The stories, at least the idea of them, id borrowed from prison inmates, and so I don't know how much credit to give to Archer for the book. But all stories are inspired, are they not. I loved each and every story in the book. They are tales about crimes done, more or less perfectly. 
 Sometimes, the protagonist is a hardened criminal, sometimes, a novice couple taking back what was originally theirs. I loved the first story - 'The man who robbed his own post office' and 'The Red King', quite a lot'. 
 I think it was a good idea to begin with the post office story, as it intrigues one to read further stories in the book. 
 All of the stories are well told, give due credit to their origin, even if the name of the teller was changed, and are kept shot enough to not bore the reader. 
 I'd read 'A quiver Full of Arrows' by Archer earlier, and must say, he has a flair for this form of writing. 
 The three stories that are not part of the prison tales are quite entertaining too. 
 The book makes one think of the controversial nature of Archer's career, and his fall from grace. But, personally, I feel he has used his time in jail best if he could recognize such gems that translated into these short, quirky and entertaining tales.