Jeffrey Archer is by far the most versatile and fluid author of contemporary fiction. He has written novels ranging from politics (First Among Equals) to revenge (Not A Penny More, Not A Penney Less) to corporate rivalry (The Fourth Estate), all of which have elements of his trademark 'twist' at some point.
I awaited To Cut A Long Story Short with much anticipation, as I strongly believe that writing short stories is what he does best.
I found this book highly enjoyable though certain stories were a little disappointing.
'The Endgame', 'The Grass Is Always Greener' and 'Chalk And Cheese', were especially entertaining. 'The Grass Is Always Greener', in particular, I thought was a really superb read, both in terms of content and language. One aspect of Archer that makes his books so zestful and fun to read is his balanced usage of simple and complex language.
Then again, I found 'A Weekend To Remember' rather dull and mundane. Perhaps the plot was rather limited as it was based on a true incident.
Archer has written two very short stories, 'The Letter' and 'Love At First Sight'. These were not exceptionally good, but then, how many of us can produce really good short stories?
Contrary to the five stars displayed, I award this book 4.5 stars. It loses the 0.5 star as I still think A Quiver Full Of Arrows outperforms it in terms of plot twists. Certain stories, however, such as 'The Grass Is Always Greener' show Archer to be capable of outperforming himself. All in all, this is one terrific book.