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The Sins of the Father (The Clifton Chronicles #2)

3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 · rating details · 6,607 ratings · 942 reviews

On the heels of the international bestseller Only Time Will Tell, Jeffrey Archer picks up the sweeping story of the Clifton Chronicles….

Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Harry Clifton, hoping to escape the consequences of long-buried family secrets, and forced to accept that his desire to marry Emma Barrington will never be fulfilled, has joined the Merchan...more

Hardcover, 352 pages

Published May 8th 2012 by St. Martin's Press (first published 2012)

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Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer

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Jul 26, 2012 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: audible

OK! Jeffrey Archer is the best at leaving you hanging and forcing you to buy his next book. I love this story. His characters wrap through history in this case WW II. When we last left Harry and Giles Harry was presumed dead and buried at sea. Emma has had Harry's son but she just cannot accept Harry is really dead. Indeed he is not as that was another loose end from the last book. He had taken the name and identity of an american sailor who was actually the one that died and was buried at sea....more

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Apr 14, 2013 Kartik (mebookgeeko) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-favouritessssss

The Sins of the Father is Volume 2 in The Clifton Chronicles, a family saga by Jeffrey Archer that began with Only Time Will Tell and centers on Harry Clifton, the son of a Bristol dock worker who died under mysterious circumstances and an impoverished woman who went above and beyond the duties of a mother to ensure her son received the education he deserved. The latest installment in the series picks up right where Only Time Will Tell left Off.
The drama of the Cliftons and the Barringtons conti...more The Sins of the Father is Volume 2 in The Clifton Chronicles, a family saga by Jeffrey Archer that began with Only Time Will Tell and centers on Harry Clifton, the son of a Bristol dock worker who died under mysterious circumstances and an impoverished woman who went above and beyond the duties of a mother to ensure her son received the education he deserved. The latest installment in the series picks up right where Only Time Will Tell left Off.
The drama of the Cliftons and the Barringtons continues at top speed in The Sins of the Father. Archer grabs readers’ attention by plunging them into the action from the first page, shifting frequently between different characters’ points of view, peeling back another layer of the story in nearly every chapter, and knowing exactly when to leave readers dangling in suspense.

The book is divided into sections by character, with overlapping years so that readers follow each of them over the course of the war. This narrative structure works so well here because the characters are well developed and could each have a novel of their own. Moreover, Archer connects all of them a strong central character — Harry, a reluctant hero who is made out to be almost saintly at times but is very real in his emotions and mistakes.
As in Only Time Will Tell, Archer leaves readers with another cliffhanger ending. That usually drives me crazy, but at least I was expecting it this time. I highly recommend this series for readers who enjoy fast-paced books with a little war and a lot of family secrets and well developed characters. There’s a lot going on in these books, and sometimes they might cross the line into unbelievable, but they really are meant to be escapist reads. I just hope I don’t have to wait too long for Volume 3(THE BEST KEPT SECRETS)
What made Only Time Will Tell enjoyable was the narrative: the story was told through multiple points of view, each version of the tale carried forward the element of suspense. Sins..., however, has a comparatively staid narrative. While the tale is still told through different characters’ perspectives, the story trudges on towards a predictable end. Like its prequel, part deux of Harry’s story ends with a cliffhanger — rather gimmicky, considering the year-long wait for its sequel.(less)

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May 20, 2012 Mj rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, jeffrey-archer

Warning - this is a biased review - I am a HUGE Jeffrey Archer fan. Like his other works of fiction, this is a fast-paced, plot-driven book, one you won't want to put down until you're finished reading the entire story. There is never any blood, gore or violence in Archer's books. He just writes a good story with lots of plot twists and turns.

The Sins of the Father is Book 2 in The Clifton Chronicles. It is better if you read - Only Time Will Tell Book 1 first for better understanding and hence...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Christine Keleny rated it 3 of 5 stars

Genre: historical fiction (I'm guessing here - I'm not sure)

Blurb: (from Goodreads)On the heels of the international bestseller Only Time Will Tell, Jeffrey Archer picks up the sweeping story of the Clifton Chronicles….

Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Harry Clifton, hoping to escape the consequences of long-buried family secrets, and forced to accept that his desire to marry Emma Barrington will never be fulfilled, has joined the Merchant Navy. But his ship is sunk in the Atlant...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Jini Maxin rated it 3 of 5 stars

The court is adjourned- Jeffery Archer's 'The Sins of the Father,' sequel to Only Time Will Tell' ends with yet another interesting cliff hanger. Yes, the wait for the next installment in the Clifton series has already begun.
This book, of course, is a boatload of surprises. Here's a peek- a-boo: Emma bearing Harry's son, Sebastian, despite the duo sharing a 'shaky sibling status; Harry leading a prisoner's life despite not being Tom Bradshaw - the actual criminal; Maisie's marriage to Mr. Holco...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Kim Tong Lim rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the second volume of Clifton Chronicles after “Only Time Will Tell”. The story continued with Harry Clifton being arrested in America for first-degree murder. How this happened was unexpected. Harry assumed the identity of another sailor, Tom Bradshaw, who died on a same sea voyage to America. He did this bizarre act thinking that this would solve a problem back home resulting from loving Emma Barrington so much and yet he cannot marry her because as revealed to all that Emma and Harry c...more This is the second volume of Clifton Chronicles after “Only Time Will Tell”. The story continued with Harry Clifton being arrested in America for first-degree murder. How this happened was unexpected. Harry assumed the identity of another sailor, Tom Bradshaw, who died on a same sea voyage to America. He did this bizarre act thinking that this would solve a problem back home resulting from loving Emma Barrington so much and yet he cannot marry her because as revealed to all that Emma and Harry could be related by blood. The sin of this father was that Hugo Barrington could have fathered Harry out of a folly of one night.

Harry was jailed by the American legal system and a bad counsel, given by Sefton Jelks, a top Manhattan lawyer without a conscience. Emma, not believing that Harry had died, came to America to find out more.

From then on, Jeffrey Archer was at his best when writing about life in prison (having been incarcerated himself in real life), court proceedings and wheeling and dealing of corporate USA. The wits of Emma shone through in getting Harry released and coming up against the formidable Sefton Jelks. I was happy when reading this part when the good triumphed over the bad.

Meanwhile back on British soil, Hugo Barrington, was still obsessed in “finishing off “Harry Clifton. He did not want to acknowledge that Harry was his son. Perhaps there was an outside chance that Harry was indeed not Hugo’s son. This had to be proven but not hundred percent conclusive under advances in Science back in the 1940s.

The story ended with who should inherit the title, estate and accoutrements of late Sir Hugo Barrington. Should it be Giles Barrington or Harry Clifton who was older than Giles. The votes casted at the meeting of the House of Lords was tied and the story ended with Lord Chancellor declaring the decision would be made on another day. Readers of this volume is left in suspense again waiting eagerly for the release of the next volume titled “Best Kept Secret” for release in March 2013.

Again, this fiction was a page turner and easy to read from the start go. The story was clear and crisp. It bears the hallmark of Jeffrey Archer’s style of story-telling.
(less)

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Nov 05, 2012 S.V. Divvaakar rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I began reading this book a few days after having read its predecessor. Although it was enjoyable in parts, i must say that i didnt feel all those 'wow' moments I experienced in 'Only Time Will Tell.'
My reasons:
First, you cant appreciate this book without having read the other, so that is already a dependence, a handicap which must be recognised - it is not a level playing field. Second, the Prisoner's Diary bit is already a borrowed theme from Jeffery Archer's non fiction chronicle of his exp...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Pawan rated it 4 of 5 stars

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I love to hate Jeffrey Archer. His ability to leave each chapter at a point where you want to read next chapter makes it difficult to put down any book written by him. But what can you do if he leaves his book at such point and you do not know when the next book in the series will come out. “The Sins of the Father” is the second book in “The Clifton Chronicles”. I had read the first book “Only Time will Tell” last year and waiting for second book was really difficul...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Simon Howard rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction

This novel doesn't stand alone - you must read Only Time Will Tell first - and has no more than a couple of chapters of plot relevant to the bigger saga. Or perhaps 1.9 chapters, given that the single thread defining this novel is left incomplete. As a result, this short book is stuffed with exceptionally dull filler.

