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The New Collected Short Stories
Every reader will have their own favourites: the choices run from love at first sight across the train tracks to the cleverest of confidence tricks, from the quirks of the legal profession - and those who are able to manipulate both sides of the bar - to the creative financial talents of a member of Her Majesty's diplomatic service - but for a good cause. In 'Caste-Off', Jamwal & Nisha fall in love while waiting for a traffic light to turn green in Delhi, and in 'Don't drink the water', a company chairman tries to poison his wife while on a trip to St.Petersburg - with unexpected consequences...
858 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
198 people are currently reading
725 people want to read
About the author
Jeffrey Archer
659 books12.5k followersJeffrey is published in 114 countries and more than 47 languages, with more than 750,000 5* reviews with international sales passing 275 million copies.
He is the only author ever to have been a number one bestseller in fiction (nineteen times), short stories (four times) and non-fiction (The Prison Diaries).
Jeffrey has been married for 53 years to Dame Mary Archer DBE. They have two sons, William and James, three grandsons and two granddaughters, and divide their time between homes in London, Cambridge and Mallorca.
He is the only author ever to have been a number one bestseller in fiction (nineteen times), short stories (four times) and non-fiction (The Prison Diaries).
Jeffrey has been married for 53 years to Dame Mary Archer DBE. They have two sons, William and James, three grandsons and two granddaughters, and divide their time between homes in London, Cambridge and Mallorca.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
January 22, 2021
So many great stories with clever twists! Used these short stories as treats in between other books, so it has taken me about 6 months to read it - it probably won’t be the last time I read a collection of stories like that :-)
February 21, 2012
Being not a fan of short stories and was a christmas gift I would say he show the magical story which hook it me all the way.His novels a waiting for me to read.
July 4, 2017
Such an entertaining read. Each story is unique and very interesting that I am left with such a strong emotion at the end of every tale.
October 31, 2020
For a reader life is nothing but a bundle of stories. Many prefer to call their life magnum opus, a large best work of art and literature. I wish to enjoy the little tales of random mismatched cluster of words, this is what I will call life - My Life.
My love for short stories made me pick this fascinating book of 858 pages written by Jeffrey Archer and printed by Pan Books - The New Collected Short Stories. This book is not only a collection of stories it's a world of magic, a colourful brilliance of life and a corner of happiness (at least for me)
My love for short stories made me pick this fascinating book of 858 pages written by Jeffrey Archer and printed by Pan Books - The New Collected Short Stories. This book is not only a collection of stories it's a world of magic, a colourful brilliance of life and a corner of happiness (at least for me)
August 16, 2017
Thereby hangs a tale...
May 5, 2018
I love this author's short stories! Intriguing and entertaining.
December 15, 2025
This 858 page collection was first published in 2011 and it brings together three short story collections that were previously published separately:
To Cut A Long Story Short
Cat O'Nine Tales
And Thereby Hangs A Tale
Over half of the stories are based on true incidents which makes the twists and outcomes even more astounding.
The other tales are pure fiction and it's a sign of a good imagination that if the true ones weren't starred it would be next to impossible to guess which was which.
It's an easy reading style and shows he's a natural storyteller. The majority have twist endings or unexpected consequences for the characters and many of the ones based on true stories come from people that Jeffrey has met. In the Cat O'Nine Tales selection, the true stories come from people that he met while incarcerated for two years in five different prisons. It brought him into contact with a wide variety of people with interesting stories to tell. Of course the facts have been embellished for entertainment purposes.
With over 40 stories in this chunky paperback it's a book to dip in and out of rather than read straight through and almost impossible to choose a favourite, although the outcome of No Room at the Inn had me chuckling and I really liked the unexpected ending of the story where a man is trying to poison his wife.
For some light reading in between other books I can recommend these stories and with so many of them it's also good value for money.
To Cut A Long Story Short
Cat O'Nine Tales
And Thereby Hangs A Tale
Over half of the stories are based on true incidents which makes the twists and outcomes even more astounding.
The other tales are pure fiction and it's a sign of a good imagination that if the true ones weren't starred it would be next to impossible to guess which was which.
It's an easy reading style and shows he's a natural storyteller. The majority have twist endings or unexpected consequences for the characters and many of the ones based on true stories come from people that Jeffrey has met. In the Cat O'Nine Tales selection, the true stories come from people that he met while incarcerated for two years in five different prisons. It brought him into contact with a wide variety of people with interesting stories to tell. Of course the facts have been embellished for entertainment purposes.
With over 40 stories in this chunky paperback it's a book to dip in and out of rather than read straight through and almost impossible to choose a favourite, although the outcome of No Room at the Inn had me chuckling and I really liked the unexpected ending of the story where a man is trying to poison his wife.
For some light reading in between other books I can recommend these stories and with so many of them it's also good value for money.
November 15, 2020
The New Collected Short Stories by Jeffrey Archer is a giant combo of 3 such smaller books - "To Cut A Long Story Short", "Cat O' Nine Tales" and "And Thereby Hangs A Tale". Several stories in the book are based on real incidents which is clearly marked in the index with an asterisk (*).
While Jeffrey Archer is a great novelist, I did not find his short stories to be as appealing as his novels. Some were bland and easy to predict, which is why I have rated this 4 (3.5 to be exact) out of 5 stars.
