"Scheme" by Jeffery Deaver is a masterful thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats with its intricate twists and turns. Deaver's skillful plotting and well-defined characters create a gripping narrative that explores the depths of human manipulation and deception.

This is my third short story by Jeffery Deaver and although I enjoyed it, for me I didn’t find it as good as the other two. I think mainly because the subject matter wasn’t really my thing but I’m not taking anything away from it because it certainly packed a punch and I’m sure others will love it. Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for letting me read and review this book.

More twists and turns from Jeffery Deaver. Moving away from his standard character set, this book maintains his high standard of seat-edgery

Jeffery Deaver has always been a favorite author of mine and this short story didn’t disappoint. He managed to write a concrete, excitement filled tale that wasn’t that long but mighty. Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review

This is a new to me author and I have to say I am looking forward to reading more by this author! I loved this book

I like Jeffery Deaver books and enjoyed this short story. When an explosive device is found outside a hospital, the Middleton PD knows it’s up against a pro. No one takes credit for the very sophisticated device and all that the police have to go on is a poem. But ex-soldier and football player Detective Sloan and others in the department understand poetry. When a second poem turns up, he asks for the help of English professor Ciara Hawkins. They work together to figure out the clues and stop another bomb. But as time goes on, Sloan senses that beneath this case is a motive that is simpler and more disturbing than anyone could have anticipated. I really believe that this could be expanded into a full novel.

Interesting timeline of how to catch and identify a killer. This book has so many twists and turns, it can be hard to keep up! This was a somewhat quick read, but very interesting!

Full review closer with link will be posted soon!

I'd like to thank the publisher, Amazon Original Stories and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am not a fan of the short story but I must say this one by Jeffery Deaver was pretty good because it wasn’t too short. It kept my interest but I sensed the perp twist throughout. I liked the ending.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

An improvised explosive device was found outside a hospital, Detective sloan has to figure out this poem that he can only go by to rush and try to stop a tragedy from occuring. While the clock is ticking Sloan senses that this is a complex case is a simple motive that is very disturbing. This was a quick good little short story. I enjoyed and this is my first time reading this author. The short story was engaging and suspensful. Would reccomend reading.
Thanks to Amazon Original Stories, Netgalley, and the author in exchange for a review.
Published April 28th 2022.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

What an interesting short story. Quick read with little distraction.

A great short story by the master of twist.
A sophisticated bomb maker leaving poems as a clue and a detective with no love for poetry, this becomes a race against time to solve the poetry and stop more bombs going off.
Even in a short story Jeffery Deaver can leave you stunned by his brilliant endings.
This is another five star review for an excellent author.

This is a short story. I like Deaver, but I find that I prefer his novels. I feel like short stories give too much too soon, and although it was a great read, I wasn’t ready for the story to end.

While the story is interesting,. I thought the crime was strange, the reason behind everything really convoluted and the loved the characters. I do not *think* these are characters from any of the books (if they are, I missed that), but I think they should be.

This was an okay read. It’s certainly fast paced and I did enjoy the cat-and-mouse aspect of it.

But, for me, Deaver’s longer reads are superior.

Published by Amazon on April 28, 2022

“Scheme” is an Amazon original short story. It might be slightly longer than an average short story, but not long enough to qualify as a novella.

A well-hidden bomb is found in a hospital, so well hidden that a robot can’t get to it. Why do the police believe that a caller was able to spot such a well-hidden “suspicious package”? We’re never told.

The police conclude that the bomb was planted by a right-wing militia. What evidence supports that hypothesis? Well, some other bomb once was planted by a militia, so this one must have been too. Why does this pass for reasoning? We’re never told.

Somehow the police “tech” unit gets a warrant to search email sent from cellphones that were near the bomb at some point. All email, mind you, most of which will clearly have nothing to do with the bomb. The police managed this feat based on what probable cause? We’re never told because that’s not how warrants work.

The search yields an email containing the phrase “It’s in position,” which the police believe is a reference to the bomb. This leads to an earlier email to the presumed bomber that gives the date of the bombing but not the location. It does, however, include a bad poem. Why do the police think the poem has something to do with the bomb? We’re never told.

When the tech people find a second poem in an email, an English professor at the local college helps them decode it. The professor astutely concludes that the poems suck. The reader will likely agree, but the professor offers an academic perspective to explain why they suck. A third poem is no better.

