What do you think?
The Intruder
The fear inside meets the terror out there in a story of unsettling suspense from Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Jeffery Deaver.
Evan Hart lives the good life, enjoying his job, his sports club, the occasional date—and especially his comfortable home, nestled in the thick woods surrounding his property. But that tranquility is shattered when he realizes a figure from his past has arrived in town, armed with a knife, his intentions clear from the man’s attempts to break into Evan’s house in the middle of the night. The authorities can do nothing.
Evan can turn only to the nightmares that plague his sleeping hours for answers. But the question is: can those dreams save him, or are they part of the intruder’s plan?
Evan Hart lives the good life, enjoying his job, his sports club, the occasional date—and especially his comfortable home, nestled in the thick woods surrounding his property. But that tranquility is shattered when he realizes a figure from his past has arrived in town, armed with a knife, his intentions clear from the man’s attempts to break into Evan’s house in the middle of the night. The authorities can do nothing.
Evan can turn only to the nightmares that plague his sleeping hours for answers. But the question is: can those dreams save him, or are they part of the intruder’s plan?
Audiobook
First published April 22, 2021
About the author
Jeffery Deaver
534 books12.2k 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 92 reviews
February 1, 2022
Part two of three in the Unsettling series and unfortunately my least favorite.
April 19, 2024
Once again, Deaver makes me think of all the obvious clues that I missed.
July 6, 2021
This was 3.5 for me maybe even less...a strange method for committing suicide? Did I fall asleep and miss the point?
October 20, 2023
3.5 stars rounded down. It’s fun and does keep your attention. Just a lot in a little which it does good at but it does feel like it should have been a bit longer.
April 30, 2021
This was another great short story. Again a little predictable but had a twist to it that was surprising. Worth the listen.
June 8, 2023
June 2023
Audiobook edition
48m (1.3x speed)
This was the first one I clicked on before realizing it was back of a shorts series. This one was a bit obvious. The immediate thought was yeah, he's sleepwalking. The only thing that did surprise me was the brother popping up to explain everything. I don't think he was there for anything else, it was just a bit random. The bit that stuck was the alligator.
Audiobook edition
48m (1.3x speed)
This was the first one I clicked on before realizing it was back of a shorts series. This one was a bit obvious. The immediate thought was yeah, he's sleepwalking. The only thing that did surprise me was the brother popping up to explain everything. I don't think he was there for anything else, it was just a bit random. The bit that stuck was the alligator.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2024
Interesting short story, mind twister, I would have liked it to be longer.
January 29, 2025
3.5⭐️ Predictable, but an interesting and well-written short story.
April 25, 2021
Wow, that was brilliantly written. the ending was shocking and really disturbing. makes you think!!
December 3, 2025
Unpredictably disturbing
...or is it disturbingly unpredictable?
This is my first book written by the author, and I must be honest, aside from its short length (I was looking for a short audiobook to listen to while completing my task at work), I was intrigued by Sheriff Hopper's storytelling abilities. In all fairness, it was okay. What I did not expect, though, was the head-turning plot twists that the author planted at the end of every chapter in the last half of the book (I was listening through my office desktop computer). Here's my take on the story. First, not all kind, mild-mannered people are, well, innocent, and finally, karma is a bitch, and it'll get back at you in any shape or form. And this one? Very satisfying.
This will be a constant reminder for me from now on to be kind. Always.
...or is it disturbingly unpredictable?
This is my first book written by the author, and I must be honest, aside from its short length (I was looking for a short audiobook to listen to while completing my task at work), I was intrigued by Sheriff Hopper's storytelling abilities. In all fairness, it was okay. What I did not expect, though, was the head-turning plot twists that the author planted at the end of every chapter in the last half of the book (I was listening through my office desktop computer). Here's my take on the story. First, not all kind, mild-mannered people are, well, innocent, and finally, karma is a bitch, and it'll get back at you in any shape or form. And this one? Very satisfying.
This will be a constant reminder for me from now on to be kind. Always.
April 24, 2021
I clever little psychological thriller. Or is it more?