Some of the really impressive stories for me were - Too Many Coincidences, Both Sides Against The Middle, Something for Nothing, Other Blighters' Efforts from "To Cut A Long Story Short".
I really did enjoy almost all the short stories from "Cat O' Nine Tales". Maybe the fact that most were based on true incidents really impressed me.
Some of my favorites from "And Thereby Hangs A Tale" were Stuck On You, Where There's A Will, Members Only, The Undiplomatic Diplomat (Probably for the island theme), Better The Devil You Know and Caste Off
A story doesn't have to be true to be gripping. It needs to be told by a master story teller. And Jeffrey Archer is certainly one true master.
While Jeffrey Archer is a great novelist, I did not find his short stories to be as appealing as his novels. Some were bland and easy to predict, which is why I have rated this 4 (3.5 to be exact) out of 5 stars.
Some of the really impressive stories for me were - Too Many Coincidences, Both Sides Against The Middle, Something for Nothing, Other Blighters' Efforts from "To Cut A Long Story Short".
I really did enjoy almost all the short stories from "Cat O' Nine Tales". Maybe the fact that most were based on true incidents really impressed me.
Some of my favorites from "And Thereby Hangs A Tale" were Stuck On You, Where There's A Will, Members Only, The Undiplomatic Diplomat (Probably for the island theme), Better The Devil You Know and Caste Off
A story doesn't have to be true to be gripping. It needs to be told by a master story teller. And Jeffrey Archer is certainly one true master.
July 2, 2024
I can't remember how much of this drivel I read. But in the end I had to get rid of it.
All of these stories are awful. I know they were not all written in the early 1980's but they all have that feel about it.
Like they were all published in the Mail On Sunday to appeal to upper working class people with aspirations of joining the lower middle classes. The story published in between a photo review of sweaters and a weekend trip to Tuscany.
The characters, the dialogue, the entire stories themselves are just total garbage.
Do not read any of this.
All of these stories are awful. I know they were not all written in the early 1980's but they all have that feel about it.
Like they were all published in the Mail On Sunday to appeal to upper working class people with aspirations of joining the lower middle classes. The story published in between a photo review of sweaters and a weekend trip to Tuscany.
The characters, the dialogue, the entire stories themselves are just total garbage.
Do not read any of this.
September 12, 2022
A good helping of some quite clever short stories by this author, some of them feel a bit dated with references to a British colonial past, but quite a few harken to his own time spent in an open prison which he openly acknowledges as a source for some of these 'novel-like vignettes'. A useful book if you don't have time to read long novels and many of the storylines are quite entertaining, but not one of his best methinks.
March 31, 2018
Good, but mildly annoying. The stories in the book didn't give me enough closure. I was aware that this was intentionally done, so the reader can ponder about the possibilities of the ending. Great read, but still annoying.
December 7, 2019
An interesting collection of short stories with some very clever confidence tricks. As I live in India the poignancy of the last story really resonated.
May 29, 2021
His witty style of writing will make you turn page after page.
July 15, 2021
His novels and short stories really pack a punch. Love them all.
April 17, 2023
Not a short story fan
December 25, 2025
DNF @ 46%
July 1, 2017
The book is strictly ok. The stories are from three books of the author, "To Cut A Long Story Short", "Cat 'O Nine Tales" and "Thereby Hangs a Tale". All the stories (approx 50) are "feel good" tales, some very good and some just about ok to read. Hence a three star rating.
April 12, 2016
An interesting collection of heart-warming and tickling stories. I found relief in reading these stories during the mundane short breaks in between my work hours. Jeffrey Archer is indeed a master story teller as you'll find in these simple yet succinct narratives.
September 13, 2016
Delightful collection, although some of the tales I wanted to re-read (the one where the son wants to be a chef against his dad's wishes. the one where a couple go to buy original Turkish carpets, etc) weren't a part of it as I had hoped.
Archer's earliest works are still his best, no kidding.
Archer's earliest works are still his best, no kidding.
April 20, 2021
The best collection of short stories!! Simply awesome. Too many good ones to pick favourites, but these stay with you for a while - The Endgame, The Grass is Always Greener, The Wisdom of Solomon, The Queen's Birthday Telegram, Blind Date..
September 27, 2012
A Fantastic book, am still reading it!...
December 30, 2012
Collection of the best stories by Archer ever.
November 29, 2013
Not great.
June 28, 2015
Consummate artist toying with his craft. Quite a few short stories are quite entertaining. Most, though, traverse expected paths. But as always, Jeffrey Archer is an enjoyable way to pass time!
November 17, 2015
A potpourri of themes. Quite a few of them are class apart with a few touching a chord....
January 14, 2016
A good book to dip into if you have a few minutes to read or if you don't want to concentrate only on one book. Some stories more interesting than others and some a few pages and others longer.
May 18, 2016
Great short stories!
'And thereby hangs a tale' was my favourite set of the three!!
'And thereby hangs a tale' was my favourite set of the three!!
June 29, 2019
Every bit interesting as the author's other books. Loved it
April 23, 2016
I'm a fan of short stories and Jeffrey Archer doesn't disappoint. Solid stories with plenty of twists in the tail.
May 5, 2012
Masterclass ... personified !
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews