Product Description

I love nothing better than surprising the readers of my short stories with a big twist in the end. They think the story is going in one direction and, bang, it ends up some place else. This is true of “A Dish Served Cold,” a crime short story set in Arizona. If any readers can guess the ending, I'd love to hear from them (through my website)!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100533 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-12
• Released on: 2006-05-12
• Binding: Digital
• 48 pages

About the Author
A former journalist, folksinger and attorney, Jeffery Deaver's novels have appeared on a number of bestseller lists around the world, including The New York Times, the Times of London and The Los Angeles Times. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 35 languages. The author of twenty-one novels, he's been awarded the Steel Dagger and Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association, is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Reader's Award for Best Short Story of the Year, and is a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award. He's been nominated for six Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, an Anthony Award and a Gumshoe Award. His book A Maiden's Grave was made into an HBO movie staring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and his novel The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Visit his website at Jefferydeaver.com

Customer Reviews

Short and Sweet....
This was my first purchase of a digital download from Amazon, and I was very happy with it. The story is 48 pages and the price is right too! For those of us who enjoy reading authors like Deaver and don't want to wait such a long time between novels, this is a great idea. Stephen King tried doing this with "The Plant" a while ago, but it fell apart. Glad to see the idea revisited.

Deaver spins a creepy tale, with brisk character development and a persuasive ambience. You can envision the hot, dusty town, and the fear and frustration of the main protagonist (or is he the antagonist?)

You will devour this novella in about 30 minutes, and will certainly enjoy the delicious ending as well. It will make you smile, for sure.

I look forward to more Amazon Shorts from popular authors (Hello Mr. Deaver and Mr. Koontz?) and encourage people to utilize this new and exciting format.

Revenge Indeed!
From the opening paragraph, this suspenseful tale had me flipping pages, trying to solve this tantalizing mystery. Someone is seeking revenge for some long-ago crime. This information has come to light and the target is a local investor, Stephen York.

York is questioned by police detectives, who have learned of the threat of possible harm from a day laborer - someone who works for a local landscaper, the alleged avenger.

The detectives query York as to why Mr. Trotter, the landscaper, would want to harm him. The suggestion strikes York as ludicrous - unlikely, even. Besides, he doesn't even really know the man and can't think of any business dealings that might have gone awry....

Then a series of strange occurrences lead York to begin taking the possibility of harm seriously. He talks to the cops again, taking his "evidence" in for review. He hires a bodyguard. More information seemingly falls into their laps and it begins to look like evil machinations are at work here.

York searches his memory for any person or persons he might have harmed - after all, as the detectives suggested, Mr. Trotter might be a hired killer for someone else.

York's paranoia increases when one event after another occurs to increase his fear and panic.

Then, finally, something totally unexpected steers them all in a completely different direction. And it looks as though nothing untoward was happening at all.

Relaxing finally, York begins to get on with his life.

But on the other side of town, the landscaper is relishing his victory....


A Dish Served Cold is a thrilling suspense tale from the Amazon Shorts program; it satisfies even as it tantalizes.

Do you own "More Twisted"?
Deaver is one of my favorite authors, and this is a pretty good story. However, be aware that if you have his collection "More Twisted," you have already read this story. I will admit that I was expecting Amazon shorts to be unpublished stories and am a bit disappointed. It may say "previously published" somewhere on the Amazon page for the story, but it certainly isn't obvious if it does.