October 3, 2021
This short story sure did pack a punch! I seem to be in the minority but I liked it better than the first short story in the Unsettling series.
Although it is part of a series, it could be read as a standalone. I think this series is more about different stories that one may find unsettling versus one character being the main point throughout.
The story definitely turn a turn I didn’t see coming, that’s for sure!
The narrator, David Harbour, was a perfect fit for this story!
Definitely worth 48 minutes of your time!
Although it is part of a series, it could be read as a standalone. I think this series is more about different stories that one may find unsettling versus one character being the main point throughout.
The story definitely turn a turn I didn’t see coming, that’s for sure!
The narrator, David Harbour, was a perfect fit for this story!
Definitely worth 48 minutes of your time!
October 2, 2026
ZellaBee Rating: Truly Flopulous (It’s giving the Temu version of Telltale Heart-behind predictable)
(Audible) David Harbour ⭐️
Summary: If He Hadn’t Brought a Gun… Well I Wouldn’t Be Laughing
Evan Hart was due for some comeuppance & he’s well aware. Fun. I love a self-aware asshole. See in Jan 4 years ago, while on the way to a ski trip in Colorado, he let his car slide through a red light at an intersection to kill his wife, Gretchen. He saw the logging semi truck coming at 60MPH, unbuckled her seatbelt, and hoped it didn’t take him out too. How unfortunate he wasn’t. Instead, he had brain trauma and was in a coma for several days.
Gretchen was a beautiful, kind, red head that loved him. She ran a fine arts gallery w/ her business partner, John Gilmore. Lately, he’s been having trouble sleeping with horrific nightmares and seeing her in every single one.
Now, he lives in a house in a semi secluded area, and runs online division of a regional grocery chain. Other than having nightmares that keep him up at night, he’s physically fit and living his best life. Dick. On his way to work one morning, his neighbor tells him that he saw someone trying to get into his window. He goes to the police saying that he thinks it’s Gretchen’s younger brother Morton that wants him dead. There’s nothing the cops can do at this point and they advise against him getting a gun.
Morton is a paranoid schizophrenic that Evan here wants us & the cops to believe had unnatural interest in Gretchen. He calls it jealousy stating that after she was murdered, he would call and stop by threatening him. He sold their home & moved 2 states away. You know what else he is besides right to want Evan dead? In a mental hospital for the last 2 years. Projection much?
He runs out to pick up a shotgun and doesn’t take his sleeping pills that night to hopefully be alert enough to catch Morton. Instead, he wakes up in the morning to find he dropped the gun in the middle of the night, the barrels pointed directly at his head. The safety was off so he could have blown his own head off if guns can discharge that way (if only) He remembers one of his dreams where a furious, blue alligator screams “ice, snow, water, dig” over and over again.
He goes to get dressed and accidentally puts on the suit he wore to Gretchen’s funeral tearing it off before heading out to check the perimeter. He finds that someone did try to get in last night w/ a knife but when it broke off in the window. He calls the police and they collect the blade. There are no footprints so he decides to listen to them and get a security system along with sand for the footprints. Now he realizes that “ice, snow, water, dig” is really “I know what you did”.
That night he sets a trap to kill Morton, who he still doesn’t know is in the hospital. He cracks a window that if pushed open will pull the trigger right into the intruders face and chest. It’s illegal to rig so of course he plans to dismantle it before the cops show in the morning w/his cock and bull story. Really, Morton is someone that Gretchen confided in about the affairs he was having, so if it was him coming he needed to shut him up before the case is reopened. Pleased with himself he takes his sleeping pills and goes to sleep hoping for just one good night.
The next morning Evan is dead. An agonizing death with bullets to the face and neck from his stupid booby trap. Turns out that, the pills he was taking to sleep made him sleep walk. He tried to jimmie the lock with a knife from his kitchen the other night and last night, he tried to climb through his own window blowing himself to smithereens.