I know that people are generally advised to "write about what you know", but surely no-one can have failed to have groaned when a Jeffrey Archer protagonist wrote a prison diary. No...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Nilesh rated it 2 of 5 stars

Clifton Chronicles should have been a single book and not broken into five - this becomes much clearer with the Sins of the Father. More like any middle sections of even good stories, this book is meaningless for anyone who does not remember the details of events from Book 1. The story moves along but appears without any plot and certainly without any satisfactory end to any of the major intrigues.

On the positive side, witty, charming dialogues continue between largely likeable characters. The...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Ainul Shakirah Shafie rated it 5 of 5 stars

The long awaited sequel to Only Time Will Tell. Harry has assumed the identity of a murderer; Tim Bradshaw. He is accused of killing his brother, was found guilty and sentenced. At the same time, Emma, his supposed-to-be-wife traveled from England to America to prove that he was still alive, and was not killed in the sea and his families and friends are led to believe. Sounds familiar? Think A Prisoner of Birth.

While the execution and style of the story were flawless, the plot was predictable wi...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Lee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

"Sins" is the second in what is to be at least a three-book saga (possibly more) entitled the Clifton Chronicles, centered around the character Harry Clifton. As with the first entry, "Only Time Will Tell", it was difficult to put down this engaging story, although at times we had forgotten key facts from book one - perhaps a brief reminder synopsis might have been nice.

Archer again spun the tale little by little from different character's points of view, and it seemed Harry's sweetheart Emma an...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Vismay rated it 3 of 5 stars

Long after, a time would come when I would be heard telling my grandchildren that there was a writer whose name was Jeffrey Archer, and why his each book was a best seller.

I have but read a few of his books, ‘Kane and Abel’, ‘Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less’, ‘Shall We Tell the President?’, ‘The Eleventh Commandment’, and most recently his two novels of Clifton Chronicles- ‘Only Time Will Tell’ and ‘The Sins of the Father’.

I must say, I am awed by this master story-teller, who knows very well...more Long after, a time would come when I would be heard telling my grandchildren that there was a writer whose name was Jeffrey Archer, and why his each book was a best seller.

I have but read a few of his books, ‘Kane and Abel’, ‘Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less’, ‘Shall We Tell the President?’, ‘The Eleventh Commandment’, and most recently his two novels of Clifton Chronicles- ‘Only Time Will Tell’ and ‘The Sins of the Father’.

I must say, I am awed by this master story-teller, who knows very well how to spin a yarn. There is a twist and turn in each of the pages, and I must say that the central characters of his story are always pragmatic- they never ever let the fate guide them. However cruel, however cunning the world may be, you would always find the characters rising above themselves and going to extraordinary measures to get themselves ahead of the crowd with hard as well as smart work.

I do think that Jeffrey Archer is greatly influenced by Ayn Rand, because all his protagonists exude merit- be it Harry Clifton, Emma Barrington, Giles Barrington or Terry Bates.

‘The Sins of the Father’ begins where ‘Only Time Will Tell’ ends. Harry Clifton, who had taken on another identity to free his beloved Emma from all bonds finds himself entrenched in a murder case that his new avatar ‘Tom Bradshaw’ had committed. Though, he ducks the murder charge with the help of Sefton Jelks, he is to find soon enough that the lawyer had an ulterior motive. Not only does the lawyer advice him not to shed his new identity (he knows that Harry is not Tom, as he represented him), but he also asks him to plead guilty to the charge of deserting the navy.

Harry finds himself alone, after he is charged for 6 years in prison, with no hot-shot lawyer by his side.

In the mean time, Emma is not ready to believe that Harry was buried at the sea. All she has as a proof is an unopened letter on the mantelpiece, which though having ‘Tom Bradshaw’ on its cover, is written in the handwriting which Emma is all too familiar with. She takes it upon herself to find the father of her son, as she travels all the way to America to do so…

With World War 2 set as the background, you find Giles Barrington, taking part in it- in order to prove that he is worth his salt (And not his father’s son). I have read very few books on any sort of war (I read Catch-22, but didn’t seem to like it, I read two-three books by Alistair McClain- which I did enjoy), so of course I was excited to know what actually happens in the training camps where you turn a peasant into a full fledged soldier and at the actual war front. Here also, Giles encounters a nasty persona from his past and learns that like the tail of a dog, personalities never change.

