Cover Image: The Guy Who Died Twice

The Guy Who Died Twice

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Member Reviews

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

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This was a fun short story and a very quick read. I haven’t read any of Gardner’s work previously and this definitely piqued my interest!

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This was a fun little short story in between Detective D.D. Warren novels. It's almost a little reminiscent of Clue. 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. It definitely made me excited for the next in the D.D. Warren series!

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This novella is typical Lisa Gardner, though it does include a more lighthearted writing style. I am a huge fan of the D. D. Warren character and the squad she works with. The story involves a man who claims he is already dead but Warren gets called to investigate his recent murder. Warren interviews the wealthy man’s wife and household staff to determine who killed the man. Once the questions have been asked and answered, Warren narrows down the list of suspects to the killer. Lisa Gardner books are some of my favorite and I love the D.D. Warren character.

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This quick read was wonderful. Gardner knows DD Warren fans and 'The Guy Who Died Twice' is exactly what DD fans need. D.D. gives her husband a quick recap of her day, but the story is a doozy.

Husband and wife banter back and forth about what's what.

LaToile came into the station trying to convince everyone that he is dead. Then later she's called to a house only to find out he is actually dead. Now comes all the players of the game so to speak. Turns out, in the end he's killed by … his daughter, that no one knew was his daughter? Leticia LaToile was killed and Adam LaToile's first marriage fell apart. But no his daughter isn't killed, she like her father has Cotard's disease. The doctor now treating Adam is the same doctor who signed off on the daughter that Adam had left behind. The same daughter who fought with Cotard's and what then given another name when she finally emerged from her coma like state. But she was always there and now that she's better she needs to get back at the father who left her all those years ago.


Such a great story from start to end. Wish it was longer!
Many thanks to both Gardner and Netgalley for the read!

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I love this series but I didn't love this novella. I actually found it to be slow and boring but I will keep reading this series because I love DD Warren!

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So Lisa Gardner has an idea for a story – albeit a short story, a novella and in true Gardner form shares this well constructed page turner even if the glee is short lived. But from the very title THE GUY WHO DIED TWICE fans of Lisa Gardner already know. Yes we know we are in for a treat. So sit back, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy.
Ever heard of the movie Clue with stars like Leslie Ann Warren, Madeline Kahn and Christopher Lloyd – just to name a few of the reasons Clue the movie is a cult classic.
So a guy walks into the police headquarters and tells them he is dead. Of course that is ridiculous since he is very much alive. But you see that will be short lived – no pun intended.
DD Warren is called to Adam LaToile’s house to investigate a murder. That guy’s. So now he is dead and for the remainder of THE GUY WHO DIED TWICE Lisa Gardner has us playing armchair detectives to find out who did it. I immediately had thoughts – actually visions of the amazing cast of the movie Clue running room to room as they acted out the possible scenarios of the crime.
So yes I was smiling and at times laughing while reading this little gem of Lisa Gardner’s.
In THE GUY WHO DIED TWICE you find DD Warren at her very best eating shortbread and drinking tea – very civilized – with the slew of suspects. In the comfort of their home and waiting.
THE GUY WHO DIED TWICE is at times DD retelling the events of the day to her husband Alex. Then the story moves back to the victim’s home with dialog that is pure Lisa Gardner. You have to keep reminding yourself this is a novella.
So I truly encourage you to take part in this brief crime novel and see if you can guess where Gardner is going. Be part of the investigation. All the clues are there. Now see if you can figure out who killed THE GUY WHO DIED TWICE.

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I am a huge fan of Lisa Gardner's Detective D.D. Warren series and so of course I am going to read any and all books she writes that are part of this...including the short stories. And what a fun, crazy short story this one turned out to be!

I loved the way this one was structured - at night where she was decompressing after her crazy day, going over the case with her husband and then taking us back to the day itself, hour by hour. So we get to be there as D.D. is gathering facts and we get to hear her commentary after the fact as she rehashes the situation with her husband, but it's done side-by-side. It really was quite a clever way to structure the story, and allows you as the reader to try to put the clues together before the final reveal.

I'll tell you, this one definitely had me scratching my head as I wondered what really happened and I loved the sense of the closed room - or in this case, a closed house - feel we get from this book. And the author's note at the end is quite fascinating. Even though this really is quite a short story, coming in at under 100 pages, I found myself completely engaged and enjoyed every bit of it. This was the perfect little teaser for the upcoming new novel in this series - Never Tell, which comes out next month!

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A man goes to the police station and tells them he’s dead. He clearly isn’t and they try to convince him he isn’t dead and send him home. A few hours later they get a phone call saying he’s dead. DD Warren and the other detectives try to figure out what happened and unravel this story. The house is filled with many suspects- the maid, the gardener, the driver, the doctor, the wife. and each one is a suspect. A perfect short story to read while waiting for Gardner’s next book to be published

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A super quick read of a neat short story by Lisa Gardner. Reading this, I felt like I was in a game of CLUE. Overall, an enjoyable quick story with one of my favorite detectives, DD. Thanks for the advanced read.

