There are no snakes in Ireland

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There are no snakes in Ireland is a collection of 10 short stories by the British author Frederick Forsyth , the original edition of which was published in 1982 under the title No Comebacks . The stories describe people who get into dramatic situations and often have an unexpected ending.

List of stories

  • There are no snakes in Ireland
A Punjab medical student has to get a job with a demolition company to make money. When he is constantly tormented by the foreman, he comes up with a plan to retaliate. But this is going differently than intended.
  • task completed
A wealthy Englishman is able to afford anything that money can buy. However, this does not work with a pretty woman who has done it to him because she is married and her husband depends on her. He has no scruples and hires a killer to shoot her husband. The result, however, is unexpected.
  • The emperor
While on vacation, an English tourist in Mauritius books a fishing trip without telling his wife. He gets a blue swordfish on the line and fights the fight of his life.
  • You have to be lucky
A road train is kidnapped upon arrival in Ireland. Due to a mix-up, however, he did not load cognac, but smelly rose fertilizer. But that does not end the gangsters' problems.
  • who laughs last
A staid insurance employee gets involved in an affair and is now blackmailed. But he knows how to defend himself.
  • corpus delicti
An old man was able to defend himself against the eviction in his house for years, but ultimately in vain. A female corpse is now found during the demolition.
  • Like you me
A businessman is nearly ruined by a poorly researched article by a journalist. However, he succeeds in defending himself against it.
  • Just a soldier
Unlike the others, this story is told in the first person. It's about a couple who go on vacation in France after the war and are then confronted with their own story.
  • A careful person
Timothy Hanson made wealth through hard work. Now he's terminally ill with cancer, he has six months left and he has to think about his fortune. He has no relatives apart from his disagreeable sister and does not want to see his money go to the state treasury. He'll have to make a will after all.
  • With hard bandages
An initially harmless poker game in the train compartment suddenly has legal consequences.

output

The book was translated into German by Rolf and Hedda Soellner and is available as a paperback from Knaur Verlag under ISBN 3-426-01182-4 (as of summer 2018).