Valerie Book Valkyrie’s Reviews > And Thereby Hangs a Tale > Status Update

The Undiplomatic Diplomat:4.5stars
Sent to Paris as an assis. sec't. he might have survived the posting had he not told the French President's wife at a gov't reception that the world was overpopulated & she wasn't helping matters by producing so many children.He had a point,as the lady in question had 7 offspring & was pregnant at the time,but he was still to be found packing his bags soon thereafter.
Love this guy!

8. A Good Eye - 3.5 stars
From Germany comes the tale of a priceless oil painting that has remained in the same family for over two hundred years, until...

7. I WILL SURVIVE - A left-handed homage to Gloria Gaynor! 5 stars!

6. DOUBLE CROSSED - A front-page diamond heist; a currently incarcerated fence, looking for a sentence reduction, earns the newly incarcerated diamond-thief for his cell-mate; paste or genuine gems?
4-stars!

5.WHERE THERE'S A WILL-Miss Lynn Beattie,defunct actress w/fruitful finish at an escort agency,earns a nursing diploma.At Jackson Memorial "she's interviewed by a panel of 3, two of whom,including the Director,weren't convinced that she came from the right sort of background to be a nurse.The 3rd bumped into her in the carpark on his way home & the next morning convinced his colleagues to change their minds.":o 4star

4. Blind Date - like any date of this kind should be, short & sweet. 4-stars!

3. HIGH HEELS - Alan Penfold, a loss adjuster with the agency of Redfern & Ticehurst investigates the case of a devastating fire at a highly insured high-end shoe factory in Romford, his first solo case; as told by Alan to the author while seated next to eachother at Lord's for the first day of the Second Test against Australia. 3 stars.

2. THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY TELEGRAM- Yes, the Queen Mother sends a birthday telegram to all of Her Majesty's Subjects on their Centennial Birthday! Be sure yours doesn't get lost in the mail....
5 stars!

1. STUCK ON YOU - Engaged within weeks of meeting at Ascot Racecourse, Jeremy & Arabella from opposite sides of the London tracks, plan a De Beers' jewel heist. 5 stars!

A collection of 15 stories by a a new-to-me author who presents this quote before the collection of stories begins:
"GRUMIO: First know my horse is tired, my master and mistress fallen out.
CURTIS: How?
GRUMIO: Out of their saddles into the dirt, and thereby hangs a tale"
from The Taming Of The Srew

This is my choice for the first "A" in the BER reading challenge🧚‍♀️🙋🏼.