The plot allows Deaver to give the reader an introduction to poetry, something that might be useful for readers who didn’t attend high school. The cop who works with the professor pays more attention to her “sparkly eyes” than her lectures about rhyming schemes, which leads to the cop showing his scars to the professor, which leads to … well, you know.

Meanwhile, other cops made a big drug bust that involves “the mob.” Since we hear about it three or four times, it will obviously tie into the poetry slam bomber at some point.

The story seems bizarre until it takes a twist at the end that explains the poems. The twist is also bizarre, but it at least forces the protagonist detective to admit that he was a fool for not asking obvious questions that readers will surely ask. The ending is meant to make readers feel good about some seemingly bad people, but it is so contrived that I felt bad for wasting my time.

The story ends with an information dump that is not the stuff of compelling fiction. Readers who like contrived stories about dull and moronic protagonists might get into “Scheme.” The rest of the reading world will lose nothing by giving it a pass.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Scheme is a short story written by well known author Jeffery Deaver. It is well worth reading.

The story is clever and absorbing. A bomber who is smarter than the average terrorist is threatening well known and busy places in the town. The culprit appears to be a poet who passes information about his next attack via poems. Eventually facts turn out to be rather different and there is an amazing twist at the end.

I enjoyed the main characters. Detective Sloane is investigating, Tony Kleppe is the poor man who has to risk his life disabling the bombs, and Professor Ciara Hawkins is the expert called in to analyse the poems. I thought the whole thing was interesting, tense and finished off well. Basically what we would expect from this popular author.

I was given an ARC copy of this short story for review by the publisher and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Middleton seems to be a quiet town until a call comes in. A bomb or a mysterious package had been left on the roof of the local hospital. This isn't the first so called bomb scare that Middleton has had and it sure won't be the last but never before has it been an actual bomb that could hurt people. With no DNA evidence and the only clue left behind was a poem, Detective Sloan and Perez attempt to uncover the bomber before time runs out. They will stop at nothing to bring them in, including contacting a professor of Literature that specializes in poetry to help uncover the truth. But everyone is not who they seem to be and one decision can turn everything upside down.

I have read one other Jeffery Deaver book, "The Bodies Left Behind". My uncle was having to go in for treatments and while he was waiting every day, he picked up some books. This was one of the very few that he read and gave to me that I actually enjoyed. Honestly, I had forgotten all about Deaver until this short story popped up on my NetGalley.

Deaver's books are great about immediately thrusting you into the action. There is very little lead up to the action. Which in most cases, I normally cannot stand. But in Deaver's case, he makes it work. It flows beautifully. He takes the time to while throwing you right into the action, explaining what's going on and backstories to the characters, whether that's through flashbacks or what have you. This short story was no exception. A downfall to Deaver is sometimes his books can start a little slow after a lot of action. It's like a wave, the book starts out by building momentum, then it goes into kind of a lull until it starts to climax and then BOOM! You are hit with a twist. This short story's lull happened very quickly and did last a lot longer than I expected it to but at the same time I also understand why it was a necessity to add in all of those small details.

Overall, I really enjoyed this short story. It makes me crave more of Deaver's stories. If you like surprising twists and turns, you'll enjoy this short story.

A thrilling short story that begins with an IED outside of a hospital. As the police try to find some clue to who left the bomb their only lead is a poem left behind by the suspect. This was a twisty story where not all is as it seems and the race to catch the bomber will be more challenging than the police are prepared for. Jeffrey Deaver is a true master at his craft and this exciting read proves that! I'm not ashamed to say I did not see that ending coming!

Ebook/Short Story:. This short story only took about 90 minutes to read.
I don't know if this is a regular character Jeffery Deaver writes about.
However, I felt like Dr. Ken on the Masked Singer: The story is about poetry....and poetry rhymes....welcome to the Masked Singer....Lincoln Rhyme!
The story is procedure and really campy. It was a serial bomber or group... using poetry to give hints where the next bomb was. And then the red herring at the end.

Another great short story by a master of thriller writing.
This story tells the story of someone who is targeting public places with bombs and the only way the bombs can be found is by looking at the codes in poetry found.
This story is full of twists and turns and is well written with well created characters.
Addictive reading.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley in allowing me to read in return for a review.

A detective tracks a poetry-obsessed serial bomber—meter by deadly meter—in an explosively clever short story. The storyline was very interesting and flowed nicely, I will definitely recommend reading this book! It was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!