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The October List: Book summary and reviews of The October List by Jeffery Deaver

The October List

by Jeffery Deaver

The October List by Jeffery Deaver X
The October List by Jeffery Deaver
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  • Published Oct 2013
    320 pages
    Genre: Thrillers

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About this book

Book Summary

#1 bestselling author Jeffery Deaver has created the most riveting and original novel of the year-a race-against-the-clock mystery, told in reverse.

The October List

Gabriela waits desperately for news of her abducted daughter.
At last, the door opens.
But it's not the negotiators. It's not the FBI.
It's the kidnapper.
And he has a gun.

How did it come to this?

Two days ago, Gabriela's life was normal. Then, out of the blue, she gets word that her six-year-old daughter has been taken. She's given an ultimatum: pay half a million dollars and find a mysterious document known as the "October List" within 30 hours, or she'll never see her child again.

A mind-bending novel with twists and turns that unfold from its dramatic climax back to its surprising beginning, The October List is Jeffery Deaver at his masterful, inventive best.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Perhaps the cleverest of all Deaver's exceptionally clever thrillers. If you've ever wished you could take the film Memento to the beach, here's your chance." - Kirkus

"Starred Review. As the ingenious plot folds back on itself, the reader has to reevaluate and reinterpret the constantly shifting "facts" in the case...This is brilliant craftsmanship in a vastly entertaining package." - Publishers Weekly

This information about The October List was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Marissa Megie

I loved the book and I think the theme is ...
I loved the book but for the first like three chapters its slightly confusing but after that its very understandable. The dramatic romance that begins forming keeps you on your heels. In my opinion the theme would be careful of the people you trust, and that people aren't actually who they seem like on the outside they can be a psychopath and never show any signs of being anything but normal.

El

Total surprise
I am a huge fan of Jeffery Deaver, so had to read this book. The beginning seemed a bit odd but kept my interest; I'm sooo glad I finished it!!! I have to rate this as one of his best, because there are so many plot twists. I'm considering this one of my favorites.

Cloggie Downunder

Original and very imaginative.
The October List is a stand-alone novel by popular American author, Jeffery Deaver. Early on a September Sunday evening, Gabriela McKenzie waits nervously in a “safe” apartment with minder, Sam Easton, for news of the negotiation with her daughter’s kidnapper. She is hoping her new (and apparently wealthy) friend, Daniel Reardon and his expert team can save Sarah. Her kidnapper is demanding a large sum of money, and something called The October List. But when the door opens, a shock awaits: the kidnapper, gun in hand, enters.

In this unusually constructed thriller, Deaver begins with the final chapter and works back through the events of the previous days. The first (ie last) chapters are quite confusing, but if the reader persists, the reward is a cleverly put-together story that is filled with twists, turns and red herrings. As the story progresses (?) in reverse, the reader learns that none of the characters is quite who or what they seem. Some arouse suspicion from the start, but others are a complete surprise. Original and very imaginative. 4.5 stars

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Author Information

Jeffery Deaver Author Biography

Jerry Bauer

Jeffery Deaver is the #1 international bestselling author of more than thirty-five novels, three collections of short stories, and a nonfiction law book. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into 25 languages. His first novel featuring Lincoln Rhyme, The Bone Collector, was made into a major motion picture starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. He's received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world, including Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers and the Steel Dagger from the Crime Writers' Association in the United Kingdom. In 2014, he was the recipient of three lifetime achievement awards. A former journalist, folksinger, and attorney, he was born outside of Chicago and has a bachelor of journalism degree from the ...

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