In all, this is a wonderful novel. I was totally absorbed in it. Unlike some other writers, Jeffrey Archer doesn’t need to woo readers with gaudy pretence. His popularity lies in his simplicity. And maybe that’s the reason, why all the lot of ‘Only Time Will Tell’ sold out on the next day of the release itself. And that’s why he is the only author to have a number one spot on the best seller list 15 times.(less)

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May 26, 2012 JoAnne Pulcino rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fiction, saga

SINS OF THE FATHER THE CLIFTON CHRONICLES VOLUME 2

By Jeffrey Archer

In the second volume of the Clifton Chronicles, this master story teller proceeds with the world of Harry Clifton as he joins the merchant navy only days before Britain declares war on Germany. A U boat sinks Harry’s ship with only two survivors. The other survivor is an Americans sailor named Tom Bradshaw who doesn’t survive the night. Harry decides to assume Tom Bradshaw’s identity to escape his past in England primarily to all...more

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May 22, 2012 Susan VanKirk rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jeffrey Archer has a new series about an aristocratic family and one of its "maybe" members, Harry Clifton. The Barrington family has two heirs...maybe. Giles is the heir presumptive but Harry Clifton may be the bastard child who was born ahead of Giles. In the first book of the series, Only Time Will Tell, we learn a bit about the birth order problem and see Harry make his way through prestigious schools on scholarship. He is mentored by a shady character, Black Jack Tarrant, and his marriage t...more

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May 22, 2012 Stephanie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ho-hum, kindle, i-bought-this

I just KNEW as the pages dwindled that this one was going to end with some cliffhanger, who killed JR? kind of nonsense, and I was not disappointed. Now I have to modify my earlier review, because I don't really care to read the third and final installment of the CLifton Chronicles and I am not sure if this is embarrassing to be reading or not....but since I don't really give a damn what people think about what I read, it doesn't really matter to me. In any case, the word PLUCKY kept coming to m...more

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May 18, 2012 Nirmalya rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: jeffrey-archer

Lord Archer I do believe it's time to stop writing. The Clifton Chronicle's second book Sins Of The Father was undoubtedly your worst work. The good people are classless, brave, ingenious and courageous whereas the bad ones are class-conscious, inept, upper-class arrogant berks. They are just rehashes of all the old books. If this keeps going on you might take Chetan Bhagat's place in my heart! We have read it a million times before; the lower-class kid who excels at everything and befriends the...more

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Apr 24, 2012 Amanda Patterson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jeffrey Archer has topped bestseller lists worldwide, with book sales of over 270 million copies.
The Sins of the Father is the second in his five-book Clifton Chronicles saga. Written in the perfect family saga tradition, Archer is comfortably in his element.
Harry Clifton arrives in the United States in 1939. As he leaves the ship, he is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, and sent to jail for 6 years. In prison, he turns to books as a way to preserve his sanity. After a few months of hell,...more

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Mar 27, 2012 Samyuktha jayaprakash rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the BEST book I have read in the 16 years of my life. Sure I am an archer fan , but my expectations weren't really high after the average only time will tell (with a stunning finish though)
BUT OH MY GOD. I started reading the book at about 4 thinking I would read some chaps during the two hour power cut. Being lazy nowadays - I had convinced myself I am losing my appetite for books. But Archer just proved that my tummy is destined for unseen obesity levels!
Like another reviewer wrote ,...more

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Mar 08, 2012 The-vault rated it 5 of 5 stars

Without a doubt, the author's best work till date. I just couldn't put this one down. A book that sucks you in from the very first line and does not allow you to breathe until the last page is turned. It was my bad luck that I picked it up on the day before my exam.

I'll still say that it was worth it!

---------

On the heels of the international bestseller Only Time Will Tell, Jeffrey Archer picks up the sweeping story of the Clifton Chronicles….

Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Har...more Without a doubt, the author's best work till date. I just couldn't put this one down. A book that sucks you in from the very first line and does not allow you to breathe until the last page is turned. It was my bad luck that I picked it up on the day before my exam.

