A fine collection of short stories

I like reading Jeffrey Archer’s works and have read a few novels and collection of short stories before. I particularly liked the collection “36 short stories” I borrowed from my friend’s father. The stories were dramatic and contained all the good qualities of short stories. This time I read “And thereby hangs a tale”.
This collection is a different one in many aspects. Firstly, most of these stories (ten out of fifteen, to be precise) are based on true incidents. He gathered these stories over a period of six years while traveling all around the world.
The stories contain slices of lives of people from motley of backgrounds and make an interesting read. Though they may lack the usual drama and twists that come with imaginative stories but most of them contain a surprise that unfolds itself in the end. These surprises will bring either tear to your eyes or a smile on your face.
I found myself amused by most of them and could not but appreciate Mr. Archer’s capability of presenting them in such a light. He has captured the essence of Ireland, Germany, Italy, India and even England with such grace.
His choice of words, how he refrains himself from divulging more details is quite praiseworthy.
Although I liked all of them but my particularly favorite ones are the “High Heels” in which an enthusiastic insurance agent saves millions of dollars by finding out the little secret behind burning of shoes, or a simple story like “Blind Date’ which left me imagining for a while, or the “Better The Devil You Know” which is about a ruthlessly ambitious businessman and which has a cunning twist.
There are some characters that are intelligent and emotional and a few who are cunning but they are endearing and seem so close to us.
Jeffrey Archer has shown his class time and again through his novels and this time also he has succeeded, much to the enjoyment of his readers.