Customer Reviews

Twelve Red Herrings

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I consider this compilation of fast-paced short stories to be a good read. If critics say this is not one of Archer's best, then, I look forward to reading his other materials.

Compared with Roald Dahl's Tale of the Unexpected, which is also a compilation of short stories, I prefer this one more.

Basically, some of the stories were great, and others were pretty awful. That's why this book only gets 3 stars.

The point of the book is that all the stories are supposed to have surprise endings, and some of them do. About 70% of the stories succeeded in keeping my interest and provided me with an unexpected ending. However, some of them left me wondering "well, what was the point of that?"

Another downside is that after so many 'surprise endings', you start to know what to expect, and you when you start looking for the clue about what's to come, you can usually figure out what the 'surprise' will be.

Overall, it's a good book to read if you want to be lightly entertained. You will be treated to some exceptional story telling, and some time wasting trash, which is certainly not the trademark of Jeffery Archer. I was happy with the book and you will be too, if you are willing to overlook the few bad parts and allow yourself to enjoy the rest.

I liked Archer's novels better than this collection of short stories. These stories are written with vivid descriptions, but they fail to pack a punch.

One commmonality among the short stories is the Archer penchant of an unexpected finish. Though at times, this too gets to be as predictable as discovering the identity of 'bad guys' in a Superman comic.

The book is nice. The endings are usually totally different from what you expect. Nice book to take with you if you are on a metro or taking a long journey or on holiday. Those looking for a literary genius please avoid.

This book is a series of twelve short stories with intriguing plots. Good read.

Is the first book of stories that I really like, there is one finish that I didn't like at all, the story of the painter. Is also the first time that I can select what finish I like from a story, let me tell you that if I can change the end of some books I will.
All the stories are easy to read and have their own message (except the story of the painter, or maybe I didn't understood it.)

What could be better than ignoring something you're supposed to be doing and cozying up to a clever Jeffery Archer novel? Answer: Reading an entire story, whether funny, artful or frightening, in a short enough span of time to be thoroughly satisfied and still get back to getting everything you need done! Archer's forte has always been in being able to end his stories with a twist that the reader doesn't see coming. This group is no exception. In this collection, nine out of the twelve offered tales is based on an actual incident, which make them all the more delicious. In his varied careers as lawyer, politician and writer (nevermind husband, father and philanderer) Archer has acquired experience to concoct tales that leave readers asking themselves "How much of that was REAL?" The other beauty of a series of short stories such as this is if, by some chance you find yourself not enjoying this worldly englishman, you can finish the story without reading the whole book...