From Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling author of the Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel, comes his captivating sixth collection of short stories, And Hereby Hangs a Tale, full of magnificent characters and shocking plot twists. In 'High Heels' discover what happens in a loss adjuster's memorable first case where his wife has to explain why a pair of designer shows couldn't have gone up in flames. While on the streets of Delhi in 'Caste-Off' a man and woman fall in love while waiting for a traffic light to turn green. And in 'A Good Eye' a priceless Renaissance oil painting remains in the same family for generations until its current owner is face with a difficult choice . . . Jeffrey demonstrates his natural aptitude for short stories which are stylish, witty and entertaining. His mastery of characterization and suspense, combined with a gift for the unexpected, jaw-dropping plot twist, show him at the height of his powers and demonstrate why he is one of world's bestselling authors.

From Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling author of the Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel, comes his captivating sixth collection of short stories, And Hereby Hangs a Tale, full of magnificent characters and shocking plot twists. In 'High Heels' discover what happens in a loss adjuster's memorable first case where his wife has to explain why a pair of designer shows couldn't have gone up in flames. While on the streets of Delhi in 'Caste-Off' a man and woman fall in love while waiting for a traffic light to turn green. And in 'A Good Eye' a priceless Renaissance oil painting remains in the same family for generations until its current owner is face with a difficult choice . . . Jeffrey demonstrates his natural aptitude for short stories which are stylish, witty and entertaining. His mastery of characterization and suspense, combined with a gift for the unexpected, jaw-dropping plot twist, show him at the height of his powers and demonstrate why he is one of world's bestselling authors.

From Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling author of the Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel, comes his captivating sixth collection of short stories, And Hereby Hangs a Tale, full of magnificent characters and shocking plot twists. In 'High Heels' discover what happens in a loss adjuster's memorable first case where his wife has to explain why a pair of designer shoes couldn't have gone up in flames. While on the streets of Delhi in 'Caste-Off' a man and woman fall in love while waiting for a traffic light to turn green. And in 'A Good Eye' a priceless Renaissance oil painting remains in the same family for generations until its current owner is faced with a difficult choice… Jeffrey demonstrates his natural aptitude for short stories which are stylish, witty and entertaining. His mastery of characterization and suspense, combined with a gift for the unexpected, jaw-dropping plot twist, show him at the height of his powers and demonstrate why he is one of world's bestselling authors.

A quick read from the number one bestselling writer and author of Kane and Abel. These stories previously published in And Thereby Hangs a Tale, Cat O' Nine Tales and Twelve Red Herrings. Four Warned contains four short stories from master storyteller, Jeffrey Archer, packed full of twists and turns. In Stuck on You, Jeremy finds out exactly the best way to steal the perfect ring for his fiancee. Albert celebrates his 100th birthday, and is pleased to be sent The Queen's Birthday Telegram. He is, however, confused . . . In Russia, businessman Richard plots the ideal way to murder his wife. He begins to have a clever idea when his hotel warns him: Don't Drink the Water from the taps. And as Diana, a busy single mother, drives to have dinner with friends, she realizes that a black van is following her. Soon terrified for her life, she does whatever it takes to stick to the warning given to drivers: Never Stop on the Motorway . . . Every reader will have their favourite story - some will make you laugh, others will bring you to tears. And, as always, every one of them will keep you spellbound.

The New Collected Short Stories brings together three of Jeffrey Archer's classic collections of short stories: To Cut a Long Story Short, Cat O' Nine Tales and And Thereby Hangs a Tale, showcasing the master storyteller's skill like never before. 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 and 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 . . . The stories held in these pages are irresistible: ingeniously plotted, with richly drawn characters and deliciously unexpected conclusions.

Author of the bestselling Clifton Chronicles, Jeffrey Archer, gives us fifteen gripping and rewarding short stories for readers to return to time and again. Find out what happens to the hapless young detective from Naples who travels to an Italian hillside town to solve a murder and the pretentious schoolboy whose discovery of the origins of his fathers wealth changes his life forever. Follow the stories of the woman who dares to challenge the men at her Ivy League university during the 1930s, and another young woman who thumbs a lift and has an encounter of a lifetime. From the master of the short story, the refreshingly original stories in Tell Tale prove why Archer has been described by the Mail on Sunday as probably the greatest storyteller of our age.

Author of the bestselling Clifton Chronicles, Jeffrey Archer, gives us fifteen gripping and rewarding short stories for readers to return to time and again. Find out what happens to the hapless young detective from Naples who travels to an Italian hillside town to solve a murder and the pretentious schoolboy whose discovery of the origins of his fathers wealth changes his life forever. Follow the stories of the woman who dares to challenge the men at her Ivy League university during the 1930s, and another young woman who thumbs a lift and has an encounter of a lifetime. From the master of the short story, the refreshingly original stories in Tell Tale prove why Archer has been described by the Mail on Sunday as probably the greatest storyteller of our age.

Life Before Man is a tragicomic tale of love seeking to find its way in the wake of death from the bestselling author of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments Elizabeth has just lost her latest lover to suicide while Nate, her husband, is working up to run off with Lesje. And Lesje? She would rather be studying dinosaurs than distracted by men. As Elizabeth, Nate and Lesje find themselves imprisoned by walls of their own construction the ghost of Elizabeth’s dead lover hangs over them. Under his shadow, and in the spell of love, their lives will collide and entangle towards a single tragicomic climax.

