The Guy Who Died Twice

Detective D.D. Warren #10.5

by Lisa Gardner

Sergeant Detective D. D. Warren confronts the strangest case of her career in this exclusive eBook short story by the #1 New York Times bestselling author.

D. D. Warren was pretty sure she'd seen it all. Then a man walks into police headquarters, attempting desperately to convince the squad that he's dead. Explaining to him that he's very much alive, they finally send him on his way . . . and then hours later, he turns up actually dead. And it's on D. D. Warren to figure out how and why the dead man died . . . twice.

Plus: an early look at Gardner's next riveting thriller, Never Tell.

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

96 pages, ebook

First published January 8, 2019

About the author

Lisa Gardner is the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller author of the Frankie Elkin series, as well as the Detective D.D. Warren, the FBI Profilers and the PI Tessa Leoni series.

Her current suspense novels feature Frankie Elkin, an everyday, average person who specializes in finding missing people. When the locals have given up, when the media has never bothered to care, Frankie takes on the challenge. From looking for a missing teen in inner city Boston to searching for a missing hiker in the wilds of Wyoming to rescuing a possibly kidnapped girl on a remote island in the Pacific, Frankie is on the case!

Lisa lives in the mountains of New Hampshire with two crazy pups. When not writing, Lisa loves to hike, play cribbage, and, of course, read!

Reviews

[Mackey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was a fun, quick little read! This is just a little short story by Gardner revolving around Det. DD Warren, one of Gardner's series' regulars. It's a fascinating case from which I learned something new about a psychological illness and that's and that's always a treat. I LOVE it when I learn new things! This has all the feels of a good Agatha Christie novel including a locked room scenario but it is a short story so be prepared for it to be over before it even begins. I got my copy from overdrive and I bet you can find it there as well. Enjoy!

[Norma ~ The Sisters 🤒 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little mystery just took me a little over an hour to read and I was thoroughly entertained the whole time!

Lisa Gardner is one of my absolute all-time favourite authors. Whatever she writes I will read. She has also been known to get me out of a reading slump.

I don't normally read novella's and tend to shy away from them but I definitely couldn't resist reading this mystery by one of my go-to authors. THE GUY WHO DIED TWICE by LISA GARDNER is a fun, easy and quick read. Love D.D. Warren!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Dutton and Lisa Gardner for the opportunity to read this entertaining and fantastic short little book!

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part Agatha Christie, part Clue, Lisa Gardner’s The Guy Who Died Twice is a clever, short whodunit featuring Boston detective DD Warren. The narrative goes back and forth between the scene of the crime, which is the dead man’s mansion, and DD’s home, where she is telling her husband about her strangest case ever.

How can a man die twice? How can a man actually believe he is dead when he obviously is not? It turns out there is a name for that disease. Count on a murder mystery writer to research it. DD has started with what is known: the victim, the location, and the weapon, just as in the game of Clue. What she needs to know is the “who” and the “why.” What follows is a Hercule Poirot-style investigation in miniature, and the servants and others close to the deceased are gathered round for a final reckoning.

This is not the usual DD Warren novel, but I imagine that Ms Gardner had quite a bit of fun writing this one. As a reader, there is no way I would have ever figured this one out, but kudos to the author for pulling this off!

4 stars

[h o l l i s · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun little snippet of a mystery in between Detective D.D. Warren novels. It's almost a little reminiscent of Clue, and there is even a joke or two to that affect, with the added bonus of flipping between the event itself and DD, having already solved it, recounting the whole story at home to her husband after a long day.

I'll admit I actually guessed the whoddunit but hadn't quite put together the full backstory which was both awful and sad.

I enjoyed this little visit with characters we've come to know so well (after nine+ books) and looking forward to more DD & crew soon.

[Jonetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detective D. D. Warren comes home after a day dealing with the most bizarre case she can recall and shares the experience with her husband over a glass of wine. A man walks into the station and is convinced he’s already dead. A few hours after they dispatch him home, they receive a call that this time he’s truly dead.