The cops are wrapping up when there’s a knock on the door and the Sheriff answers it. It turns out Evan had an identical brother named Bradley, who seems none to broken up that his other half is dead. He has always believed that Evan killed Gretchen on purpose and it was due to an affair. In this case several. Evan was a bag of slut on top of a murderer. His main GF Courtney, a brunette that was half his age and he w/fucking her for over a year during his marriage.
Turns out the picture frame he picked up in living room was a picture of her, not Gretchen. It also turns out that Gretchen bailed when she found out he was fucking 2 other women at the same time. As the story ends, Bradley hears a loud crash and finds the picture frame broken on the floor. As he cleans it up, he finds a strand of Gretchen’s hair amongst it (this is a new house she was never in w/Evan) and the smell of lavender, her signature scent in the air freshener plug in. Comeuppance.
What Survives the Jump: 🩵
🥇It was short (even shorter on 1.7x) and is now over
💅Love the karma even if it was late as all hell.
Off A Cliff 💩
In such a short book, they describe this assholes scar that he rubs when he talks about, thinks about or is just nervous on his hand in the shape of a cross.
Jumping Off the Page 🤔
💭Gretchen should have fucked Bradley when she had the chance. Your Welcome
💭What was the significance of Gretchen getting ready (applying lipstick, brushing her hair, spraying on perfume) in every nightmare?
💭Why kill her? People get divorced every goddamn day! He had his whores, why did he need to kill Gretchen to be single and living alone in this area?
💭So…why did the picture of one of his main side piece, Courtney (who puts those up in their house if they aren’t with them anymore) trigger him to dream about Gretchen?
(Audible) David Harbour ⭐️
Summary: If He Hadn’t Brought a Gun… Well I Wouldn’t Be Laughing
Evan Hart was due for some comeuppance & he’s well aware. Fun. I love a self-aware asshole. See in Jan 4 years ago, while on the way to a ski trip in Colorado, he let his car slide through a red light at an intersection to kill his wife, Gretchen. He saw the logging semi truck coming at 60MPH, unbuckled her seatbelt, and hoped it didn’t take him out too. How unfortunate he wasn’t. Instead, he had brain trauma and was in a coma for several days.
Gretchen was a beautiful, kind, red head that loved him. She ran a fine arts gallery w/ her business partner, John Gilmore. Lately, he’s been having trouble sleeping with horrific nightmares and seeing her in every single one.
Now, he lives in a house in a semi secluded area, and runs online division of a regional grocery chain. Other than having nightmares that keep him up at night, he’s physically fit and living his best life. Dick. On his way to work one morning, his neighbor tells him that he saw someone trying to get into his window. He goes to the police saying that he thinks it’s Gretchen’s younger brother Morton that wants him dead. There’s nothing the cops can do at this point and they advise against him getting a gun.
Morton is a paranoid schizophrenic that Evan here wants us & the cops to believe had unnatural interest in Gretchen. He calls it jealousy stating that after she was murdered, he would call and stop by threatening him. He sold their home & moved 2 states away. You know what else he is besides right to want Evan dead? In a mental hospital for the last 2 years. Projection much?
He runs out to pick up a shotgun and doesn’t take his sleeping pills that night to hopefully be alert enough to catch Morton. Instead, he wakes up in the morning to find he dropped the gun in the middle of the night, the barrels pointed directly at his head. The safety was off so he could have blown his own head off if guns can discharge that way (if only) He remembers one of his dreams where a furious, blue alligator screams “ice, snow, water, dig” over and over again.
He goes to get dressed and accidentally puts on the suit he wore to Gretchen’s funeral tearing it off before heading out to check the perimeter. He finds that someone did try to get in last night w/ a knife but when it broke off in the window. He calls the police and they collect the blade. There are no footprints so he decides to listen to them and get a security system along with sand for the footprints. Now he realizes that “ice, snow, water, dig” is really “I know what you did”.
That night he sets a trap to kill Morton, who he still doesn’t know is in the hospital. He cracks a window that if pushed open will pull the trigger right into the intruders face and chest. It’s illegal to rig so of course he plans to dismantle it before the cops show in the morning w/his cock and bull story. Really, Morton is someone that Gretchen confided in about the affairs he was having, so if it was him coming he needed to shut him up before the case is reopened. Pleased with himself he takes his sleeping pills and goes to sleep hoping for just one good night.
