I've read several books by Jefferey Archer and have enjoyed them all. His books are easy to follow and very fast paced. Many times I had to stop reading and didn't want to. I highly recommend this book and anything else that he's written.

This book is a collection of shorter stories from the hands and mind of Jeffrey Archer. Some of the stories are stories are rather good, some are immediately forgettable.
I can imagine that if you are a fan of Archer's you will enjoy these stories because they are told in the trademark style, if unfamiliar with Archer or not a fan, they will be nothing special. I'm personally somewhere in between: I used to like stories a lot, but lost the taste for them about five books into the Clifton Chronicles and took a couple of years off.

I have long been a Jeffrey Archer fan and I think he's a wonderful writer he is unfortunately inconsistent in this book. Some of the stories were wonderful crackling with excitement and suspense but some of them were very mundane and lagged.

Haven't picked up a new book by Archer in years. I was really impressed by his short fiction. Read thru the book in a couple of days and came away with some stories that just stick in your head - for all the right reasons. Once again, Archer delivers.

Jeffrey Archer has not lost his touch. He has once again written a great collection of short stories. Every one of them is a gem, ending with a twist and were thoroughly enjoyable.

Archer is a master storyteller and it is in his short stories that he truly shines. He conveys so much through just a few words.

I fell in love with Archer after reading his Clifton Chronicles and jumped at the chance to read a short story compilation. I was not disappointed. Many of these stories are inspired by true events, which started my daydreaming. Many of these stories were soul stirring. Needless to say I finished the book needing a few minutes to breathe and process, which is the sign of a well written tome as far as I’m concerned.
Archer once again wrote mind boggling work. How he thinks of these things I’ll never know. Two of the stories consist of exactly 100 words! I’m definitely looking up of his compilations.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an eARC of this book.
What a great collection of short stories. I am not a real fan of short stories but I am a fan of Jeffrey Archer so I took a chance and I am so glad that I did. Each story was a tasty morsel...some very short, some longer, but all enjoyable. Short stories should be read one at a time so they can be savored. I will be reading this one again so I can do just that.

I don’t read short stories often, but this book reminded me why I should read them more often. I’ve been reading and enjoying Jeffrey Archer since Kane and Abel back in 1979, and he does short stories as well as anyone out there. Each little nugget is fully formed, each character given his/her due, each story has a satisfying, and often unexpected, ending. Quite enjoyable, I can recommend this on for anyone who enjoys short stories, and even for those who don’t - it might just change your mind.

Copy provided by Netgalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an unbiased review.

Jeffrey Archer's short story collection Tell Tale is now my favorite of such collections. Each story was a masterfully compact but deeply affecting piece of fiction. Usually in collections like these only a few stories stand out while the rest kind of fade by the time you finish reading them all. Not so with these. In fact I had a rather hard time trying to pick just one favorite and settled for two because it was as close as I could get.

My top two picks are "Who Killed the Mayor?" and "The Car Park Attendant" but I truly enjoyed each story. There's so much in every story that each could be it's own book but, at the same time, it's done so well in the short story format that you find it to be the perfect length. Very happy to have read this one and eager to check out Archer's other works.

Another author that I consider a natural born story teller. Although it has been ten years or more since he has graced us with his stories, these are the kind of stories one can imagine being told in a neighborhood bar or pub, or sitting in little cafe having coffee or tea. Indeed, many of these are from stories he picked up in his travels. There are of course some that he wrote just for this collection. Combined I found them to be amazingly complete, a rather varied look at the experiences of man or in some cases women.

I loved them all, but there were a few that for me were standouts. One called, "A Gentleman and a Scholar" was a poignant story about one of the first woman professors at Harvard. Her area of expertise is Shakespeare, her appointment to the all male domain not particularly welcome. At her first lecture, a contest of sorts ensues, one she cunningly wins. Four decades later, her last lecture before retirement, the hall is full, and what happens at the end cause my to have a lump in my throat.
The second is called, A Wasted Hour, and concerns a young woman, attending Standford, who accepts a ride from an elderly man. Surprising ending and based on an actual event.

