Приемлива жертва

by Jeffery Deaver, Джефри Дивър, Венцислав Божилов (Translator)

Двама федерални агенти от американско-мексиканската граница вземат на мушка бос на картел.
Наричат го Кучийо - Ножа. Не защото убива с нож - разполага с предостатъчно хора за тази работа, - а защото умът му е остър като бръснач. Мексиканското правителство води воина с наркокартелите и за да оцелееш, ти трябва мозък. И Кучийо не просто оцелява, а процъфтява. Но когато започва да реже твърде дълбоко, службите на Съединените щати и на Мексико се намесват, за да затъпят ножа.
П. 3. Еванс и Алехо Диас знаят, че Ножа възнамерява да атакува автобус с туристи в Сонора, и че ще трябва да заловят или убият Кучийо, за да му попречат. Ножа има една слабост - редките стари книги. За да унищожат империята на злото на интелектуалеца, двамата полицаи ще трябва да се обърнат към библиофила в него.

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

63 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 12, 2012

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

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two agents get an assignment to kill the head of a drugs cartel whose weakness is books. Great story!

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. With the twists and turns, I was never quite sure what to believe. I must admit, the plan of destroying all those amazing books caused much more anxiety to me than loss of human life. Not sure what that says about me! :P

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A neat little novella about a plan to assassinate the head of a Mexican drug cartel, told with Jeffery Deaver's usual flair for twists and thrills.

[Alan (on December semi-hiatus) Teder · Rating 4 out of 5]

What The Dickens*? - Bibliomysteries #7
Review of the Mysterious Press/Open Road eBook (November 12, 2012) of the original hardcover (earlier in 2012).

Evans opened it and extracted the copy of Charles Dickens’s The Old Curiosity Shop. Six hours ago it had been sitting in a famed book dealer’s store** on Warren Street in New York City.

In a joint operation, American agent P. Z. Evans and Mexican agent Alejo Díaz target a drug kingpin in order to prevent a planned terrorist assault by his cartel. Their method of access to his inner sanctum is to offer for sale a rare original copy of The Old Curiosity Shop (1840), as the drug lord is also an obsessive bibliophile.

As is usual with Jeffery Deaver, there are twist elements to come before we arrive at the conclusion. This was another satisfactory read from the Bibliomysteries series.

Footnote
* This expression does not relate to Charles Dickens. It can be found in Elizabethan era literature such as Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor (1600). Dickens in this context is an euphemism for the devil.

** The Mysterious Bookshop is located at 58 Warren St. in Manhattan, NYC. See further information at The Mysterious Press website.

Trivia and Links
Jeffery Deaver is the prolific author of several suspense and thriller series. He is probably best known for the Lincoln Rhyme (1997-2023-ongoing) series. His Colter Shaw (2019-2025-ongoing) series is the basis for the current TV show Tracker (2024-ongoing). His latest release is Downstate (January 14, 2025), which follows The Rule of Threes (2024) and The Broken Doll (2022) in the Constant Marlowe series.

The Bibliomysteries series are short stories commissioned by Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Press to be written around the theme of deadly books. They are individually published in limited edition signed hardcovers followed by paperbacks and ebooks, and periodically collected in anthology editions such as Bibliomysteries (2013, containing stories 1-15) and Bibliomysteries: Volume Two (2018, containing stories 16-30).

There does not appear to be a Goodreads Listopia for them, but on Library Thing the current listing (as of mid January 2025) includes 41 short stories Note that there is a double count of #33 and that book #41 isn't numbered yet in that list. Other sources list 38 short stories, such as at FictionDB.

Neither of the above lists contain recent entries such as Martin Edwards' The Traitor (2022), so it is likely there are several entries missing from the lists which have been compiled to date.

[Димитър Цолов · Rating 4 out of 5]

Джефри Дивър е майстор на обратите, независимо дали се отнася до роман или до по-кратка литературна форма - в последното успях да се убедя тази година, изчитайки Престъпления с неочакван край т.1 и Престъпления с неочакван край т.2. Е, на моменти в желанието си тотално да обърка читателя попресолява манджата, ала простено да му е...

И в новела №1 от серията "Мистериозно-Виртуозно" (до момента съм прочел №4 Частна заемна библиотека и книгохранилище „Какстън“ и №2 Пише го в книгата) сюжетът се върти около четива. В случая агенти под прикритие се опитват да стигнат до бос на мексикански наркокартел, колекциониращ, кхъ-кхъ, редки издания на книги...

Харесах си много един цитат, защото напълно изповядвам философията му:

... авторите на популярни и криминални романи често са по-добри занаятчии от така наречените автори на истинска литература. Читателите го знаят. Те оценяват добрия разказ повече, отколкото претенциозните писания.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short but very sweet read. It reminded me, a bit, of Pulp Fiction. Two would be killer with a sociopathic attitude to the taking of someone's life. The intended victim is a ruthless drug baron who deserves to die, but wait a minute, no he's not he's actually a decent philanthropic business man. This debate goes on continually till you get to the point that you have no idea who the villain, or villians, really are.
There are enough twists and turns to keep you guessing to the end. It's only 70 odd pages long but a satisfying read for all that.