The next morning Evan is dead. An agonizing death with bullets to the face and neck from his stupid booby trap. Turns out that, the pills he was taking to sleep made him sleep walk. He tried to jimmie the lock with a knife from his kitchen the other night and last night, he tried to climb through his own window blowing himself to smithereens.
The cops are wrapping up when there’s a knock on the door and the Sheriff answers it. It turns out Evan had an identical brother named Bradley, who seems none to broken up that his other half is dead. He has always believed that Evan killed Gretchen on purpose and it was due to an affair. In this case several. Evan was a bag of slut on top of a murderer. His main GF Courtney, a brunette that was half his age and he w/fucking her for over a year during his marriage.
Turns out the picture frame he picked up in living room was a picture of her, not Gretchen. It also turns out that Gretchen bailed when she found out he was fucking 2 other women at the same time. As the story ends, Bradley hears a loud crash and finds the picture frame broken on the floor. As he cleans it up, he finds a strand of Gretchen’s hair amongst it (this is a new house she was never in w/Evan) and the smell of lavender, her signature scent in the air freshener plug in. Comeuppance.
What Survives the Jump: 🩵
🥇It was short (even shorter on 1.7x) and is now over
💅Love the karma even if it was late as all hell.
Off A Cliff 💩
In such a short book, they describe this assholes scar that he rubs when he talks about, thinks about or is just nervous on his hand in the shape of a cross.
Jumping Off the Page 🤔
💭Gretchen should have fucked Bradley when she had the chance. Your Welcome
💭What was the significance of Gretchen getting ready (applying lipstick, brushing her hair, spraying on perfume) in every nightmare?
💭Why kill her? People get divorced every goddamn day! He had his whores, why did he need to kill Gretchen to be single and living alone in this area?
💭So…why did the picture of one of his main side piece, Courtney (who puts those up in their house if they aren’t with them anymore) trigger him to dream about Gretchen?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2021
Wait.A.Minute.!!!! This short story was ALOT all in one!! I went in expecting nothing and got EVERYTHING Suspense,Thriller,Drama,Murder...😯👀 very good and mannn the WHOLE story 👏🏽 ............
I enjoyed this one 🔥
I enjoyed this one 🔥
July 1, 2022
I don’t understand the end. Maybe I got bored and didn’t pay enough attention. Was the wife back? Did she survive? The brother came out of nowhere, too many twists in such a short read. Would’ve been better if spread out through ab entire novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2024
I am conflicted by this.
It was going well when a man was trying to protect himself from an intruder. I became even better when he revealed that years ago, he killed his wife in a car accident and the intruder after him could be the wife's not-so-right-in-the-head brother.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Then the man was killed and out of nowhere, his brother appeared and helped the police with the case, telling them that his brother, in fact, cheated on his wife mutiple times and he was sleepwalking as a child, so it could be the case again and the reason for his death.
The police thought it was a suicide but the man was planinng on catching the intruder, so it was an odd way for anyone to kill himself. And the appearence of the brother and the explanations he provided were just way too convenient for my taste.
It was going well when a man was trying to protect himself from an intruder. I became even better when he revealed that years ago, he killed his wife in a car accident and the intruder after him could be the wife's not-so-right-in-the-head brother.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Then the man was killed and out of nowhere, his brother appeared and helped the police with the case, telling them that his brother, in fact, cheated on his wife mutiple times and he was sleepwalking as a child, so it could be the case again and the reason for his death.
The police thought it was a suicide but the man was planinng on catching the intruder, so it was an odd way for anyone to kill himself. And the appearence of the brother and the explanations he provided were just way too convenient for my taste.
May 7, 2022
Evan Hart is living his life after a car accident that claimed the life of his wife. He seems to be doing alright, until someone is seem trying to break into his house. Talking with the police about who may be holding a grudge against Evan, the only person who springs to mind is the mentally disturbed brother of his late wife. But why would he want Evan dead? In true Deaver fashion, things are not all what they seem.
