The Collected Short Stories: Jeffrey Archer's Previously Published Stories, Compiled for the First Time in One Definitive Volume - Hardcover

Archer, Jeffrey

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060192240 ISBN 13: 9780060192242

Publisher: Harper, 1998

Synopsis

Millions of readers around the world have relished Jeffrey Archer's shortstories. Now, for the first time, all three collections are gathered together inone handsome volume.

One of the most acclaimed authors writing today, JeffreyArcher is a dazzling storyteller. A master of character and suspense, he has agift for the unexpected plot twist that has catapulted all three of his shortstory collections--A Quiver Full of Arrows, A Twist in the Tales, and Twelve Red Herrings--onto international bestseller lists and earned himwidespread critical praise.

The stories from A Quiver Full of Arrowstake is on a tour of ancient heirlooms and modern romance, of cutthroat businessand kindly strangers, of lives lived in the realms of power. Fortunes are madeand squandered, honor betrayed and redeemed, love lost and rediscovered. AsPublishers Weekly said about this collection, "Somerset Maugham neverpenned anything so swift or urbanely witty as this."

The spellbinding storiesfrom A Twist in the Tale leads us on a journey of thwarted ambition,undying passion, and unanswered honor--to placers we've never visited and peoplewe'll never forget. Readers will meet an extraordinary cast of diversecharacters: a philandering husband who thinks he's committed a perfect murder, aself-assured chess champion who plays a beautiful woman for stakes far higherthan the secrets of a Swiss bank. The New York Times raved about ATwist in the Tale, "Jeffrey Archer plays a subtle cat-and-mouse game with thereader in twelve original stories that end, more often than not, with ourcollective whiskers twitching in surprise."

From his inventive thirdcollection, Twelve Red Herrings, comes a dozen delectable morsels inwhich human beings are given opportunities to seize, crucial problems to solve, ordangers to avoid. And buried in each is a red herring Archer challenged hisreaders to uncover. In these stories things are never quite what they seem: animprisoned man is certain that his supposed murder victim is very much alive, afemale driver is tailed relentlessly by a menacing leather-jacketed figure in a pursuing vehicle; a young artist gets the biggest break of her career, an escapedIraqi on Saddam Hussein's death list lands unexpectedly in his homeland. TheDaily News Express hailed Twelve Red Herrings as"Outstanding...White-knuckled suspense and witty denouncements."

Thesethirty-six tales are Jeffrey Archer at the peak of his form. Wonderfullyentertaining, The Collected Short Stories will astonish, delight, andenthrall Archer's many fans, both old and new.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

International bestselling author Jeffrey Archer has enthralled readers with his riveting suspense, surprise denouements, and unforgettable storylines. Now Archer's three acclaimed collections of short fiction are brought together in one irresistible volume...

THE COLLECTED SHORT STORIESA Quiver Full of Arrows takes readers on a journey of encounters that befall an assortment of kindly strangers, wary old friends, and long-lost loves.

Sly reflections on human nature are at the center of A Twist in the Tale in which blindly adventurous game-players compete for stakes higher than they dreamed.

Expect the unexpected and you'll still be surprised in Twelve Red Herrings, a dozen tales of betrayal, love, murder and revenge capped with a startling twist.

Thirty-six stories in all, each poised to astonish and inspire, revealing "master entertainer" (Time) Jeffrey Archer at his artfully entertaining best.

"Jeffrey Archer ranks in the top ten storytellers in the world."
―Los Angeles Times

"Cunning plots, silken style...Archer plays a cat-and-mouse game with the reader."
―The New York Times

About the Author:

Jeffrey Archer was educated at Oxford University, where as a world-class sprinter he represented Great Britain in international competition. He became the youngest member of the House of Commons in 1969, was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party in 1985, and was elevated to the House of Lords in 1992.

All of his novels -- from 1974's Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less to 1991's As the Crow Flies -- have been international bestsellers. Mr. Archer is married, has two children, and lives in Cambridge, England.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0060192240
• ISBN 13: 9780060192242
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 608