I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read an Advance copy of Tell Tale in exchange for an honest review.
I found this collection of short stories to be very entertaining. All of the stories have a "twist" ending -- some very predictable, others quite surprising. Many stories in this collection are loosely based on true stories from Mr Archer's world travels. It is quite amazing how well Mr. Archer can capture the reader in very few words. I enjoyed all of the stories, but "Who Killed the Mayor" was my standout favorite.

I've loved Jeffrey Archer's work for years and this collection of short stories was simply delightful. The writing is sharp and concise and I loved the little twists at the end of each story. Even in such a short format, the characters are vivid and the narrative complete.

My favorite story was A Wasted Hour with it's wonderful twist in the last sentence. A Road to Damascus had a positively chilling ending. Each story in this collection is a little gem

Archer is still a master story-teller!

I had honestly forgotten how how fond I was of reading books written by Jeffery Archer.. Years ago I read several books penned by Archer and enjoyed them very much. As my author list grew I forgot about some of my favorites. Reading Tell Tale placed Archer back at the top of my list. I was a little skeptical about reading short stories but I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed the stories and the variety. His stories made me smile and even gave me a few "WOW" or "Ah-Ha" moments. This book would be perfect for anyone who doesn't have a lot of time to read as you can finish a short story fairly quickly. If you are like me and sometimes have to go days before picking a book back up, you won't need to go back to try to remember what was going on. Tell Tale has changed my mind about reading short stories; I quite enjoyed it. Now to go back and read the Jeffery Archer books I missed over the years!

3.5 stars
I am not usually a short story reader but this came at a perfect time. I was staying with my grandkids and could only read in short spurts so it worked out well. As in any collection, there were some stories I liked better than others but overall it was an interesting grouping.

I enjoyed the story of "Who Killed the Mayor" with it's lovely twist ending. I admired the couple who set up an illegal business in "Car Park Attendant". "A Wasted Hour" would have been great but it was set in Calif. and obviously written by an Englishman. The set up never would have happened in Calif. and it spoiled a story that would have been lovely.

This collection had a nice variety of stories and I enjoyed the one where the author provided three different endings for the reader to select from. If you like short stories this would be a great read for you.

Jeffrey Archer is a favorite author. I like his lengthy series The Clifton Chronicles. Tell Tale is a collection of short stories, so the author has not the ability to write in depth for each story., and I miss that. As it is, his collection is good. I did find myself putting the book down for a while, but I always came back to it.
Thanks, NetGalley for the ARC.

Another great story collection by Jeffrey Archer. We always buy him for our library.

In honor of Jeffrey Archer's first short story of exactly 100 words, I will confine my review to the same. Archer's latest collection of works is witty, engrossing, intriguing and everything you would expect from him. It always amazes me that a man who can write a story consisting of no less than seven full length novels, can also capture the essence of a story in as little as 100 or a thousand words. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys short stories, or even anyone who has never read short stories before but is looking to start!

Tell Tale is a collection of 14 new short stories by Jeffrey Archer on the St. Martin's Press imprint. I usually try to avoid comparisons in my reviews, but the book is full of well written, twist endings which reminded me a lot of Saki or O. Henry. They're engaging and very well written.
Two of the entries are in the challenging 'ultra short' 100 word category and both are winners. Between these first and last bookend 100 word stories are a mixed bag of modern and period pieces, whimsical and more serious pieces.

All of the stories in this collection are well over the average. They're all very readable and engaging. Mr. Archer has a long and distinguished career writing good solid readable books for a large audience. This collection is a worthy addition to his oeuvre.

CONTENTS
Unique
Who Killed the Mayor?*
View of Auvers-sur-Oise*
A Gentleman and a Scholar*
All’s Fair in Love and War
The Car Park Attendant*
A Wasted Hour*
The Road to Damascus*
The Cuckold
The Holiday of a Lifetime*
Double or Quits
The Senior Vice President
A Good Toss to Lose*
The Perfect Murder

*Inspired by real events

I enjoyed all of the stories, but Who Killed the Mayor, A Gentleman and a Scholar, and The Senior Vice President really stood out for me. The fact that it was difficult for me to choose only three to highlight, speaks to the general quality of the collection and the writing.

Release date: 24 October, 2017
271 pages by Jeffrey Archer from St. Martin's Press

I knew instantly that I would enjoy this book when the author started with a 100-word short story that he wrote for Reader’s Digest.
Have you seen those ultra short stories where the writers must strictly and skilfully use only 100 words?
They leave you surprised, stunned and simply amazed as the endings are usually so totally unexpected that you just have to start again from the very first word to see what you missed.
I was similarly affected by many of the 14 tales in this latest work by Jeffrey Archer, though all but two have much more than 100 words.
The icing on the cake is that eight of them are loosely based on real events. That just made them doubly poignant and interesting!
Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press. I was thoroughly entertained!

Absolutely fantastic. An unexpected twist to the ending of each story in this book. I loved it. Well written and very engaging from the first tale. Highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Short stories seem to be the hardest thing to write. There must be a beginning, an end, and because it’s short, the middle must be clear and concise to convey the author’s story as succinctly as possible. Jeffrey Archer’s latest book does all of that magnificently well.

Each of these tales is enjoyable, and some are based on people Archer met during his travels. Archer is a great storyteller and each tale is different from the last whether it be characters, setting, plot or length of story that makes each unique. The tales are superbly told, simple yet such a powerful ending.

I highly recommend you pick this one up! Fair warning though, make sure you don’t peek ahead to the last paragraph. After seeing that the ending was a gotcha moment at the end, I made a point of covering it up as soon as I turned the page in order to avoid the temptation to peek!

TELL TALE by Jeffrey Archer

Stories by Jeffrey Archer are such a treat, rewarding the reader with intelligent, interesting writing and clever twists worthy of Saki. Just when I think I know what’s coming, there’s an unexpected turn, a literary roller coaster. I’ve loved Archer’s work since a friend introduced me to “A Twist in the Tale,” and this new collection continues delightfully. I wanted to choose a favorite, but couldn’t . . . perhaps “The Car Park Attendant,” or perhaps the hitchhiker, or the bank manager, or “Who Killed the Mayor?” . . . no, too hard to choose a favorite, all were just too delightful. My only disappointment was in finding myself at the end of the book, looking for more: good things do come to an end, but one can savor the memories.

Having read almost all of Jeffrey Archer’s considerable body of work, I think it is fair to say I am a fan. Ever since I opened up “As the Crow Flies” nearly 30 years ago, I’ve sought him out and often read his new stuff just as soon as it comes out. And so it was with great anticipation that I discovered just a couple of days ago that he had this new short story collection coming out.

While I thoroughly enjoy Archer’s novels, I think his short story writing is even better and absolutely among the very best in existence. They are addicting…like eating potato chips. You can’t read just one Jeffrey Archer short story without diving into the next. They are often simple stories of people who have a certain genuineness about them and therefore highly relatable for most readers.

This collection contains 13 stories, every one of them well written, clever and intriguing. There is a wide variety of stories to be found among the collection, including historical settings, twist endings, very short (100 words) to quite long. The final story is actually the first 4 chapters of Archer’s forth-coming novel. And finally, as has been Archer’s habit in recent collections, several of the tales are based on actual stories the author has encountered during his travels.

Taken together, this is a great collection and will please Archer’s many fans and can also serve as a nice entry for those looking to sample his material. Highly Recommended.