September 16, 2022
The Intruder by Jeffrey Deaver
48m narrated by David Harbour
Unsettling #2
Genre: Short Stories, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction
Featuring: Police, Man, Neighbors
Rating as a movie: R
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
My thoughts: Who is putting sand in kid's play pens? This one took a minute to get started, for awhile I thought it was going to be disappointing but the last quarter was worth the short wait.
Recommend to others?: Yes. I actually liked this one better than the first book.
48m narrated by David Harbour
Unsettling #2
Genre: Short Stories, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction
Featuring: Police, Man, Neighbors
Rating as a movie: R
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
My thoughts: Who is putting sand in kid's play pens? This one took a minute to get started, for awhile I thought it was going to be disappointing but the last quarter was worth the short wait.
Recommend to others?: Yes. I actually liked this one better than the first book.
January 19, 2023
This story was rather slow at first and gave details that I did not think were relevant until about halfway through. Once I got 75% through I realized that the MC was evil but that is not easily seen until they (the detective and the coroner) start tossing out maybes and then the MC's brother shows up and answers quite a few unanswered question.
Jeffrey Deaver is master of twisted suspense.
Jeffrey Deaver is master of twisted suspense.
October 30, 2023
Setting not specified. Audio only; setting page count at 100 pp. Meh. Twisty ending but came off cheesy. I didn’t care for Harbour’s narration. Glad it was free.
The Intruder (Unsettling #2) by Jeffery Deaver
The Intruder (Unsettling #2) by Jeffery Deaver
June 10, 2021
At first I couldn't tell who had the stalker, the detective or the man he was having a conversation with. Out of the trio of shorts, I didn't like The Intruder as much as I liked Date Night and Stay Tuned. The suspense buildup wasn't there for me. And talk about just desserts!
June 25, 2021
Another very short story about a man whose wife was killed in a car accident and now a couple years later it appears someone is trying to kill him. Not as good as Unsettling #1 but still worthy. The twist isn't original or difficult to figure out, but I was entertained for a short while.
January 24, 2023
Who’s really stalking Evan?
Listening to this short story held my interest all the way through. Until the end I had no idea who was stalking Evan. David Harbour did an excellent job delivering this story – his ability to impart a clear sense of suspense throughout the story was impressive.
Listening to this short story held my interest all the way through. Until the end I had no idea who was stalking Evan. David Harbour did an excellent job delivering this story – his ability to impart a clear sense of suspense throughout the story was impressive.
April 5, 2023
It occurs to me that I listened to this before, not knowing it was part of a series. Doesn't really impact anything, except I'm giving it one additional star because apparently I enjoyed it a little more this time around
October 10, 2023
I didn't want it to end! Jeffery has offered us yet another narrative that leaves you wondering. Great story with a cliffhanger of an ending! And David, what more is there to say he did a great job narrating the book! This is a must-listen for everyone!
October 23, 2023
that bit about the alligator was SO good but unfortunately there was just too much going on. a bit predictable and not as enjoyable as the first one in my opinion, but David Harbour in this was just as outstanding!! i’d give it another go just for his performance alone tbh
February 11, 2025
My rating scale:
5☆ - I loved this book, and it brought out true emotion in me (laughter, anger, a good cry, etc)
4☆ - I loved this book.
3☆ - I liked this book.
2☆ - I didn't really care for this book.
1☆ - I did not like this book at all and probably did not finish it.
5☆ - I loved this book, and it brought out true emotion in me (laughter, anger, a good cry, etc)
4☆ - I loved this book.
3☆ - I liked this book.
2☆ - I didn't really care for this book.
1☆ - I did not like this book at all and probably did not finish it.
May 22, 2025
This was a good short story and kept you wondering if someone was gonna be murdered throughout it. Decent amount of suspense for such a short story. This series seems to be getting better if things continue the way they are progressing.
April 30, 2021
Wow! Super ending!
May 26, 2021
This quick listen was highly predictable. While an entertaining listen, I found myself simply listening to tick off a book off my challenge list. The other two books in this series are much better.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews