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humatariq's review against another edition
4.0
Archer says that ten of the dozen stories in this volume are based on true incidents. The tales are quite ordinary, but each has the promised "twist" in the end. Like everything Archer writes, I give the book 4 stars because I can't stop reading whatever he writes. These are the 12 stort stories contained in this volume:
SPOILERS Ahead. Consider yourself warned!!
1. A Perfect Murder is the story about a man who has committed the perfect murder. Not only does he stand by seeing another man being arrestted for the murder of his mistress, but he makes sure that another man is convicted of his crime by making sure he is called upon as a juror on the case.
2. Clean Sweep Ignatius is a story about a Minister from Nigeria has made great strides in rooting out corruption from his country...but is he clean himself?
3. A La Carte is the story of a war hero who returns home to his old job as a car mechanic. He works extra hard to get his son well educated and make him more successful than his father. The son at last finds his true calling as a chef.
4. Not the Real Thing tells the story about a British engineer who likes to collect medals since he was a child.
5. Just Good Friends is a first person narrative of a how a woman met her boyfriend...the twist in the tale is that we discover at the end that the narrator is actually a cat.
6. The Steal is the story of a married couple of two teachers who save up all the year round for their vacation. At the end of the year they visit a new country and bring home a memento of their vacation that they refer to as the "steal".
7. Colonel Bullfrog is the story of unlikely friendship between Japanese soldiers and a British PoW and how the friendship evolves even after the WW2 has ended.
8. Checkmate is the story of two people who meet at a chess club and how the host captain gets hustled by an accountant and her pretty girlfriend.
9. The Wine Taster is the story of a intolerable man who has inherited wealth and state from his ancestors. He also inherits a wine cellar from his father but doesn't know much about wines...but that doesn't stop him from boasting about it.
10. A Chapter of Accidents is the story of a man who sets an elaborate trap to revenge a man he suspects of having an affair with his wife.
11. The Loophole is the story of two best friends who fake a public spat and consequently sue each other for defame, only to save money on the taxes.
12. Christina Rosenthal is a tragic love story of a Jew boy and a Christian girl. The story is told in the last letter the boy wrote his Rabi father before committing suicide.
SPOILERS Ahead. Consider yourself warned!!
1. A Perfect Murder is the story about a man who has committed the perfect murder. Not only does he stand by seeing another man being arrestted for the murder of his mistress, but he makes sure that another man is convicted of his crime by making sure he is called upon as a juror on the case.
2. Clean Sweep Ignatius is a story about a Minister from Nigeria has made great strides in rooting out corruption from his country...but is he clean himself?
3. A La Carte is the story of a war hero who returns home to his old job as a car mechanic. He works extra hard to get his son well educated and make him more successful than his father. The son at last finds his true calling as a chef.
4. Not the Real Thing tells the story about a British engineer who likes to collect medals since he was a child.
5. Just Good Friends is a first person narrative of a how a woman met her boyfriend...the twist in the tale is that we discover at the end that the narrator is actually a cat.
6. The Steal is the story of a married couple of two teachers who save up all the year round for their vacation. At the end of the year they visit a new country and bring home a memento of their vacation that they refer to as the "steal".
7. Colonel Bullfrog is the story of unlikely friendship between Japanese soldiers and a British PoW and how the friendship evolves even after the WW2 has ended.
8. Checkmate is the story of two people who meet at a chess club and how the host captain gets hustled by an accountant and her pretty girlfriend.
9. The Wine Taster is the story of a intolerable man who has inherited wealth and state from his ancestors. He also inherits a wine cellar from his father but doesn't know much about wines...but that doesn't stop him from boasting about it.
10. A Chapter of Accidents is the story of a man who sets an elaborate trap to revenge a man he suspects of having an affair with his wife.
11. The Loophole is the story of two best friends who fake a public spat and consequently sue each other for defame, only to save money on the taxes.
12. Christina Rosenthal is a tragic love story of a Jew boy and a Christian girl. The story is told in the last letter the boy wrote his Rabi father before committing suicide.
hhhfrost's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
shipras's review against another edition
5.0
Every story is amazing. There is twist in each tale and my favourite is the father who is reading the letter from his dead son.
kdawg2009's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
3.5
3.5 stars. I enjoyed the short stories - it made reading this book fairly quick. I liked some of the stories more than others.
nsriram's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
gunjan2024's review against another edition
3.0
This is my first Novel by Jeffrey Archer. I, sternly, would say that his idiosyncrasy of telling stories is commendable.
The book comprises of 12 stories and each story ends with a twist.
I was overwhelmed with the poignant story, last one, Christina Rosenthal. I was so touched by that one.
The one that really left me agape was 'Just Good Friends', I read it again to make sure if what I read was correct. It was amazing.
'The wine taster' twisted my mind and even though I read the story twice, I had to think hard that what the twist was. I loved it, too.
Although, I really want to name one that I didn't like. Trust me I can't.
This one is an amazing book.
The book comprises of 12 stories and each story ends with a twist.
I was overwhelmed with the poignant story, last one, Christina Rosenthal. I was so touched by that one.
The one that really left me agape was 'Just Good Friends', I read it again to make sure if what I read was correct. It was amazing.
'The wine taster' twisted my mind and even though I read the story twice, I had to think hard that what the twist was. I loved it, too.
Although, I really want to name one that I didn't like. Trust me I can't.
This one is an amazing book.
bookofcinz's review against another edition
3.0
I would love to say "a delightful Sunday evening read" but I would be lying... Of the stories only two stood out the first and the last. Other than that I felt like they were so unoriginal, it's as if I've read the book before and I am sure I haven't. If you plan on reading this book start with the first and last story, the others are just fillers.
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
3.0
Rating: 3 (maybe 2.75) stars
So, it wasn't perfect, but what book is? Some of the stories felt a little underwhelming to me. The so-called "twist" would come at the end to which the whole story had been building up to, and it would just be... average. There were other endings that really were twists (at least what I would classify as one), and done quite cleverly.
So, it wasn't perfect, but what book is? Some of the stories felt a little underwhelming to me. The so-called "twist" would come at the end to which the whole story had been building up to, and it would just be... average. There were other endings that really were twists (at least what I would classify as one), and done quite cleverly.