Two stories stand out. Fatal Accident deals with a cop on vacation who sees a car wreck in front of him where the wife dies. When he tries to follow up with the hospitalized driver, the driver is more worried about people looking at the car than the wife. The cop’s instincts say murder. Not quite as solid but memorable is Crime of Omission, where a man consumed by jealousy is trying to convince himself to kill his best friend/wife’s lover while up at the cottage in the winter. Can he do it? Will he have to? Nice twist ending, although kind of campy.
The “Continental Op” was described to me initially as a single collection of short stories, but the available versions are actually a collection of eight books of short stories grouped under that title.
What I Liked
Stories include The Tenth Clew, The Golden Horseshoe, The House in Turk Street, The Girl with the Silver Eyes, The Whosis Kid, The Main Death, and the Farewell Murder.
This is a collection of short political stories from various famous authors dating back to the 1800s.
What I Liked
The best story of the collection is by Mark Twain, entitled The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg (an interesting story of greed that corrupts an incorruptible town, prompted by a man wronged by the town). James Thurber’s story, The Greatest Man in the World, is a slightly different take on flying around the world, as a man flies non-stop while the media and public scramble to meet him and the government tries to hide the fact that his character isn’t that great. L.E. Jones’ story, The Bishop’s Aunt, focuses on occupied Eastern Europe during the war and questions of sacrifice, faith, martyrdom, and strategy. And Jeffrey Archer’s own story, The Coup, has two business rivals stranded in Nigeria during a coup, and having to resolve their differences.
What I Didn’t Like
Three stories were good, but not as good as the rest. Charles Dickens story, The Election for Beadle, tells the tale of an election for church Beadle, and two men fighting to elect their choice. Rudyard Kipling’s tale of The Village that Voted the Earth Was Flat has a fight between a man and his buddies against a town that had a speed trap set to catch speeders. Finally, Saki’s tale of Ministers of Grace is a really strange tale of turning political animals into actual animals, and letting angels take their place.
Travis Byrne is having a hard time. He traded his badge for a law degree and now most cops hate him. His courtroom opponent thinks he’s scum since he switched sides. And to prove her point, he’s just been appointed lawyer for Al Moroconi — an all-round scumbag with mob ties.
What I Liked
Then Al breaks out of prison, shooting a guard in the process, and starts gunning for his lawyer who he thinks hasn’t done enough to help him. Add in the mob and some crooked FBI agents, and this story gets complicated real fast.
What I Didn’t Like
It has the feel of a fish-out-of-water TV-movie and never quite pays off.
Megan McGee is a 30-something lawyer facing a quiet Christmas with her dog when a new crying client, Bonnie Cantrell, comes asking for a restraining order.
What I Liked
The restraining order is against an abusive ex, Carl, who’s also an ex-cop, and Bonnie is worried for the safety of not only herself but also her son and her new lover. The story starts as a simple textbook case, but starts to morph as it becomes evident that while Carl is unhinged, perhaps Bonnie isn’t telling the whole truth.
What I Didn’t Like
A thread of Christmas presents runs through the story showing that sometimes little miracles do happen, but it’s rather cliché.
The Bottom Line
A surprisingly light story given the dark nature of the case.
