Jeffery Deaver is an acclaimed fiction novelist who is known for more than 20 titles. One of his most notable novels — “The Bone Collector” — was even made into a film adaptation starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. His newest novel, “The Bodies Left Behind,” follows in a similar fashion — a puzzle.
But there is one problem: How do you find a killer when the puzzle keeps changing?
Readers know that most suspense novels always have a twist. But when readers assume they know who killed who, they later find that they were wrong in the game of guess who.
Deaver is a true craftsman of suspense. He leads you on a wild goose chase that branches out into multiple possibilities towards what happened. None of which are correct.
The novel opens to a discussion between a married couple — Emma and Steven Feldman. Emma is on edge about something. She is a high-profile lawyer from Chicago who has recently uncovered illegal activity with the workers union in Milwaukee. Her husband, Steven, composed and eerily opposite of Emma, works for the state as a social worker. Readers are informed later, that the Feldman’s were also entertaining a female friend.
The scene takes place in a remote area of Wisconsin called Lake Mondac. The couple goes to the home to seek seclusion and relaxation from their chaotic city lives. On this particular night however, their city lives catch up with them.
It was a 911 call that started it all — a man’s voice saying “This” before the phone cut out. Deputy Brynn McKenzie, off-duty at the time, decides to take the assignment anyway. She assumes it was an accidental call, maybe a domestic dispute.
When Brynn arrives at the home approaching the porch, she notices that the lock in the door has been destroyed. She looks in through narrow windows on each side of the door and sees red. She immediately rushes in and finds two bodies. The Feldman’s were both shot in the head, and Emma, shot through the neck as well.
Brynn searches for others and finds the female friend, Michelle, outside hiding in the bushes. She protects Michelle as they travel on-foot throughout the area in pursuit of the killers. But the killers are closer than Brynn could have imagined.
No matter what you assume, the perpetrators are not who you think they are. Deaver cleverly completes the puzzle at the end, leaving readers satisfied in his labyrinthine story of suspense.
Rating: W W W W