I’m not a fan of novellas but I’m warming to those in this series because they’re cleverly crafted. And, if you have the good fortune to listen to them on audio, you’ll get the added benefit of Kirsten Potter’s sarcastic delivery, completely in tandem with the how the story is written. At the last minute, I decided to use a coupon to get the audiobook from Audible and treated myself to a fun 97 minutes of storytelling. I had no clue where this story would lead and how it would end but I didn’t care because I enjoyed the journey. Just read it and if you can get the audio version, go for it!

Posted on Blue Mood Café

[DJ Sakata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite Quote:

In the silence, D.D. could already hear his lie forming. For most people, the truth came quickly. Deception, on the other hand . . .

My Review:

This was a quick and mind-tickling tale that could easily be transformed into a television program – oh how I miss Goren and Eames on Law and Order, this would be a perfect case for them to dither and muse over. I enjoyed the conundrum of the mystery with the overlays of humor, odd details, and insightful observations. I have just recently stumbled onto the craftiness of Lisa Gardner’s intriguing cases with Look For Me, and am ready to assist the hard-working D.D. on her next case with Never Tell already loaded on my Kindle.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
My favorite Boston detective, D.D. Warren is back in this ebook short with perhaps her strangest case yet. Mostly, reviewers like myself will be tempted to say that these books could be longer but in this case,  The Guy Who Died Twice is the perfect length. When D.D and her team are called to a rich man's estate, she finds herself channeling her inner Hercule Poirot and by the end of the day will have pinpointed the suspect. A fairly entertaining read that made me nostalgic for the days when D.D Warren and her team were the central focus of her books.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Guy Who Died Twice, by Lisa Gardner, is a Detective D.D. Warren story and it fits perfectly into the series.
In this story Detective D.D. Warren is telling, her husband Alex, the events surrounding a very strange case she has been working on. A man goes to the police station and tells them he's dead. They try to convince him he isn't dead and send him home. A few hours later he is dead. D.D. Warren and other detectives arrive at a house filled with many suspects. Now to unravel the story and figure out what happened.
A great little mystery that kept me interested until the very end!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Dutton for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first story by Lisa Gardner that I've read. I've wanted to read her books for ages. I have two on my TBR shelf, and my library has several more. But with literally thousands of books on my shelves, I just hadn't gotten to her yet. I think every avid reader must have a couple authors that they really really really (really x 10) want to read, but their work never seems to pop up at the top of the TBR list.

Reading this short story has officially moved Lisa Gardner's books to the top of my TBR pile. Immediately.

The Guy Who Died Twice is part of Gardner's Detective D. D. Warren series. I haven't read any of the prior books, but was easily able to get into this story. It's a nice stand alone short story. And definitely a great lead-in for those who haven't read the series....while still being a nice tale for series fans who are waiting on the next book.

In this quick read, Detective D.D. Warren tells the tale of her strangest case to date. A man walks into police headquarters in Boston announcing that he has information on his own murder. The man thinks he is already dead. Even after the detective and others attempt to explain to him that he isn't dead, Adam LaToile refuses to change his story. Strangely enough, a few hours later, LaToile is actually dead. Stabbed. In his own bed.

This story progresses like an Agatha Christie story. Christie is my favorite author, so I was in heaven as the detective arrived to find that a strange cast of suspects were in the house when LaToile met his grisly end. The wife. The doctor. Gardener. Driver. Man servant. Maid. Chef. It's almost like a demented game of Clue. And the tale ends with all the suspects gathered in the library for the reveal. All the Christie vibes had me very, very happy! The ending was unexpected and darkly entertaining.

