Twelve Red Herrings [Hardcover]

Jeffrey Archer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1994

In twelve stories of passion and intrigue, a man discovers how to commit the perfect murder, the Governor of Bermuda receives an unexpected guest, and a woman gets the better of her husband and her lover on the same day. 150,000 first printing. $365,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Archer does a passable O. Henry in his third story collection (after A Twist in the Tale ), though without that master's depth of feeling or irony. Many of the 12 stories here, all of which feature false clues and twist endings, are based on "known" incidents; the fact that the weakest ones are not suggests that Archer's love of plot may exceed his unaided grasp. The leadoff yarn, "Trial and Error," for instance, an original but attenuated tale of a wronged man's thirst for revenge, kicks in only with its predictably wry twist. Also original but flaccid is the last story, which features four rather obvious alternative endings that the reader can tack onto an opening gambit about a man picking up a woman at the theater. The adaptive tales are generally stronger. "Chunnel Vision" offers a classic red herring by which Archer uses a jilted woman's revenge on her lover to divert our attention from the real threat to the lover's happiness. Similarly, the chilling "Never Stop on the Motorway" plays on our expectations about an endangered woman's plight. Written in strong, clean prose and ranging in tone from charming to achingly suspenseful, these tales, mostly entertaining but often slight, offer, like much of Archer's work, more craft than art. $365,000 ad/promo; audio rights to HarperAudio.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

There's probably not a red herring among these stories from master spy writer Archer.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 324 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1ST edition (July 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060179449
• ISBN-13: 978-0060179441
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,232,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeffrey Archer was educated at Oxford University. He has served five years in Britain's House of Commons, fourteen years in the House of Lords and two in Her majesty's prisons, which spawned three volumes of highly acclaimed Prison Diaries. All of his novels and short story collections--including Kane and Abel, Sons of Fortune, and False Impression--have been international bestsellers. Archer is married with two children and lives in London and Cambridge.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 12 good tales, June 29, 2003

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Twelve Red Herrings (Mass Market Paperback)

Jeffrey Archer's 'Twelve Red Herrings' are imaginative, well-written short stories. Archer (now Lord Archer, the variously popular-then-disgraced-then-popular-currently-disgraced Tory almost-leader) is better known for his novels, but has proven himself to be a good author of short stories as well.

Each of the twelve tales in the collection contains an unexpected twist in the character or outcome, something that Archer is good at providing in most plots he's written. Archer seems to have the knack of taking one idea and spinning it, like a spider's web coming from one small strand, into a very fine and very wide reaching net that catches you and keeps you involved until the end.

In 'Cheap at Half the Price' we are introduced to Consuela Rosenheim, a woman with expensive tastes which require both a wealthy husband and wealthy lover to satisfy, working in concert but each unwitting of the other. Her procurement of a necklace is a wonderful story.

In 'Trial and Error' we follow Cooper on an ingenious plot for revenge, to finally carry out the murder for which he has already been sentenced and convicted, knowing that due to the construct of the law, the murder cannot be punished (he has already been convicted and served his time).

The final story is my favourite, and of course you will, as I did, read all the endings: Archer provides a brief tale of desire-at-first-sight and the variations on the theme; how will it turn out? A question we often ask in life, and wonder will it end up well done or burnt to a crisp? Using this analogy, 'One Man's Meat...' follows a man who sees a beautiful woman while driving by, and stops to pursue her. What will happen? Is she single or married? Is HE single or married? Will she be flattered or offended? In the four alternate endings to this tale, the reader experiences each alternative.

This is good bedtime reading, as most of the stories can be finished in under half-an-hour. For those who have not read Archer before, this is a good introduction to his storytelling style. This will not be confused for great literature, but is definitely a good yarn.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Stories from the Master, March 20, 2000

By 

Top Dragon (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Twelve Red Herrings (Mass Market Paperback)

The term "Master Storyteller" is perhaps overused but in this case, Jeffrey Archer earns the moniker. Each of these stories I read between other people's novels, in order to space them out. It is a testament to the quality of these stories that I found myself wanting to get past the particular novel I was reading so I could get to the next Archer short story. Some of these stories have twists and some have irony, but they all have that exceptional phrasing that I have come to expect from Mr. Archer. I am suprised at some of the reviews below, giving this book lower marks, but I think if you are looking for a well-told tale, this is the book for you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, May 2, 2006

By 

Romin K. Irani (Mumbai, India) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twelve Red Herrings (Mass Market Paperback)

The 12 stories in this book are all readable. Some of the stories are brilliant -- for e.g. One man's meat where the reader is presented with 4 different outcomes.

The thing I liked about all his stories inspite of some of them not having an "a-ha" at the ending was the engaging style of Mr. Archer that keeps you turning the pages.

The writing style is consistent and the set of stories is way above your ordinary short stories.