Unsuccessful in his endeavours, the young and naive Peter Schlemihl seals a pact with the Devil in which he exchanges his shadow for the purse of Fortunatus, thereby gaining everlasting riches. But when he is ridiculed, persecuted and hated for being different from other men, he realizes that poverty is easier to bear than the loss of his peace of mind. Originally written as a cautionary tale for the children of Chamisso's patron, Peter Schlemihl was hailed by contemporaries as a masterpiece with a wide adult appeal, and continues to capture imaginations today.

Blood & Sugar is the thrilling debut historical crime novel from Laura Shepherd-Robinson for fans of C. J. Sansom and Andrew Taylor. June, 1781. An unidentified body hangs upon a hook at Deptford Dock - horribly tortured and branded with a slaver's mark. Some days later, Captain Harry Corsham - a war hero embarking upon a promising parliamentary career - is visited by the sister of an old friend. Her brother, passionate abolitionist Tad Archer, had been about to expose a secret that he believed could cause irreparable damage to the British slaving industry. He'd said people were trying to kill him, and now he is missing... To discover what happened to Tad, Harry is forced to pick up the threads of his friend's investigation, delving into the heart of the conspiracy Tad had unearthed. His investigation will threaten his political prospects, his family's happiness, and force a reckoning with his past, risking the revelation of secrets that have the power to destroy him. And that is only if he can survive the mortal dangers awaiting him in Deptford...

Private detective Lew Archer has better things to do than take on an investigation for Alex Kincaid, a young man claiming that his new bride, Dolly, has gone missing. Snapped by a hotel photographer on the day of their wedding, the beautiful girl vanished only hours after and Alex has heard nothing since. But when Archer begins digging, he finds evidence that links Dolly to brutal murders that span two decades, and a terrible secret. In this byzantine and compelling tale, Ross Macdonald explores the darkest experiences that can bind a family together - and tear it apart. Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer mysteries rewrote the conventions of the detective novel with their credible, humane hero, and with Macdonald's insight and moral complexity won new literary respectability for the hardboiled genre previously pioneered by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. They have also received praise from such celebrated writers as William Goldman, Jonathan Kellerman, Eudora Welty and Elmore Leonard.

Edith Wharton s masterpiece brings to life the grandeur and hypocrisy of a gilded age. Set among the very rich in 1870s New York, it tells the story of Newland Archer, a young lawyer engaged to marry virginal socialite May Welland, when he meets her cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska, a woman unbound by convention and surrounded by scandal. As all three are drawn into a love triangle filled with sensuality, subtlety, and betrayal, Archer faces a harrowing choice between happiness and the social code that has ruled his life. The resulting tale of thwarted love is filled with irony and surprise, struggle and acceptance. Recipient of the first Pulitzer Prize for fiction ever awarded to a woman, this great novel paints a timeless portrait of society still unmatched in American literature an arbitrary, capricious social elite that professes inviolable standards but readily abandons them for greed and desire."

Edith Wharton s masterpiece brings to life the grandeur and hypocrisy of a gilded age. Set among the very rich in 1870s New York, it tells the story of Newland Archer, a young lawyer engaged to marry virginal socialite May Welland, when he meets her cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska, a woman unbound by convention and surrounded by scandal. As all three are drawn into a love triangle filled with sensuality, subtlety, and betrayal, Archer faces a harrowing choice between happiness and the social code that has ruled his life. The resulting tale of thwarted love is filled with irony and surprise, struggle and acceptance. Recipient of the first Pulitzer Prize for fiction ever awarded to a woman, this great novel paints a timeless portrait of society still unmatched in American literature an arbitrary, capricious social elite that professes inviolable standards but readily abandons them for greed and desire."

Author of the bestselling Clifton Chronicles, Jeffrey Archer, gives us fifteen gripping and rewarding short stories for readers to return to time and again. Find out what happens to the hapless young detective from Naples who travels to an Italian hillside town to solve a murder and the pretentious schoolboy whose discovery of the origins of his father's wealth changes his life forever. Follow the stories of the woman who dares to challenge the men at her Ivy League university during the 1930s, and another young woman who thumbs a lift and has an encounter of a lifetime. From the master of the short story, the refreshingly original stories in Tell Tale prove why Archer has been described by the Mail on Sunday as 'probably the greatest storyteller of our age'.

Author of the bestselling Clifton Chronicles, Jeffrey Archer, gives us fifteen gripping and rewarding short stories for readers to return to time and again. Find out what happens to the hapless young detective from Naples who travels to an Italian hillside town to solve a murder and the pretentious schoolboy whose discovery of the origins of his father's wealth changes his life forever. Follow the stories of the woman who dares to challenge the men at her Ivy League university during the 1930s, and another young woman who thumbs a lift and has an encounter of a lifetime. From the master of the short story, the refreshingly original stories in Tell Tale prove why Archer has been described by the Mail on Sunday as 'probably the greatest storyteller of our age'.

Transplanted to Europe from her native America, Isabel Archer has candour, beauty, intelligence, an independent spirit and a marked enthusiasm for life. An unexpected inheritance apparently gives her freedom, but despite all her natural advantages she makes one disastrous error of judgement and the result is genuinely tragic. Her tale, told with James' inimitable poise, is of the widest relevance.