Jeffrey Archer
The third volume of the Clifton Chronicles, which picks up right at the point where the second one ended – the House of Lords deciding the beneficiary of the Barrington fortune.
This one differs from the earlier volumes by almost ignoring the protagonist – Harry Clifton – altogether. There are plots around Giles, Emma and Sebastian, and they manage to take the story forward very well despite Harry remaining in the background most of the time.
As has been the norm in this series (and most of Archer’s plots) there are practically no gray shades and good always manages to triumph over evil, sometimes all too easily. Once again, I have to admire Archer’s narrative excellence. There are hardly any twists, but the pace is relentless, and despite slowing myself down, I completed it in less than 3 days!
The plot is set in the era after WW2, and I like how the author has also managed to create some authenticity to the time frame by touching upon subjects like women’s empowerment, hat tips to future icons etc. But I do wonder how he is going to ever bring it into the contemporary era with only 2 more books in the series. (the original plan) Archer’s favourite devices like cricket, art, the student life all continue to exist. There are old villains resurfacing, new villains added and enough secrets and intrigue to make me buy the next volume without even thinking about it.