I'll still say that it was worth it!

---------

On the heels of the international bestseller Only Time Will Tell, Jeffrey Archer picks up the sweeping story of the Clifton Chronicles….

Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Harry Clifton, hoping to escape the consequences of long-buried family secrets, and forced to accept that his desire to marry Emma Barrington will never be fulfilled, has joined the Merchant Navy. But his ship is sunk in the Atlantic by a German U-boat, drowning almost the entire crew. An American cruise liner, the SS Kansas Star, rescues a handful of sailors, among them Harry and the third officer, an American named Tom Bradshaw. When Bradshaw dies in the night, Harry seizes on the chance to escape his tangled past and assumes his identity.

On landing in America, however, Bradshaw quickly learns the mistake he has made, when he discovers what is awaiting him in New York. Without any way of proving his true identity, Harry Clifton is now chained to a past that could be far worse than the one he had hoped to escape.

---------

The story takes off exactly where it had left us in Only Time Will Tell, with Harry being questioned by the police inspector after being arrested because he was impersonating Tom Bradshaw. In typical Archer style, it progresses quickly through various characters, frequently going back and forth in time. There is the prominent Barrington family with Giles as Harry's best friend and Emma, the mother of his child. Hugo, Emma's father, also plays an important role. In the Cliftons, we have Maisie who has enough complications of her own, the most important of which is not being able to read the very important letter on the mantle piece.

The best thing about the book is the multiple, seemingly unconnected threads that quickly pull themselves together to weave a fascinating yarn. The main plot is proving Harry's father was Arthur Clifton, not Hugo Barrington so that he can marry the love of his life, Emma. Another sub-story is Giles Barrington and his quest to prove himself. The second sub-story is how fate tosses and throws her around repeatedly. And the third sub-story is Hugo Barrington and his exploits. At his touch, gold turns to stone.

While this may sound confusing to somebody unaware of the author's work, regular readers would identify and be pulled in easily. It also didn't matter that I had read the prequel over a year ago. I was a little apprehensive that I may have forgotten the story, or the characters (because they were quite a lot). However, without seeming to talk of the past, the author gives enough information to recapitulate what happened so that the novel can also be read as a standalone.
When I talked to other readers about the book, some complained that it became irritating after a while when the point-of-view shifts. You are engrossed in Harry's story when suddenly Emma's will be started from two years ago. However, I feel that it builds the suspense and effectively keeps the reader turning the pages.

The ending, as expected, was completely unexpected. And abrupt. A cliffhanger that left me groaning when I turned the last page. I am buying the next in the series as soon as it hits the bookstores.(less)

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Jan 07, 2013 Luffy Monkey D. rated it 3 of 5 stars

The sins of the father is one of those ambiguous titles which may fit more than one character. But the most sinful AND the most fruitful of them is Hugo Barrington. The way the book is written simplifies reading. Each section carries its own motivations and villains. The most enjoyable passages for yours truly were the Maysie Clifton and Hugo ones.

The sins of the father unabashedly panders to being a commercial page turner. Having read a couple of Jeffrey Archer books about 20 years ago, I've...more The sins of the father is one of those ambiguous titles which may fit more than one character. But the most sinful AND the most fruitful of them is Hugo Barrington. The way the book is written simplifies reading. Each section carries its own motivations and villains. The most enjoyable passages for yours truly were the Maysie Clifton and Hugo ones.

The sins of the father unabashedly panders to being a commercial page turner. Having read a couple of Jeffrey Archer books about 20 years ago, I've come to the thought, having read this book, that the author has simplified his writing to confirm a boost in sales. The story has few surprises, for a historical novel where the main person is supposed dead. This choice may have forced the author when he decided not to make his protagonists suffer too much.

When Harry is incarcerated, I was totally certain that there will be grim accounts of him being subject to amorous advances from customers criminally tougher than Harry. The words rape and butt sex kept coming to me and I wanted such accounts to be dealt through quickly so we can move to saner things. But my fears were unfounded. I can offer no clearer evidence of how sanitized this book is than to mention the lack of prison rape.

