Forsyth,
Frederick. The Veteran. Thomas Dunne Books: St. Martin’s.
Oct 2001. c336p. ISBN 0-312-28691-0. $24.95. Fiction/Short
Stores.
This collection of four short stories and a novella may disapoint
readers expecting one of Forsyth’s international thrillers but not anyone looking for a good
read. What is surprising is the thematic and geographical range of these pieces,
all narrated in a solid realist style with sharply observed detail and engrossing
plots, sometimes surprising plots. Always suspenseful, the stories take us into
disparate worlds. “The Veteran” features London thugs, the police,
and the courts, whereas “The Art of the Matter,” a highly entertaining
tale of revenge, delves into the world of auction houses. “The Miracle,” which
takes us to an Italian hill town in World War II, is related as if by a medieval
fabulist but with its own modern twist, while “The Citizen,” perhaps
the least successful story, portrays drug smuggling via an airline flight. Most
startling of all is “Whispering Wind,” Forsyth’s tale of the
Indian wars in 1876, in which we discover that a frontier scout survived the
massacre at the Little Bighorn. The scout’s love for a Cheyenne woman,
a magical tale that spans two different historical periods, makes for compulsive
reading. Recommended for all collections of popular fiction.