Loved it! I am heartily sorry now that Lisa Gardner's books have been languishing in my ponderous TBR list for way too long. This series, and anything else by Gardner, is now at the top of my list. I have the first book of this series, Alone, on hold at the library already. :) For those who already love this series, Book 10 -- Never Tell -- will be coming out in February! (And it's on my review TBR)

**I voluntarily read an advance readers copy of this story from Penguin via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

[Lo Bookfrantic · Rating 4 out of 5]

4★★★★Stars

Genre:  Mystery/Short Stories
Type:  Standalone
POV:  First Person – Female

Expected publication: January 8th 2019

❝ Liars tended to fall into two camps. Those who held back- the Dr. Anils of the world -and those who were overly detailed - like Mrs. LaToile. Either way, neither one was being completely honest.❞

DD the famous FBI detective who I came to love from the previews books was assigned to a very crazy bizarre case, one very unusual case she hadn’t come across before and she had to solve it. When a man comes to her detective station very confused apologizing for being dead, the case gets more interesting when later after he gets dismissed and sent to his family for help he in fact ends up dead. 


This is a very short but really good book that will have you trying to put all the clues of this mystery together. The book goes back and forth from the past where DD finds herself finding the truth and to the present where she’s telling her husband the details of the case. 

❝  "I am not dead, I am not dead. I AM NOT DEAD." But somedays, D.D. knew, the woman still wishes she was.❞

 

When DD goes to the house where the murder occurred she finds a challenge because everyone including the wife, employees and even family doctor are all suspects. Overall, I really enjoy this short story, The Guy Who Died Twice was very detailed, funny, surprising and fascinating. Readers who enjoy cold case files and murder detective books will find this book appealing.





For more reviews/reveals/giveaways visit:

 

[Ahmed Ismail · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a closed-room, or a closed- house mystery. It's one of those contemporary mysteries with that cozy Agatha Christie vibe. I enjoyed the sense of humor D D Warren had in this short story. This woman never ceases to amaze me.

[DeAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This short story was a closed room mystery that I had no chance to solve! While it was not my favorite Lisa Gardner book, it does complete the D.D. Warren series so hurray for that!

The main character shows up at the police station to report his own death only to turn up truly dead a few hours later.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars rating in tribute to an excellent mystery noir novella.

[♥Rachel♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Guy Who Died Twice was a fun little mystery novella with one of my favorite Lisa Gardner Detectives, D.D. Warren, sharing a very unusual case of murder to her husband over dinner. As you can gather from the description a man walks in to report his death/murder, and yet he is very much alive at the time. They all chalk this up to mental illness, but a few hours later D.D. and her team are called out to a grand estate to investigate the same man’s actual murder. There’s a whole house full of suspects, each with a possible motive to murder the man, so D.D. must sort out the stories and solve his murder.

There was a definite Agatha Christie vibe to this case with a murder happening in a big, grand estate, old wealth and a surplus of servants and family on the property that could’ve committed the murder. D.D. and her team interview and dig for clues, spending the day on the estate to gather the facts. We get the highlights as a reader as she shares with her crime-scene-expert husband, Alex, over a glass of after-dinner wine! Sounds like a perfect way to spend the evening to me! Love Alex!

The mystery wraps up in perfect Agatha Christie style! I won’t say how, but you’ll see in the end. You can easily read this in an hour/hour and a half. Bonus, you get to spend time with D.D. and her lovely husband while sorting out the clues!

A copy was provided by Dutton via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Diane Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man walks into a police station insisting he has been murdered. With a record of mental issues, he is sent home. Less than nine hours later, he is stabbed to death in the Guy Who Died Twice.

Detective D.D. Warren and her partner investigate the man’s murder. Arriving home that evening, D.D. walks her husband Alex, a police crime scene analyst, through the crime. Together, they solve the mystery.

There are plenty of suspects, means and motives here. The Guy Who Died Twice is a fun chance to play armchair detective with only an hour or so time invested. This is an easy way to see if the D.D. Warren series is for you as it can be read as a standalone and clocks in at less than 90 pages. 4 stars!

Thanks to Dutton Books and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Lisa Gardner, inspired by Hercule Poirot mysteries and the game Clue, had fun writing her popular Boston detective DD Warren into a whodunnit novella. Warren and her team are tasked with solving a murder of a wealthy man discovered stabbed in his bed. Is it his second wife, his shady doctor, manservant, maid, chef, gardener or driver? The story is framed in flashback, as Warren tells her husband about her strange case that ties into a rare mental illness. I guessed who did it immediately, but this short story isn't to be taken seriously, so it was still enjoyable to see the clues play out.

