Cat O'Nine Tales is the fifth collection of irresistible short stories from the master storyteller and bestselling author Jeffrey Archer. Ingeniously plotted, with richly drawn characters and Archer's trademark of deliciously unexpected conclusions, some of these thirteen stories were inspired by the two years Jeffrey Archer spent in prison, including the story of a company chairman who tries to poison his wife while on a trip to St Petersburg—with unexpected consequences. The Red King is a tale about a con man who discovers that an English Lord requires one more chess piece to complete a set that would be worth a fortune. In another tale of deception, The Commissioner, a Bombay con artist ends up in the morgue, after he uses the police chief as bait in his latest scam. The Perfect Murder reveals how a convict manages to remove an old enemy while he's locked up in jail, and then set up two prison officers as his alibi. In Charity Begins at Home, an accountant realizes he has achieved nothing in his life, and sets out to make a fortune before he retires. And then there is Archer's favorite, In the Eye of the Beholder, where a handsome star athlete falls in love with a three-hundred-pound woman...who happens to be the ninth richest woman in Italy. Jeffrey Archer is the only author to have topped international bestseller lists with his fiction, non-fiction, and his short stories. Cat O'Nine Tales is Archer at his best: witty, sad, surprising, and unforgettable.

Four stories from the world of “smart, sexy, ruthless”* heroine Jane Yellowrock—plus bonus material! In Have Stakes Will Travel, readers get a chance to go deeper into the thrilling world of skinwalker and vampire hunter Jane Yellowrock. In “WeSa,” the Beast who lives inside Jane watches as her hunting grounds become prey. In “Haints,” Jane and her best friend, witch Molly Trueblood, are hired to investigate mysterious paranormal phenomena—and the evil they find brings a new meaning to the words "haunted house." “Signatures of the Dead” tells the story of the vampire massacre that made Jane Yellowrock a household name. And in “Cajun with Fangs,” Jane makes a new friend who turns out to have old enemies, and finds herself drawn into a vicious blood feud, fueled by dark magic and ancient grudges. Includes an exclusive preview of the newest Jane Yellowrock novel, Death’s Rival—out October 2012 from Roc! “Wesa,” “Haints,” and “Cajun with Fangs” are never before published. The story “Signatures of the Dead” previously appeared in the Strange Brew anthology. *New York Times bestselling author Kim Harrison

“Cat o’ Nine Tales” is an engaging memoir of real life experience in the urban trenches of cat rescue work. Nine special felines are profiled in detail, with their life stories and adoptions — or other outcomes — but many others will be met along the way. Liberally studded with candid photos of the cats described, “Cat o’ Nine Tales” chronicles eight years of stray and feral cat life on the West Philly streets, defining the trials and challenges these animals face, as well as the rewards and satisfaction of finding a special cat its “Forever” home.

Winner of the 2023 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Long-listed for the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice A Slate Top Ten Book of the Year A TIME Best Fiction Book of 2022 Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, NPR, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Los Angeles Review of Books, Financial Times, San Francisco Chronicle, LitHub, Buzzfeed, and more. A magnificent, beguiling tale winding from the postwar rural provinces to Paris, from an English boarding school to the quiet Pennsylvania home where a woman can live without her past, The Book of Goose is a story of disturbing intimacy and obsession, of exploitation and strength of will, by the celebrated author Yiyun Li. Fabienne is dead. Her childhood best friend, Agnès, receives the news in America, far from the French countryside where the two girls were raised—the place that Fabienne helped Agnès escape ten years ago. Now Agnès is free to tell her story. As children in a war-ravaged backwater town, they’d built a private world, invisible to everyone but themselves—until Fabienne hatched the plan that would change everything, launching Agnès on an epic trajectory through fame, fortune, and terrible loss.

New York Times #1 bestselling author Jeffrey Archer, a master of the short-story form, joins forces with renowned illustrator Paul Cox to re-imagine twenty of his most popular and fêted short stories alongside beautifully rendered watercolor illustrations in The Short, The Long and the Tall. Find out what happens to the hapless young detective from Naples who travels to an Italian hillside town to solve a murder and ends up falling in love; and the pretentious schoolboy whose discovery of the origins of his father’s wealth changes his life forever. Revel in 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 she will never forget. Discover the haunting story about four men whose characters are tested to the point of death. Finally, a short parable about how pointless war is, and how decent people are caught up in the crossfire of their leaders’ ambitions. This will be a must-buy for dedicated fans of the work of both author and illustrator, and includes the following short stories: Never Stop on the Motorway Cheap at Half the Price Who Killed the Mayor? It Can’t be October Already Stuck on You The Grass is Always Greener The Queen’s Birthday Telegram Clean Sweep Ignatius The First Miracle Caste Off A Wasted Hour Just Good Friends Christina Rosenthal A Gentleman and a Scholar The Road to Damascus Old Love A Good Toss to Lose One Man’s Meat Endgame Confession

This edition 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.

In the 43rd year of the reign of the Emperor Augustus Caesar, a son of a Roman official posted near Bethlehem, is sent on an errand by his mother. On the way, he encounters all the usual sights and sounds of village life in Judaea, but Bethlehem is even more crowded that usual.

Originally published: New York: HarperCollins, 1994.

The man we call Saint Matthew, being the tax collector "sitting at the receipt of custom" in Capernaum, is by definition a Roman agent. As such, he has the additional task of spying on the religious fanatics who head the insurgency against the Roman occupation - in fact, he has been appointed there by Pontius Pilate.-publisher's description.

International bestselling author Jeffrey Archer has enthralled readers with his riveting suspense, surprise denouements, and unforgettable storylines. Now Archer's three acclaimed collections of short fiction are brought together in one irresistible volume. THE COLLECTED SHORT STORIES A Quiver Full of Arrows takes readers on a journey of encounters that befall an assortment of kindly strangers, wary old friends, and long-lost loves. Sly reflections on human nature are at the center of A Twist in the Tale in which blindly adventurous game-players compete for stakes higher than they dreamed. Expect the unexpected and you'll still be surprised in Twelve Red Herrings, a dozen tales of betrayal, love, murder and revenge capped with a startling twist. Thirty-six stories in all, each poised to astonish and inspire, revealing "master entertainer" (Time) Jeffrey Archer at his artfully entertaining best.