The Bodies Left Behind: A Novel (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best of the Month, November 2008: Nothing is as it seems in The Bodies Left Behind, Jeffrey Deaver's quintessential can't-put-it-down thriller about an off-duty cop who investigates an aborted 911 call from a secluded vacation home and ends up on the run. From the opening scene (that'll keep even the bravest of you at home with the doors locked and the shades drawn), Deaver delivers a clever page-turner that reads like one of his tightly plotted and fast-paced short stories (fans should check out Twisted). Endlessly surprising (there is more than one jaw-dropping plot twist) and supremely gripping (two hours after cracking this stand-alone thriller, I came up for air and took a moment to shake the cramp out of my fingers), The Bodies Left Behind is one of the most entertaining thrillers of the year. --Daphne Durham

From Publishers Weekly

Usually a strong plotter, bestseller Deaver (The Bone Collector) fails to deliver on the promise of this stand-alone thriller's nicely creepy opening. When two masked men break into the isolated lakeside weekend house of Steven Feldman, who works for the Milwaukee Department of Social Services, and his wife, Emma, an attorney who may have stumbled on union corruption in the course of some corporate research, Steven has just enough time to phone 911 before the intruders shoot him and Emma dead. That interrupted plea for help brings Deputy Brynn McKenzie, who possesses a set of predictable emotional baggage (an abusive ex-wife, a troubled teenage son), to the scene. A protracted and less than suspenseful game of cat-and-mouse between McKenzie and the hired guns responsible for the murders ensues. A few twists will catch some readers by surprise, but the pacing and characterizations aren't up to Deaver's best. (Nov.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st Edition: 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 edition (November 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416595619
• ISBN-13: 978-1416595618
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #154,809 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Deaver's Best Work (to say the least)..., November 16, 2008

By	A. Sheegog (NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As an avid Jeffery Deaver fan (not just his Rhyme series), I was supremely disappointed in his latest effort. Yes, it was kind of a fast read, but there are too many "are you kidding me?" scenarios - I have to agree with Barry's review on this page. It did start out pretty well - he always has an engaging first chapter. But the majority of the story takes place in the forest of a state park and Deaver writes in the book that there are tens of thousands of acres of dense forest and yet the killers and their prey (three of whom have never even been in this particular state park) know exactly where to go and what traps to set and then one of them knows it's just a set-up (each and every time - no joke). This goes on and on and on ad nauseum. After this played out the fourth or fifth time, I was like "Come on!". Oh, and did I mention that it's the middle of the night without a full moon? Hart and Comp could tell from TWO TO THREE HUNDRED YARDS away in almost total darkness that Michelle was using a pool cue as a crutch?! Totally unbelievable! Anyone familiar with Deaver's previous books knows he has a tendency to set up a scene one way where you think you know what's happened and then a couple of pages later he neatly explains how it actually occurred. I'm okay with that, but in this particular book, it's just too over the top, too far-fetched. The dialogue is wooden and stilted and his usual keen sense of description is seriously lacking. If I didn't see Jeffery Deaver's name on the cover of this book, I don't know if I would have even believed that he wrote it because it doesn't quite sound like his "voice". Pressure from his publishing house to crank out material = subpar work? This book was not scary, suspenseful, or thrilling. Read his early novels if you're looking for that - you will not be disappointed. I've never written a review before, but I was truly excited when I heard this book was coming out and feel very unsatisfied after reading it. It's kind of like when Patricia Cornwell has veered off the Scarpetta books and into a ditch...a waste of time and money. I am a voracious reader and this is probably only the second time in my life where I have come close to not finishing a book. Read at your own risk!

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too Gimmicky; A Fast Start That Quickly Fades, November 20, 2008

By	Brian Baker (Santa Clarita, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What starts out as another of Jeffrey Deaver's signature murder thrillers quickly transforms into something else entirely, and unfortunately, not very successfully. It appears that Deaver was attempting to perform a riff on the 1924 Richard Connell story "The Most Dangerous Game" or Household's classic "Rogue Male". Think David Morrell's "First Blood" (later transformed into the first "Rambo" movie, Morrell credited "Rogue Male" as his inspiration): one resourceful individual being hunted in the wild by a tenacious and implacable foe.

Problems abound. First and foremost, the setup was for a terrific murder mystery/thriller, and that fell completely by the wayside, almost incidental to what turned out to be the main point of the book: the hunt in the woods.

Unfortunately, that hunt was simply incredible beyond words, to the point that it became almost cartoonish. The heroin tries to trick the villains; the villains figure out it's a trick, and counter her trick with ANOTHER trick; but she anticipates this counter-trick, and counter-counter-tricks, and...... SHEESH!

This was like a Roadrunner cartoon. All that was missing was the "meep meep!" soundtrack.

These people are all tromping around in a wilderness forest in the depths of darkness, no artificial lighting anywhere, only some moonlight; and yet they can see details such as footprints, small lost articles, and even each other at distances of two to three hundred yards... including what types of weapons they're each carrying!

Let me tell you something. When I was in the Army, I participated in night combat operations in the jungle, and you can't see diddley-squat without some kind of night-vision equipment. At best, if the moonlight's strong enough, you can make out ridgeline silhouettes against the lighter sky, but certainly no details. Definitely not with your unaided eyes at those ranges. And what about all those trees? Did they become transparent?

Anyway, when all of this is finally resolved - about ¾ of the way through the book - and we return to the original murder mystery, it is dispatched in the most perfunctory manner imaginable. It was almost an afterthought, as if Deaver was simply fulfilling an obligation to tie up the loose ends.

Too bad; not anywhere near up to his usual par.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Maybe You're Looking For The Wrong Who, April 4, 2009

By	Joyce Marie Taylor (FL USA) - See all my reviews

The Bodies Left Behind: A Novel

The Bodies Left Behind
Jeffery Deaver

Has anyone ever just handed you a book to read by an author you never heard of before? You might balk at first because you have your favorites and are true to them, but then, after looking at the title, you might say "what the hey?" and open it to begin reading.

This happened to me the other day and I am so pleased to have been introduced to author Jeffery Deaver. I must admit, however, that I was turned off by some of his sentence structures after about the first ten pages. I thought, "I can't read this stuff. It's too choppy and the grammar needs some serious editing."

I kept reading, though, and boy, am I glad I did! I soon forgot about those irritating grammar booboos and I realized that every writer has their own style. Deaver certainly has his and he knows how to keep his readers turning pages.

This fascinating "whodunit" crime mystery had me hooked before I knew what was happening. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen next, Deaver threw in another mind boggling twist in the next chapter. He was quite subtle with the introductions of these clues, too, which caught me completely off guard.

"Maybe you're looking for the wrong who." Yes, that phrase kept popping up in the story and Deaver played it to the hilt to the very end.

The extensive research he must have done regarding the landscaping alone had me feeling as if I was right there in the thick of the mountainous forest along with Deputy Brynn McKenzie and the entire cast of characters who were involved in this criminal mystery. The descriptions he provided of all the weapons used in this caper also had me feeling like a firearms expert by the time I finished.

The characters in this story were so well-developed by Deaver that I actually felt their pain (and there was a lot of it). He even made me understand the whys and wherefores behind the criminals' minds and why they did what they did. The tension kept mounting as each chapter went by and I found myself not wanting to put the book down until I reached the ending.

The ending was superb, by the way, but why Sears? (~grin~)

Excellent book. If you haven't read Deavers yet, now might be a good time to do so. In fact, I may just browse more of his books to see which one I want to read next.

Reviewed by: Joyce Marie Taylor - Author