Those two were stories he heard but the longest one in the collection is one he wrote for this book. It also happens to be the longest, and is called, The Senior Vice President and just loved the irony in this and the comeuppance that ensues. Clever, clever.

Anyway hope it will not be another ten long years before he writes his next collection of stories, but if they are as good as I found this to be, I will patiently wait.

ARC from Netgalley.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. I always find it hard to review a collection of short stories. Some are good, some are okay. Most in this collection are about or set during world war. The 100 words ones were really interesting and the collection is worth picking it up just for those.

In addition to writing long, multi-volume sagas, one of Jeffrey Archer's specialties is the short story that ends with a twist, in the O. Henry vein. After several collections of these stories, coming up with a twist that can't be anticipated is proving more of a challenge, but he still manages to surprise in at least a couple of the fourteen stories in this collection.

Most of the stories presented here are inspired by real-life incidents he has collected in his travels over the years, and they are primarily set well in the past. The ones that are completely fictional pale by comparison—it's as if Archer's imagination fails him somewhat in the short form. One story is interrupted by an authorial note in which he admits that he came up with three different endings and couldn't decide on which one he liked most, so he presented them all, like a Choose Your Own Adventure book.

Many of the stories deal with ne'er-do-wells who get away with major crimes in fascinating ways, which presents something of a moral dilemma when reading the book. Are readers supposed to cheer for the murderer, the insurance frauds, the man scheming with another man's wife to rob him blind, or the desperate people who cheat a casino, or the scammers or made a fortune through deceit, or the man who cheats his employer while perpetrating a monumental fraud spanning two continents? As clever as these stories are, they are somewhat disturbing when taken as a whole, considering they were written by a man who spent time in prison for perjury and perverting the course of justice.

Two of the fourteen stories are mere trifles, experiments in penning stories that are exactly 100 words long. The latter is a distillation of one of his best early stories. One can imagine Archer dredging up some of the other stories at dinners or in posh parlors, dropping the twist endings on friends and acquaintances like the punch lines of well-told jokes.

This is a quick read, as most of the stories are only a few pages long. The longest by far is probably the least successful, "The Senior Vice President," a convoluted tale about a man made redundant mere months before eligibility for full retirement who decides to take matters into his own hands. One of the best twists comes at the end of "A Wasted Hour," in which the meaning of the title is dropped like a bomb on reader and protagonist alike.

The slight volume is padded out with the first four chapters of Archer's next novel, Heads You Win.

I have enjoyed several of Archer's short story collections, delicious bon bons of treachery, surprise, and cunning with a wonderful twist. One story even offers three different twist endings. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Jeffrey Archer has been a favorite author of mine since reading his books like Kane and Abel, but I also very much enjoy his short story collections like A Quiver Full of Arrows or Twelve Red Herrings. His newest set of short stories - the first in nearly a decade - is titled TELL TALE and it doesn't disappoint. Just like previous works, there are plenty of trademark Archer twists and surprise endings. So far, I have especially enjoyed "Who Killed the Mayor?"

This being my ninth Jeffrey Archer book of 2017, it goes without saying that I'm a fan. Correction. A big fan. Archer's latest offering is 14 short stories that should please every palate. His writing is silky smooth and easy to digest. The stories range from 100 words (exactly) to several chapters. Each tale is well crafted, fast moving, and totally delightful. Jeffrey's ability to develop character attachment is unrivaled. The reader's only disappointment is that the book ends too soon. You'll want more, particularly since the book's final offering is the first four chapters of his next book (due out in November 2018).

Thanks Netgalley for the advance copy, I enjoyed the read and will recommend it to my friends!

This was a great set of short stories by Jeffrey Archer. Quite enjoyable with some good twist endings. Thank you to NetGalley And St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Although this is a series of short stories, it feels more like a travellogue through time and place. Great stories all the way around.

Tell Tail was my first book by Jeffrey Archer and I plan on reading more. I like short stories and these were highly entertaining. The author gave his stories some unique plot twists and endings.

Now that I've discovered how well written his short stories are, I'm ready for a full length novel by the author! Would recommend this book.

* I was provided an ARC to read from the publisher and NetGalley. It was my decision to read and review this book.