So, if you've got a spare hour to pass this is good way to do it.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A week into the New Year and I hadn’t read any Jeffrey Deaver.

An Acceptable, a short story by him and Job Done, JD. Love your writing and wasn’t disappointed in these pages which tell the story of a couple of hit men on a routine assignment.

The governments of Mexico and USA task a couple of their agents to make an untraceable kill of a local drug lord.

Filled with humour and sleight of hand. Deaver also places a library of 22,000 books in jeopardy. Will any book lover ever forgive the writer if first editions become collateral damage.

Love the hot setting; the government double take where sanctioned killings even if beaded no poor intel are better than sitting on their hands. Little morality here, who are the good guys in this shady world of crime and politics.

A compelling read, beautifully told, with characters quickly established to ensure you are invested in the story.

Not very long, but not short enough to leave you unclear. Guaranteed to make you want to find other works by this brilliant author

[Asya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Част от https://www.bard.bg/book/?id=2161. Един американски и един мексикански агент обединяват сили, за да предотвратят голяма трагедия - но дали са се прицелили в правилния човек?

Положителното: малко очевиден спойлер, но все пак въпреки че нямаше време за представяне на нов злодей, Дивър почти успя да ме убеди, че наличният кандидат може и да е невинен - и не само заради общата ни страст :D Освен това, в разказа имаше толкова много книги и толкова много любов към тях!

"... авторите на криминални и популярни романи често са по-добри занаятчии от така наречените автори на истинска литература. Читателите го знаят. Те оценяват добрия разказ повече, отколкото претенциозните писания."

Отрицателното: голямата изненада накрая дойде малко от нищото, вече не помня половината герои с гледни точки, а пренебрежението на главните към книгите ги направи леко антипатични.

Дотук любима ми е №4, Частна заемна библиотека и книгохранилище „Какстън“, продължавам с №2, Пише го в книгата.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short novel by one of my favourite authors Jeffery Deaver that I found to be a very entertaining read.

A Mexican Drug lord who is an avid book collector is targeted by two killers either side of the border. But is he a drug lord or a successful businessman?

The book is about 75 pages long but full of intrigue and twists and turns as you ponder the truth. Is an innocent man been targeted or is he a drug lord. Good quick entertaining read.

[Marina Nova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Мистериозно-виртуозно е страхотна поредица от 5 мини истории. Всичко започна с номер 4, подарък от Озон при поръчка. "Частна заемна библиотека и книгохранилище "Какстън" на Джон Конъли много ми хареса. С доста търсене и търпение успях да намеря още 3 части и да ги прочета. Издирването е готино. :) някак си хем имаш цел, хем обаче не се е превърнала във фикс идея, която да ме тормози. Книгите си иват "сами" в правилния момент. "Приемлива жертва" е с много обрати. Разбира се, за малкия си обем, не може да се разгърне много-много, но четенето беше удоволствие. И остави приятно чувство. Остана само да намеря и петата книжка, която е и точно номер 5 в поредицата "Книжарница Задънената улица" на Нелсън Демил. Тогава вече мога да направя и класация.:D

3,5 звезди

[Pamela · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mostly predictable. Bits that are not predictable are just pulled out of thin air. Good reminder for why Deaver is a waste of time.

[Mary Chrapliwy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very intriguing short story by one of my favorite author's, Jeffery Deaver (my favorite book of his: Praying for Sleep).

You find out in the opening pages that two killers from either side of the border have been sent to kill a drug kingpin in Mexico ... but is this man a drug kingpin, or just a successful business man? You wonder as you turn the ebook pages. Deaver heightens the stakes of the story when you begin to worry that an innocent person may be killed. He further heightens the stakes when you are drawn into the story to the target's rare book library, a possible target for the attack. Can't say more, that's all just the beginning.

Deaver clearly knows his books. A book collector myself, I enjoyed this bibliomystery tremendously. A thriller built around rare books is always fun to read; one with the Deaver touch is thrilling.

[aant0n10 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Giuseppe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nuova collana a tema by TimeCrime, idea intrigante condita dal reclutamento di autori appartenenti al gotha internazionale di genere e non (p.es. Joyce Carol Oates). La prima prova di Deaver non è stata indimenticabile, speriamo per il seguito.

[Bandit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recently I was delighted to discover through Netgalley a terrific series Mysterious Press does, Bibliomysteries. Novellas featuring books themselves as a main plot point. The one I read then was Ian Rankin's Traveling Companion, which was awesome. But I suppose no matter how clever the gimmick, in the end the book is only as good as its author and this one subsequently left a lot to be desired. Not sure if this is the best Deaver can do or if he simply spent too much time popping out bestsellers, this reads like one and not in a good way, but in that too bland, action driven, cardboard characters, over explained plot way that usually targets less intellectually motivated audiences and fans of purely commercial fiction. Books are prominently featured, but mad libs style, might have been books or any other collectibles, very interchangeable and tangential, a mere prop. This was essentially an action thriller about an assassination, the target of which was, among many other things, a book collector. Disappointing, but at least brief. Under 60 minutes and thoroughly underwhelming entry into a conceptually great series.

