The book kicks off with an Indian shopkeeper in London witnessing the mugging of an elderly man (who later dies) by two street thugs. The story is followed through the police inspector assigned to the case, who must locate the two killers and find out who the old man was. Once this is accomplished, the case proceeds to the courts, where it looks to be an open and shut case with the eyewitness, fingerprints, everything. However, when a high-powered barrister takes the case of the two thugs pro bono, it becomes a lot more uncertain whether or not justice will prevail. I won't give away the resolution, but it's excellent.

The second story is just as strong, and takes place in the rarified world of London auction houses. Here we meet a struggling middle-aged bit player in films, an odious piece of the upper crust, and a self-made young man from the hinterlands, whose intersection results in a classic con caper with a lot of humor. The inside look at auction houses is fascinating, and the supporting cast of appraisers, computer hackers, forgers, and others completes the rich setting. Those who enjoy tales of scams, cons, and greedy people getting their just desserts will love this.

"The Miracle" is mostly a lengthy monologue delivered by a man in Siena to a pair of American tourists who happen by his courtyard on festival night. He weaves them a tale about World War II and the Allied drive up Italy that pushed the Germans out of Sienna, and the miracle that occurred in that very courtyard. As with all the stories, there's a twist, but just not a very surprising one. "The Citizen" attempts to build suspense from a trio of passengers on board a flight from Bangkok to England and the question of which of them might be smuggling drugs. The red herrings are all too obvious and the story kind of fizzles out.

The final piece, "Whispering Wind", starts off as a fairly standard slice of historical fiction about the lone white survivor of Custer's army at the Battle of Little Big Horn. This time the twist is in the middle however, and the reader suddenly finds himself in a Rip Van Winklesque time-travel story. The conceit is that a century later, the characters from the first half of the story must play out unfinished business. Forsyth has obviously researched the old West and is having fun with the sci-fi elements of the story, but it is utterly lacking in the fine characterization that made the first two stories in the book so fun to read. Instead, the protagonist, his love interest, his foes, and basically all the characters, are archetypes, and thus it's hard to get too involved with them.

So, while all are enjoyable on a certain level for the atmospheric detail Forsyth brings to them, only the first two are really worth reading. Those with a strong interest in Siena may enjoy "The Miracle" and those with a strong interest the old West may find "Whispering Wind" diverting, but most will be better served skipping those.

If you have never read any of his books give it a try, yiu won't be disappointed.