[Skip · Rating 2 out of 5]

A wealthy, but obviously disturbed man (Adam LaToile) shows up at the precinct saying he is dead, and is sent home. A few hours later, he is actually dead, with a knife stuck between his ribs. D.D. Warren and her detectives quarantine the widow, and the household staff, including the family doctor for their investigation. Reminiscent of Clue or an Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot mystery, there seem to many unsubstantiated conclusions as the team solves the mystery. Too shallow for more than 2 stars.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun quick story. Nothing too deep. I had it figured out in about 5 minutes! haha But it was an enjoyable read.

[Vicki Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

D.D. Warren short stories are not always my favorite as part of the series, but they always have an true, interesting type of crime. This one had an unique crime plot, but was not very good as far as D.D.'s story. I would recommend it for anyone who has read the series though.

[Kat (Books are Comfort Food) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this fun read with D.D. and crew. I didn’t see the end coming which was a nice surprise. I also learned about a neurological disorder called Cotard’s syndrome. The brain has so many mysteries. Definitely recommend.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this is a novella, I enjoyed the quick read. Had me guessing who the guilty party was throughout the story. Detective D.D. Warren is one of my favourite book characters - some humor and good bantering.

4 stars and 2 thumbs up

From the blurb: D. D. Warren was pretty sure she'd seen it all. Then a man walks into police headquarters, attempting desperately to convince the squad that he's dead. Explaining to him that he's very much alive, they finally send him on his way . . . and then hours later, he turns up actually dead. And it's on D. D. Warren to figure out how and why the dead man died . . . twice.

[Bibliomaniaque · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je n'ai pas lu la dernière nouvelle. C'est bien, mais moins mon genre de lecture.

[Monnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Generally speaking, I shy away from short stories. But once in a while, especially if it's coming from a favorite author, I relent. Recent releases by Dean Koontz and Jonathan Kellerman come to mind - short stories they wrote as lead-ins to upcoming books. In fact, I've even read a shorty by this author, who's also on my list of favorites -- albeit one co-written with M.J. Rose for the anthology FaceOff a few years back (an outstanding compilation that I highly recommend, BTW). So when I got a chance to read an advance copy of this one, I didn't hesitate.

I'm actually glad it's very short, because I really didn't want to put it down and could finish it in one sitting. As it begins, Detective D.D. Warren is at home with her crime scene analyst husband Alex and their son Jack after a day that began with a very much alive man coming to the station to insist that really, he's very much dead. Believing him to be a bit deranged, the cops send him home. That belief turns upside down a couple of hours later, though, when they get a phone call: It seems the man was on the right track but spoke a bit too soon. Now, his claim is official - and the knife in his back is a dead giveaway that someone else helped him prove his point.

Sections of the book shift back and forth from the after-work discussion to the police station and the beginning of D.D.'s day, from announcement of the man's death to the progress and conclusion of the investigation. Much of that takes place inside the man's ostentatious home, wherein live the man's widow and several exceptionally well-paid servants - all of whom are suspects. Because everything happens in such short order I can't say more without giving away too much, but it's all cleverly written with overtones of the game of Clue: We know it was a knife, but was it the chef in the kitchen? The doctor in the bedroom? The wife in the sitting room? In the end, I'm glad I didn't put money on my chosen culprit; had I done that, I'd be eating ramen noodles for the rest of the week.

After the case wraps up, readers can take a peek at the author's next D.D. Warren book. Me? Thanks, but I prefer to wait for the whole thing and go in cold turkey - but it's there for inquiring minds who want to know ahead of time.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short mystery read....perfect for a short plane ride.

[Judy Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lisa Gardner is one of my favorite authors, especially her D. D. Warren series, so I was glad to see this short story available through NetGalley. This doesn't have Flora Dane in it but the rest of D.D.'s crew are on hand to investigate a most unusual case.

