Paul Weiss's Reviews > More Twisted

“The title of my anthologies is no coincidence.”

In his foreword, Deaver continues, “To me, that big oh-my-God surprise is what short stories are all about.”

When I gave a 5-star review to TWISTED, Deaver’s first collection of this type of short story and novellas, I recognized his skill at producing his pre-announced surprise endings that were absolutely expected from the first word in the story but both unknown and unknowable in their reality until Deaver pulled back the curtain for that final reveal. I also complimented his mature skills as an author in putting these twists into such a polished literary setting,

“Deaver brings to the short story all the sophisticated skills that have been the foundation of his success as a novelist. He has a gift for dialogue, vivid characterization and suspense and his stories show deep insight into the emotions, the motivations, the fears and the love and happiness of his widely varied cast of characters. Despite its fundamentally gritty nature, his writing shows uncommonly refreshing humour and a capacity to convey deep feeling.”

Unfortunately MORE TWISTED might have been more accurately entitled LESS TWISTED. The writing skill, the dialogue, the characterization, and the suspense were all there but those endings were, not to put too fine a point on it, simply less convincing, less shocking, less satisfying, and, well, less twisted. I don’t think I’d go quite so far as to say they were predictable but they came disappointingly close. The anthology, in its entirety, was moderately enjoyable but came nowhere near producing the delight that I felt with that first effort.

Paul Weiss