Bewitching and perilously Enchanting. Review on Twelve Red Herrings - Jeffrey Archer

A life less ordinary, a day without actions and a dialog without its assent and dissent doesn’t make for much interesting and gripping read, does it? We all need variety and uncertainties in our lives to make it worthwhile and occupying. It is this that makes our life less ordinary, a life more spicy and juicy so to speak of. If we led a life, which did not throw up something new and challenging, something out of the blue once in a while, things would become predictable and once that happens the spice of life and the punk of it is missing. It becomes dry, boring and at times mundane, wow don’t we all want a happening life.I for one, sure do!

People please don’t start wondering if I am trying to deviate from the topic or at best said in literary terms throwing a red herring at you. Eeks seems I gave away the plot of my review a trifle too soon this time around, something, which is not my wont. Well now since you know what I might be talking about, let me present to you the one and only Lord Jeffrey Archer and the book I am going to talk about, Twelve Red Herrings.

Lord Archer needs no introduction, a man of many deeds; he doesn’t fail to entertain no matter what he does. His uncanny story telling abilities, his mastery of the craft, his public and private life, everything about the knight seems colorful and charming. He has often been regarded as the most popular contemporary novel writer. His unique unputdownable style of writing endears him to his fans and makes him a darling of the publishers for the moolah that he can rake in book after book.

Red Herring means any diversion intended to deviate the attention from the main issue and something which is put in deliberately so that the main point gets overlooked in its wake. The title of the book is indeed suggestive of what Archer is attempting. As he weaves his plot, he leaves the reader confused and perplexed with his uncanny and unique craft. While one struggles to get to terms with the sudden changes that he brings about in his stories, he throws another surprise at you, leaving you completely off balanced. He doesn’t let you settle down into a comfort zone with regards to the pace and feel of the stories. It is this changing, twisting and curling that he does with such mastery that makes each of the stories so very readable.

The book is a collection of 12 short stories, each one with their own twists, turns and series of unexpected events and curls, which makes it so gripping and likeable. It keeps you on the edge of your seats with its racing storyline and easy paced reading. Nine of the twelve stories are based on real life actual happenings, something that Archer accepts as well. He tries to do an O’ Henry in this collection of short stories which are witty, imaginative and very pulsating. The tone and content of the stories vary from suspense to thriller to charming; there is something in it for every one.

The stories collected together are downright entertainment. Consider the plot of some of the stories An imprisoned man is certain that his supposed murder victim is very much alive... A female driver is pursued relentlessly by a menacing figure in another vehicle... A young artist gets the biggest break of her career... A restless beauty manages the perfect birthday celebration... An escaped Iraqi on Saddam Hussein's death list pays an involuntary visit to his homeland. In each tale, human beings are given an opportunity to seize, a crucial problem to solve, or a danger to avoid. How will they react? How would you? Capping off the collection are two additional rewards. In the final story, Archer offers a choice of four endings. And buried in each story is another diversion -- a red herring that he challenges his readers to uncover.

Title of the stories are in itself well disguised and act as a red herring themselves. Some of the titles he uses are trial and error, never stop on the motorway, cheap at half the price, chunnel vision, an eye for an eye, you will never live to regret it, one man’s meat. Plots talking of murder, mystery, intrigue, suspense, deceit, jealousy, anger, revenge and action are packed together in this one book. For the well read it would be a close second to the works of O Henry or Roald Dahl who fascinate and mesmerize you with their short stories. His suspense stories come close to the likes of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, though not in the same genre but a close second, I would reckon. Its tough to talk about the book without talking about the stories in it, but I wont divulge more as this would spoil the fun for people who haven’t read it. Especially since some of the stories are thrillers and suspense, and once the secret is out, it falls flat like cola without fizz.

When to read? this is one book which you can read anytime of the day, there is no mood or time for this one. You can read it while you waiting for the bus, or while you standing in the ticket queue or while you waiting for the washing machine buzzer to tick off. You can even read it while you cooking food or munching food so forth and so on. This book would definitely charge you up after a hard days work and it will also set you in the groove at the start of the day. There are some inconsistencies here and there in the plot and writing but they can be overlooked.

Whose read? it is almost everyone’s read right from the kid to the grandpa, from the classes to the masses, from boss to the peon and from the swanky Yankees of America to the down-to-earthly souls from Jhumri Tillaiya. The thriller-suspense freak would find it very appealing while the philosophy reader will devour it for the ease of read. The mythical literature buff would scrape through it for the lack of depth and the discerning would read it through just to catch the red herring

Statutory Warning!! students preparing for their grueling boards exams please don’t read it in the time you take off from studies, as this a gripping book and can have adverse effect in eating up the precious little time you have before your exams. Harassed software engineers please don’t read it while your boss is away as you would get so engrossed in it that you wont realize he has been standing right behind you for so long, waiting for you to come out of trance.

So much so for the book, well what are you waiting for, go grab your copies today and feast on it, crunchy munchies delicious..!!