relic of bygone times, calling it "polished and moribund as a joke at an after-dinner speech, with a ponderous twist, a punchline and a little moral to tie it all up". The BBC was mixed, stating that "This collection is tautly written and practically boasts of the deep level of research that underpins it. But the storytelling itself has mixed results - perhaps too mixed to convince a first-time reader of Forsyth's reputation as the thriller writer's thriller writer." The Daily Telegraph was more positive in their review, as they felt that Forsyth had fun writing the work and that while some of the stories were weaker than the others, they were all "highly readable". References 2001 short story collections Short story collections by Frederick Forsyth Thriller short story collections Thomas Dunne Books books