[Alessio De Agostini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Titolo libro: Un sacrificio accettabile
Autore: Jeffery Deaver
Edito da: Fanucci

Opinione personale:
Penso che ormai sappiate quando io adori lo stile di Deaver e quindi saprete anche che per me è molto semplice leggere un suo libro (alla fine è una racconto breve di 70 pagine) in un pomeriggio. Il suo stile di scrittura riesce sempre a rapirmi e farmi girare pagine come niente.
Per quanto questo racconto abbia una storia "semplice", è tutto ciò che Deaver inserisce nei piccoli dettagli presenti nel racconto che fanno apprezzare questa breve storia.
Un cartello messicano della droga, degli agenti sottocopertua, il boss del cartello che è un collezionista di libri classici originali e la sua enorme biblioteca, elementi che potreste apprezzare tutti voi amanti dei libri e del genere thriller.
Sono felice che Fenucci abbia pubblicato questo racconto nella sua collana Timecrime, dandomi modo di leggere un Deaver alle prese con una storia breve ma perfetta. Per quanto mi riguarda promuovo questo racconto.

[John Frankham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly enjoyable ‘will-and-should-they-do-it’, rather than ‘whodunnit’ magazine short story.

The GR blurb:

‘A pair of federal agents from either side of the US–Mexico border target a cartel kingpin

They call him “Cuchillo,” the Knife. Not because he kills with a blade—he has plenty of men to do that kind of work for him—but because his mind is so sharp. As Mexico’s government wages war on the drug cartels, it takes brains to survive, and Cuchillo has not just survived—he has prospered. But when Cuchillo begins to cut too deeply, the federal police of both the United States and Mexico step in to dull his blade.

P. Z. Evans and Alejo Díaz know the Hermosillo cartel is planning an attack on a tourist bus in Sonora, and they know they will have to capture or kill Cuchillo to stop it. The cartel leader has one weakness: rare, old books. To destroy the intellectual’s evil empire, this unlikely pair of international police will have to appeal to his inner bibliophile.’

[A.M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got so stressed about the proposed bomb inside a library of first editions, that it definitely ruined the story for me.

This is a series with 35 titles, but for some reason, the library has two of them. Bibliomysteries - all involve a book somewhere. A cool idea.

So far this year, my library has saved me A$1,049.86

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biblio.mysteries

These short mysteries are fun, quick reads. What is an acceptable sacrifice when it comes to stopping a mass slaughter of innocent people? Two undercover agents must make a plan to eliminate a high level drug lord in order to stop a drug cartel. The drug lord goes to ground when rumors of a planned assassination surface.

[Христо Блажев · Rating 4 out of 5]

Пет книжни убийства: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/m...

Началото полага Джефри Дивър с “Приемлива жертва”. В него двама федерални агенти са изпратени на мисия да ликвидират наркобарон с прозвище Ножа, който има само една слабост – книгите. Двамата измъдрят план, с който да се доберат до него, преди да е извършил чудовищен атентат. Но близката среща с него ги изправя не пред поредния тънещ в баснословно богатство изрод, а изтънчен ценител на книжното богатство – и идват съмненията възможно ли е наистина да е престъпник, или е просто натопен? Още в първото книжле ми настръхнаха косите, след като в библиотека с редки и ценни издания бе заложена бомба.

Издателска къща БАРД
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/m...

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story - enjoyable, easy read

The story moved quickly and maintained my interest. Definitely kept me wondering if who that thought was the bad guy really was, and how the plan would work - although the book in the shelf issue was obvious - maybe intentionally so.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The governments of the US and Mexico must work together to take down the drug lord Cuchillo, the knife, so called because of the sharpness of his intellect.

A briskly paced short story with a clever play off, Deaver manages to excite readers to the very end.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick novella worth reading
A will written novella that is worth reading. An interesting story line with interesting characters, that moves quickly too a conclusion. Enjoy reading 2014

this is a local library novella e-b00k

[Richard M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Jeffery Deaver!

I like Jeffery Deaver’s writing style and this book is no exception. Of course, it helps that it’s about a bibliophile who happens to also be…well I guess you’ll just have to read it!

[Sandy Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would make a great episode on Alfred Hitchcock Presents or Night Gallery. Is he or isn't he? Should they or shouldn't they? A short story that packs a lot of intrigue into the summary provided by Goodreads.

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to explain it, but this was just not a satisfying read. The plot held together - it was downright clever. I think the characters didn't quite work for me.

[Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was very brief, but it was OK. It wasn't particularly thrilling, but it was interesting enough.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bibliomysteries

[Leonie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sehr kurzweiliges Vergnügen, mir persönlich ein wenig zu kurz. Das Setting und die Idee wussten zu gefallen.

[bert-bobbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story so not too much development.