I especially enjoyed the method of having D. D. relate the case to her husband as they were relaxing at home. The entire crime/case had taken place during that work day so it felt as if readers were privy to listening in on the after-work conversation of a real couple. This case was patterned along the lines of a locked room mystery except in this case it was a locked house. The owner of the house had gone to police headquarters early that morning to report his death - to say that he was dead. Just a few hours later he was found murdered in his bedroom. So how did it happen?

Luckily I had not even tried to solve this because I would have been totally wrong. Oh, how wrong! I did enjoy the story and there is a portion of the next book in the D. D. Warren series at the end of this story. The first chapter of Never Tell should be enough to leave you impatient for that book to be released in February 2019.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an e-Galley of this short story.

[Tina Woodbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

For all of my reviews: www.readingbetweenthepagesblog.wordpr...

I don’t usually read short stories, but when the opportunity arose to read this little gem from one of my favorite authors, Lisa Gardner, I could not pass it up.

I really enjoyed this Agatha Christie style mystery! Adam LaToile walks into a police station claiming he is dead. Hmmm…he is walking, talking, and breathing so clearly he is not dead! Can you imagine the shock when the police learn, just two hours after that visit to the police station that Adam now really is dead? He was found at home, in his own bed – now we have a good old-fashion whodunit.

The list of suspects is long. Was it Paulette the maid, Ernesto the gardener, Charlie the driver, Dennis the personal chef, Manuel the manservant, Martha LaToile his wife, or Dr. Anil the doctor?? I decided to put my detective hat on and went to work with D.D. Warren to solve this crime.

At just under 100 pages I got a really fun, quick mystery, that kept me guessing until the end. That’s right, I know you are surprised, but I did not manage to solve this mystery nearly as well as D.D. Warren!

*Thank you NetGalley, Dutton, and Lisa Gardner for the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest opinion.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect DD Warren short story! A mystery that is reminiscent of Agatha Christie story telling. If you love the DD Warren series, you need to read this one!

[Kelsie Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Guy Who Died Twice is a very entertaining short story from established author, Lisa Gardner. Gardner reveals the story in a series of flashbacks, with the primary character, police detective D.D. Warren, relating the details of her most recent case to her husband.

Detective D.D.Warren brags to her husband, a police crime scene analyst, that she has just solved the “strangest case”. Apparently, the couple has an ongoing competition for the strangest police case. The LaToile case is definitely far from routine and may deserve the title, “strangest”.

Adam LaToile walks into his local police station and declares that he is dead. Of course, the detectives think Adam is delusional. Strangely enough, two hours later Detective Warren receives a phone call from Adam’s wife reporting that he is now, indeed, dead. Warren and her partner arrive at the LaToile home to find that Adam has been murdered. The home is well-secured, so everyone there, Mrs. LaToile, the household staff and Adam’s doctor, is a suspect. Detective Warren cracks the case through the process of elimination, but the twist that reveals the killer is unexpected.

As a fan of Lisa Gardner, I expected and received a great read. The characters and plot are brilliantly developed in the short span of the story. I recommend The Guy Who Died Twice to all fans of a good mystery and to anyone looking for a quick, easy read. Even readers that shy away from short stories will find this one worthy. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars.

My thanks to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy. However the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine and mine alone.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a lot of ways, this book was really fun. It was light hearted in a way the series rarely is. It had a locked room, Clue type of vibe that was fun, and the way the story unfolded kept me entertained. I had been leaning to a 4 star read, but the resolution and ending wasn't quite up to par. I enjoyed the book, and I was glad I read it. It got me back into the world of D.D. Warren and her squad (and Alex, Jack, and Kiko)! I'm so ready for the next full length book in February.

[Anke · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a long time today I returned to a book, well, short story, by Lisa Gardner. And it was a great read, exactly as I remembered her writing. Then why not 5*? I found the reasoning behind the whole thing was a bit far-fetched. I don't want to say more because of spoilers. What gave me problems was the motive of one of the characters.