In 'No Comebacks,' Mark found more than he bargained for when the Corsician assassin told him to strip. He had his public and 'professional' life, his private life, and his secret life -- none of which matched the London tycoon personna he projected. In his kind of fast lane wheeling and dealing, there are no comebacks, but he did not see this one coming. As in any kind of business, even radio, there are no comebacks from scandal. On air pranks and stunts are not acceptable at any time, and yet a group of incorrigibles got away with it free and clear. At least, they thought so, until a stranger entered their world with a mission of revenge.

In another story, there is a libel victim exacting sweet revenge. 'A Careful Man' wasn't careful enough as he wandered around his meek neighborhood for his usual two-block walk. 'There Are Some Days' and 'There Are No Snakes in Ireland' regardless to what you've heard are strange and different. "You are not obliged to say anything, but anything you say will be taken down and may be used in evidence." He can write on many diverse subjects, even in French. Writing is magical. The empty page is where you start to put together the disparate parts of your life. Once you put it down on paper, you can figure out how all your plans can start to come together. Most writers are clearly aware of this unless they have the so-called writers' block.

I loved the twist endings, some were funny, some insighrful, others a little boring, but the overall effect was good. Great writing style, and interesting enough plots for short stories and the irony of life.

Very few writers are equally good at both novels and short stories. I will not leave you in suspense - Frederick Forsyth is a better novelist. That is not a problem, however, as his novels are strong enough that he can dip a bit below that level and still be quite good. NO COMEBACKS demonstrates this.

As one would expect from Forsyth, the stories in this collection often have either a violent or malicious undercurrent to them or explore the inner recesses of man's psyche. Many of the stories have a bit of a twist at the end, with some easy to see, others a bit harder, while still others appear to be apparent only to take a last minute swerve to somewhere else. My personal favorite is Money With Menace because it illustrates one of my favorite principles - you should not mess with someone even if he looks to be a sap because you never know when that other guy is tougher and nastier than you. The story Duty is out of place, which Forsyth acknowledges in a footnote. But as it is claimed to be true, I am glad it is included and the story did stay with me for a while after reading it.

Forsyth unfortunately tends to be far too technical with some of his descriptions. Usually this is easily overlooked but becomes irritating in the story The Emperor with its details of fishing equipment. I suppose, however, that one does not earn Forsyth's reputation without an eye for detail and one cannot blame a man for showing it. Get the book to read a story or two between larger and heavier books and you will not be disappointed.

This is the first book of short stories I read by this author, I enjoyed the twist in all. I always loved reading him and cannot wait for another book. I have almost his entire collection.

Forsyth is best known for his taut thrillers, especially The Day of Jackal, but this collection of short stories reveals him a very competent crafter of clever short stories. Originally written in the early to late '70s (and three of which appeared in Playboy), each of the ten tales is a mini-morality tale, with a lighthearted tone and a twist of some sort. Their unifying theme is revenge/comeuppanceýeach story is about someone getting their just desserts one way or another. The exception to this is "Duty", which is not light at all and quite different in theme and perspective, and for those reasons, feels wholly out of place.

Two of the stories feature wealthy protagonists, including the title story, which tells of a handsome, successful English businessman who can have anything he wants from life and yet is still bored. It's the old "money can't buy you happiness" story, until one day he falls for a married woman. She admits the mutual attraction but won't leave her husband, and so the tycoon decides to send a hitman to solve the problem. The mechanics of the hitman's assignment are very compelling, and it all leads to an obvious twist that reaffirms the moral. "A Careful Man" is another rich man tale, but in this case, the wealthy coin dealer is dying of cancer and has no one he wants to leave his fortune toýleast of all his detestable sister and her family. His solution is fairly clever and the fun is in watching the odious family catch up with what the reader already knows.

Another set of stories feature unassuming hard-working middle-aged men who have yet to reap many fruits from their labors, and are generally married to unpleasant frigid nags. In "The Emperor", a bank manager vacations with his wife on a tropical island for the first (and probably last) time. It's basically the best experience of his life, and on the last day he quite daringly sneaks out for some sport fishing. This is transformative in a fairly predictable way, but satisfying nonetheless. In "Money With Menaces", an unassuming man comes across a "swingers" magazine on the train, and is intrigued by the idea of meeting a woman for sex. He falls right into an obvious blackmail scheme, but for once Forsyth hides the twist until the end, providing perhaps the best resolution of all the stories. "Privilege" starts with a small businessman who has been libeled in the newspaper and seeks redress. His lawyer dissuades him from suing, pointing out that winners of such suits usually incur huge financial costs that aren't worth the satisfaction of winning. Studying the libel statutes for a few days, he spots a possible form of redress. This story seems a little strange, as Britain has some of the harshest libel penalties in the Western world. "Used in Evidence" is about an old man who may or may not have killed his wife thirty years previously.

Three of the stories are set in Ireland, a place Forsyth had a great personal interest in. "There Are No Snakes In Ireland" is a straight-out revenge tale, pitting a hard-working Indian student against his persecutor, a racist UVF thug. "There Are Some Daysý" is a comedy of errors about the heist of a truck of French brandy which goes completely pear-shaped. As in other stories, the reader knows more than the characters, and the pleasure comes in watching it all unfold. "Sharp Practice" takes place on a train, where a judge, priest, and humble worker pass the time with a friendly game of poker. Anyone who's knows a bit about con artistry will see the setup and likely result a mile away, but it's still good fun.

All in all this is a very solid, if not spectacular set of stories. No doubt due to his journalistic background, Forsyth is great with the details of the stories, especially how people go about their work. His characters tend to be types rather than individuals, but for the kind of stories he tells, that's all you really need. As morality tales they are all se