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This is a great who-done-it novella to read if you’ve never read a book by this author before, though I have and I can tell you they’re all fabulous. This novella captures Lisa Gardner’s more lighthearted writing style, introduces you to the very competent squad she works with every day and you will also learn a little about her home life too. I really enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek storytelling between Detective Warren and her husband as they sit quietly while drinking wine and discussing their day; as if a day in the life of a homicide detective could ever be as entertaining as this particular day turns out to be. I read a complimentary copy of this book provided by Penguin Group Dutton through NetGalley and all opinions expressed in my voluntary review are completely my own.

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Received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Wow, did you wake up dead this morning? A man walks into the police station to report a death........his!!! Well written short with some humor thrown in along with a murder. Lisa Gardner's D.D. Warren books are always an interesting and entertaining read. Enjoy! 📚

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I'm loving short stories more and more lately, and this one is no exception. Lisa is a favorite author of mine and I love the Agatha Christie style writing in this one. I want more of this from Lisa! I really enjoyed the short read!

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I love love love Gardner's books. Especially the ones with DD Warren in them. I received this book courtesy of NetGalley. However, this isn't one that could grasp my attention like the rest of her books.
Keep in mind, I had an early copy of this book. I am assuming it was released to NetGalley before the editing was done. I say that only because of punctuation errors and grammar issues. It didn't affect me reading the book..

All in all, I will remain a Gardner lover. This book just wasn't for me..

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Excellent short story which starts with a man walking into the police station to declare he is dead. What follows is a closed house mystery that would make Agatha Christie proud! Lisa Gardner packs enough twists and turns into a riveting read that will keep you guessing.

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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!

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Lisa Gardner's The Guy Who Died Twice is set a beautiful, spacious, Back Bay townhouse. A well educated, wealthy middle aged man appears at the police station to report his own murder and less than 24 hours later, the man is found stabbed to death.
The detectives conduct their investigation in the townhouse and interview the maid, the chef, the gardener, the driver, private doctor, and the wife of the murdered millionaire. While there are no security cameras in the home, the different individuals are able to alibi others.
Fans of DD Warren will enjoy this short murder mystery and the glimpse into the lives of privileged, Back Bay.

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The Guy Who Died Twice by Lisa Gardner is a short story set in her D.D. Warren series. After a weird day D.D. sits down with her husband to tell him about it.

A man walks into the police station desperately claiming he has died. Unable to convince him he is alive the squad sends him on his way only to have him turn up hours later actually dead.

Twisty right!? This was like a cozy mystery game of Clue for seasoned detective D.D. Warren. I really enjoy seeing the more cozy domestic side of D.D. as she relaxes with her husband after a long day. This was the perfect little short story with an interesting plot that tied up nicely without being super obvious.

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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!

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Lisa Gardner’s D. D. Warren is one of my favorite detectives and this short story contains all the elements that have lofted her to that elevated position. Humorous, clever and intriguing, The Guy Who Died Twice presents D.D. with her ‘strangest case’ ever.

This is number 9.5 in the series and while it can certainly be read as a standalone, it doesn’t serve as a good introduction to the characters or the author’s writing style. It is simply too short to be anything other than a quick, satisfying read for fans of the series.

D.D.  was confident she’d seen it all until the dead man walked into her office. Convinced that he is a hazard to himself and others, Adam LaToile tells D.D. and her squad that he has a contagious case of death. He believes a group of righteous people had killed him for being a scourge on the earth. Lifting his prints from a glass of water they give him and thereby confirming his identity, the detectives return Adam to his next of kin. Just a few hours later they receive a second call: Adam LaToile is dead. The cause, this time, is obvious. He has a knife sticking out of his back.

D.D. has an instant pool of suspects in the wealthy widow, personal doctor, and household staff. It doesn’t take her long to figure out who, but the why surprises even this unflappable homicide cop.

Told from the comfort of her own sofa as she sips a glass of red wine and cuddles with husband Alex, D.D. spins a story that takes the reader from France to Boston and back again. There is little character building since this story serves simply as filler between book nine in the series - Look for Me -  and the upcoming book ten - Never Tell. There is also no real purpose to the story. It’s a clever, unique little snippet out of D.D.’s endless list of cases but it doesn’t shed new light on old mysteries or give us insight into what’s coming. Its sole purpose is to entertain and it does an excellent job of that, providing a thought provoking, albeit quick, mystery which is sure to delight the author’s fans.

The Guy Who Died Twice is only sixty pages long, so it’s an excellent pre-bedtime read for those who want something fun and engaging that won’t keep them reading into the wee hours. I certainly enjoyed it and think other devotees of the D.D. Warren series will as well.

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