THE VICTIMS' CLUB

4 stars out of 5

Anyone who knows my reading habits knows I'm not a fan of the "glorified short story" format - such as prolific author James Patterson's "Bookshots" and Kindle Singles like this one. But in large part because I get so many freebies to read - most of them advance review copies through NetGalley - I also tend to feel a bit guilty for buying so few books through Amazon (I swear, at one time I bought enough for CEO Jeff Bezos to buy a well-tricked-out BMW). And since I AM a huge Jeffery Deaver fan, when I saw this one for $1.99, the guilt kicked in and I caved.

And it was perfectly good (but then I've read just about everything Deaver has written, and the worst anything ever got was good). It's set in New England's Monroe County, perhaps best known for the ritzy Preston College. Local sheriff's deputy and detective Jon Avery has been assigned a case formerly in the hands of a colleague who took an unexpected leave. A female college researcher, it seems, has been humiliated by Internet publication of half-naked photos via a burner phone - photos taken at a campus party after she was drugged, half-undressed and splayed out in totally nonprofessorial fashion.

The motive, though, is virtually nonexistent; the lack thereof, plus the use of a burner phone, make the case difficult to solve. Then too, Avery quickly runs afoul of the college powers-that-be, who are less than enthusiastic about the possibility of a scandal that could tarnish the school's hallowed halls, ivory towers and (gasp!) highly successful athletic programs.

The ending, which obviously comes rather quickly, answers a few questions including the reason behind the title. But even with a partial conclusion (perhaps this is the launching pad for a new series???), the whole thing makes for an engrossing story. Is it worth $1.99? Well, I polished it off in about 42 minutes. At 4424 KB, that's roughly...oh fuhgettaboutit. Avery complains about the difficulty he has helping his young son with math homework, and trust me, my skills in that department are way worse. You'll have to decide for yourself.

The Victims' Club (Kindle Single) by Jeffery Deaver (Amazon Original Stories, March 2018); 4424 KB.