Like I said, the writer treats his character with great care. The saddest chapter, IMHO, is the very first one. Each section of the book is dedicated to one character. And these sections consist of tiny arcs where good and bad things happen quickly and successively. The people concerned never suffer much, and if they do, it's not for long. The deaths of Terry Bates, Quinn and doubtlessly, Olga are rushed. I was so sad for Olga. Her motivations are fake, but this fake person suffered the most in the book. For me, her case is even more a waste of life than those fallen in war.

Jeffrey Archer had to write a book with conflict, but he does his utmost to keep rewarding his readers with a flurry of mini happy endings. What's more, the writer pitched a series of happy endings at the end and punctuated the book with a cliffhanger. Return of the King, eat your heart out. This is why I believe that the writer accepted the limitation on his imagination and embraced his book's paucity of originality. I think the author's first notes didn't differ from the final output in quality. And that is not a sin. I recommend this book to people who like to read bestsellers.(less)

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Jun 16, 2012 Julia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Very readable, but I liked the first book in the series much better. By putting the main character, Harry Clifton, in prison as a result of mistaken identity, I couldn't help reading it as an apologia for the author's time in prison.
There was a lot of padding. The first book was not much longer but covered over 18 years of story without feeling rushed. This book covered 1939-1945 and felt as if it were only a few months. Very limited character development, except for Harry's friend Giles.

Also,...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Tempe Lohmeyer rated it 3 of 5 stars

How to rate Jeffrey Archer's "The Clifton Chronicles" series? I honestly don't know what to tell you. If I classify this under "beach reads" (something quick and easy to read), then it's probably more 4 stars. But for a engrossing, well-written generational saga, it's more like a 2.

There is nothing new or notable about the plot: son of a dock worker is smart, lovable, and deserving of a chance to a good education in pre-WWII England. He befriends the richest family in the region's son and the t...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Dayang Noor rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wooohooo! I finished this book in 3.5 days. That's a new record!
I'm glad I bought this 2nd installation of the Clifton Chronicles. I was contemplating after I finished book 1, but when I saw it standing at one lonely corner at MPH bookstore, I picked it up, paid at the counter and started reading at the Starbucks in front of the bookshop. I covered 70 pages that afternoon. It was a Friday, so I spent my whole lunch hour to read it.
Let me tell you that this one is a lot more interesting than the...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Monnie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I didn't read Jeffrey Archer's first in The Clifton Chronicles series, Only Time Will Tell, and after finishing this one (the second), I wish I had. To be sure, this one stands alone, but understanding what was really happening (and more to the point, what had happened before) was a bit of a challenge at first and would have gone much more smoothly had I started in the beginning.

Basically, the series follows one family through generations (specifically, main character Harry Clifton), starting in...more

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Mar 20, 2012 Neha Gambhir rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: simply-fun

This sequel in Clifton Chronicles by all means is as addictive as its predecessor. It picks up from exact point where the last one ended. Harry Clifton takes identity of Tom Bradshaw and tricked by Manhattan’s top lawyer ends up in prison for 6 years sentence. Emma on other end has given birth to Harry’s son Sebastian and refuses to accept that Harry got buried in sea. With little proof in hand and sky high faith, she travels all the way to New York with determination to get Harry back on all co...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Srinivasa Ramanujam rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Sins of the Father is the second in the Clifton Chronicles series by Jeffrey Archer. When I first found the book in flipkart, I placed the order to buy without any hesitation. However, I had to leave India in a short notice that I could not finish reading it before I left. When I found the book at the Fort Collins Public Library, my joy knew no bounds! It was only natural for me to jump at it and checked out immediately.

Will Harry get acquitted or escape from The US of A by proving his real...more The Sins of the Father is the second in the Clifton Chronicles series by Jeffrey Archer. When I first found the book in flipkart, I placed the order to buy without any hesitation. However, I had to leave India in a short notice that I could not finish reading it before I left. When I found the book at the Fort Collins Public Library, my joy knew no bounds! It was only natural for me to jump at it and checked out immediately.

Will Harry get acquitted or escape from The US of A by proving his real identity or other means? Will he be able to prove that he is indeed Arthur's son and reunite with Emma? Will Maisie's dream of living a respectable life come true?

