idea of helping, in hopes that it will provide insights for a future novel. After Seybold offers up a plan that will likely help capture Federico, he shows up at the takedown, which is a twist no one could have expected with this plot. What’s next is a completely new chapter that no one could predict. Deaver proves adept at his craft with this thrilling short piece.

I enjoy short stories that entertain and get to the point all at once. Jeffrey Deaver does well with a narrative that keeps the reader guessing until the last page. There is time for character development, but only brief overviews, as things speed along. The plot heats up from the outset, as things progress nicely and keep the reader on the edge of their seat.

Kudos, Mr. Deaver, as things are never dull with your storytelling!

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting listen (1.5 hours) during a drive home. The plot was the main focus as the characters were lacking depth (due to it being a short story). The ending wasn't a surprise, but it was fun.

[Shabana Mukhtar · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice introduction to Jeffery

This is the first time I read a book by Jeffrey and loved how he's introduced a new twist after twist.

Read on KU

[Becs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that definitely WAS a surprise ending; I totally didn't see that one coming. I love when an author tricks me, as Deaver quite often does, and whilst I do think there were enough bread crumbs for me to have figured it out myself he's always got me looking somewhere else instead. Despite this, I think I was mostly looking elsewhere for lesser reasons this time - I spent a great portion of this book trying to keep tabs of who was who because, despite the cast being quite small, none of the characters really felt tangible enough for me to remember any identifying voices or features.

The story is quite straightforward: a crime thriller author is enlisted by the police to help them essentially trap a known criminal who is particularly adept at dodging convictions and get him arrested. Honestly, it felt like a (still good) watered down version of Narcos, and I really enjoyed it. What's in it for the author? A True-Crime book deal if he manages to catch the perp for them!

I wanted a quick and unarguably compelling novella and that's exactly what I got. The characters aren't well fleshed, it can be a bit distracting, but it's a clever and enjoyable read I'd happily dip back into again.

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

As twisted as a Jeffrey Deaver book can get. Deaver doesn't need 400 pages to keep the reader guessing.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Surprisse Ending" is a well written short story with unexpected twists and turns..
I did enjoy it!!

This time a successful author of thrillers get caught in real crime..
He had to learn some lessons by the hard way..

A gang of criminals and corrupt agents!!
Who is the predator, and who is the victim??
This is an exciting reading, and full of suspense!!

Although it wasn't my favorite instalment in this series of short stories, nevertheless a rewarding and engrossing reading..

Dean;)

[Bandit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jeffrey Deaver is apparently huge enough of a name to warrant a Kindle shorts series all of his own. And, because such popularity almost never comes for the right reasons, it’s also the weakest of the stories I’ve been recently listening to. But that’s just Deaver all over, I’ve read an entire collection of his short stories titled Twisted and he never rises above a certain pedestrian level. And, of course, sells like crazy. Don’t know if it’s a genuine lack of talent or a pure case of knowing what sells and doing just that bare minimum, but it’s low hanging fruits all the way in Deaver’s orchard. And this is another one of those. Twisted, like he likes to do, with a surprise ending he’s apparently so proud of, he’s made it into a title. The concept is plain and laughable at the same time, something that would hold up to no intellectual scrutiny of any sort, but there you have it, two mob bosses in Baltimore are duking it out. A photogenic cop is determined to put the more important one away, but the guy’s too good to get any mud on his shoes. So the cop hires a crime writer to come up with some sort of clever entrapment. But…lo and behold, there are powers at play behind the scenes and as it turns out neither the cop or the writer are as clever as they think. So there you have it, serviceable generic writing, serviceable generic characters, cleverness aimed to wow the less imaginative audience. It’s all just kinda silly. In the world of this book, it’s almost as if Deaver thinks himself to be the rival author, Martha Day or something, but in reality he just may be the Alan Seybold of it. Cheap thrills all around.

[David Highton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clever double plot in this short story but all a little contrived

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not his best short stories but still entertaining. Great audio.

[Buddy Scalera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off strong with an intense opening scene with a promising tough-guy villain. Then the POV focused on an interesting main character, who happens to be a crime novel author.

This is one of those Kindle Singles that you can read for free, if you have Amazon prime. It's exciting to get big name authors to write novella-length books for the Kindle. Although, you may want to read this review before you download it. Even for free.

The story starts moving along in new and interesting ways. There's quite a bit of disbelief to suspend, but that's probably due to the short wordcount. There's not a lot of time to go into long explanations.

The story continues, but the telling of the story seems to evaporate. It's like the traditional prose becomes less specific and more like a story outline. In the last couple of chapters, things happen. And then more things happen. And it seems like some sort of story treatment.

This was very disappointing work from a top author.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeffrey Deaver’s Surprise Ending was a delight and I really enjoyed it-it definitely lived up to its’ name. I really did not see where things were headed so everything was as advertised. I think it is interesting to see what kind of a story an author can cook up to present on such a minimal stage. And of course Surprise Ending featured mystery writers as one of it’s many elements which proved to fun in and of itself.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery listening 🏙🤔✨🤗🎆

This kindle novella is from my Kindle Unlimited account book two of six

An interesting gangster shot story set in Baltimore, Maryland with a great ending.

I would recommend this series and author to readers of quick mystery novels. 2024 👒

[Alejandra Romero (lali_reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, color me surprised

In true Jeffery Deaver fashion, this was outstanding. A slow start turned into the most insane and wickedly satisfying plot twist! Amazing.

[JasonReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Over PA]: Attention customers, attention customers: Banger alert in aisle 6. I repeat, we have a banger alert in aisle 6.

Seriously, I haven't read too many mystery/thriller short stories, but this one is my current favorite.

[Dolores Remsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Last two books I read were not up to his his usual excellence. Is he slipping?

Surprise Ending and Solitude Creek were disappointing.
Surprise Ending was disjointed . Solitude Creek had so many Synonyms in the beginning and was very slow getting getting started.
Very disappointing. I previously READ 17 of his books and enjoyed them very much. Am I expecting to much?

[wayne s moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

i really don't like short stories. but for Deavers it started ok then went down hill

[Pamela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very surprising. Not very believable. And not very good.

[Donna Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have learned that reading books online introduces you to a verity of “mini” books by favorite authors. I enjoy Jeffry Deaver, whose plots are interesting and complex. This short book is one of these “intellectual puzzles,” as opposed to “go-get ‘em” action tales.


Members of the Organized Crime Force approach a famous crime writer seeking a creative way to bust a major kingpin who controlled a $490 million methamphetamine and opioid operation. The author devises a plan, which is executed perfectly. But what happens if the detective is also a corrupt, skimming money from the take down. Who will protect the author when he sets up this bust? And, is there another plot? How about a surprise ending. The best...

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thriller writer Alan Seybold is given the opportunity of a lifetime when two cops ask him to help plot a sting to take down a drug baron.

Wheels within wheels spin quickly in this pacy short story by Jeffrey Deaver. There is plenty going on and this story keeps readers guessing until the final sentence.

[Jill Paschal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did not see that coming!

A double cross of a double cross! Good, quick short story! I wish it were longer. Good pace that had me intrigued to the end.

[Jas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A twisty short story.

[Deborah Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent read

Short but intriguing story that keeps your attention and then delivers an unexpected ending. Details were very realistic and well developed characters.

[Fizza · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mystery

I enjoyed the story. It's a good mystery and I loved the twist at the end. Very unexpected but also fitting.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

When authorities utilize the knowledge of an author to create a sting. Add a shocking ending. So good!