In “Trial and Error” we are introduced to elements which
will repeat in the rest of the stories. This book was first
published in 1994, but it arrived at the marketplace postmortem; its stories have all died and gone to Yuppie Heaven.
They feature people pocketing incredible sums of money in
the world of big business, city trading and the law. They also
have a very stiff spine of conservatism – families, property,
titles, Oxbridge degrees, inherited money. There are a lot of
illicit affairs, with women usually seen as part of some
elemental horse-trading between powerful men. And usually,
a con is involved - rip-offs, double-crosses, tables turned.
Many of these elements took me back to those people I didn’t
like, all those years ago. Their interests and conduct
dovetailed with Jeffrey Archer’s fiction so neatly, they might
as well have had a framed portrait of him adorning their walls.
Or maybe one of Jeffrey and Mary, the perfect couple, big
smiles, his hand on her shoulder; cracking haircuts. This
would be displayed in the foyer to the Thatcher Annex, of
course.
But I’ll say this: I rattled through “Trial and Error” at pace.
There was nothing particularly distinguished about the
writing, but perhaps that’s Archer’s secret. These are simple
stories, told well. I was sleeping with the enemy.
“Cheap At Half The Price” sees a different type of
deception, as a wife sets her sights on very expensive
jewellery – but it’s out of her husband’s price range. Luckily,
she has a few irons in the fire to help her get what she wants.
This was a domestic con, centring on a cheating wife who will
do pretty much anything to get her hands on the sparklers.
This woman ostensibly has no independent power, money or
influence barring what her good looks can get her. Some
people might see this as a realist reading of her situation.
Even without any erotic content, this tale had sidestepped into
the realms of eighties porn – wearing high heels, pearls, big
hair, and not much else, unless you’re counting a vast, dense
bush; entirely unsurveyed territory, a great blank space in
teenage spotters’ guides. It’s funny how that sort of topiary is
viewed as a feminist statement nowadays. “Cheap At Half
The Price” most certainly cannot be regarded as a feminist
statement.
I didn’t like anyone in this story, or their lifestyles. But I still
cut through it like number one clippers.
“Never Stop On The Motorway” must be one of those
asterisked stories, because you’ll have heard urban myths
resembling it. After doing what the title tells us she shouldn’t,
a woman is tailgated by an aggressive driver on her journey
home down a lonely backroad. The radio tells her a rapist and
murderer is on the loose. Can she return to the safety of her
house before the honking van driver can do her a mischief?
This one was an excellent thriller, though, as I said, most
readers will see the twist in the tale coming from a long way
off.
“You’ll Never Live To Regret It” sees an insurance con, as a
man takes out life policies despite his lover dying of Aids. A
gay couple tries to trick an insurance company, and one of
them is struck by AIDS and he exchanges his medical exams
with his partner.
In “ One Man’s Meat”, when Michael Whitaker spots the
stunning Anna Townsend on the steps of the theatre, he
decides he will do whatever it takes to get to know her.
Finding a way to get a ticket for the seat next to her, he then
invites her to a drink at the interval. By the end of the play,
Michael asks her to accompany him to dinner. But what will
her answer be?What follows are four different endings . . .
choose just one, or – if choosing to read all four – they can be
read in the following order: Rare, Burnt, Overdone, and À
Point . . .