These were some of the questions Jeffrey raised towards the end of Only Time Will Tell. While education was at the center of first part, the second part was pivoted around legal issues. After all, everyone wanted to know if Harry could marry Emma!

Jeffrey's personal and political experiences in legal issues had proved to come in handy for him to untangle the knots he made earlier. Harry's first experience with a crooked, nevertheless reputed lawyer had only helped in landing in jail. But it was only for Harry's good, for he had plenty of time to spend, and spend he did, writing his biography in the form of a diary, which soon proved to be a hit in New York bestseller list.

Meanwhile, Emma had an intuitive feeling that Harry could not have been buried in sea, took painstaking effort in crossing the Atlantic as a crew member of the same ship Harry believed to have taken, searched by all means to locate Harry and get him acquitted. By the time she got closer to her objective, Harry left the prison in exchange for commanding an American troop against the Germans in Second World War.

Harry did unite with Emma and his son Sebastian in the end. But the legal battle whether Harry could marry Emma still continues. In fact, the issue is no longer a personal battle for the Clifton and Barrington families, but had become one of the political issue which could affect the fate of elections soon to be held.

Neither Cliftons nor Barringtons could help solve Harry and Emma the mystery anymore, for now it now depends on the outcome of the voting at House of Lords. Should the Law Lords vote for Harry to be Sir Harry Barrington, Harry can never unite with Emma.

The voting had a dramatic finish with the House divided with 273 votes for and against Harry. The decisive vote by the Lord Chancellor would settle the issue. But for that to happen, we should all wait for Jeffrey to finish writing the third and final part of the Clifton Chronicles.(less)

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Sep 13, 2012 Benjamin Thomas rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: family-saga, historical-fiction, world-war-ii, audio-books

This one is a little difficult for me to rate and I'll try to explain why. It's the second book in Archer's "Clifton Chronicles" following Only Time Will Tell in what is reportedly to be a 5 book series if not more. I really really enjoyed that first book in the series and felt Archer had finally returned to form. This one is also very likable, with likable characters, a likable plot, (albeit a bit "soapy"...as in like a soap opera) and a nice setting against the backdrop of WWII.

But at the same...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Gerald rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, author-archer, genre-fiction, theme-family-saga

The recently published The Sins of the Father is the second of Jeffrey Archer’s planned trilogy of the Barrington and Clifton families. At the end of last year’s first volume Only Time Will Tell, Harry Clifton is about to marry his sweetheart Emma Barrington when it comes to light that he may very well be Emma’s brother, the offspring resulting from a single encounter between Emma’s father Sir Hugo and Harry’s mother Maisie just six weeks prior to Maisie’s marriage to the long-deceased Arthur Cl...more The recently published The Sins of the Father is the second of Jeffrey Archer’s planned trilogy of the Barrington and Clifton families. At the end of last year’s first volume Only Time Will Tell, Harry Clifton is about to marry his sweetheart Emma Barrington when it comes to light that he may very well be Emma’s brother, the offspring resulting from a single encounter between Emma’s father Sir Hugo and Harry’s mother Maisie just six weeks prior to Maisie’s marriage to the long-deceased Arthur Clifton. Obviously, the marriage is called off, devastating both Harry and Emma. A most significant additional implication of this disclosure is that if the paternity by Sir Hugo is proven conclusively, Harry is heir to the title and all properties related thereto at Sir Hugo’s death. This is because he is several weeks older that Emma’s brother Giles, who is also Harry’s best friend.

Harry makes a drastic decision to leave all these nightmares behind and join the military. Before his slightly delayed enlistment can begin, he decides to sign on as fourth mate for a one-month turnaround cruise to America on a merchant ship. The ship is torpedoed and sunk with only two survivors, Harry and Tom Bradshaw. Tom dies shortly thereafter but not before Harry assumes his identity. As soon as he lands in New York, Harry posing as Tom is arrested for murder. With no identification and having identified himself as Tom Bradshaw, Harry is talked into pleading guilty to the lesser charge of military desertion rather than murder. Having been railroaded by an unscrupulous lawyer, he soon finds himself serving six-year prison sentence. He wants to leave the continued impression with his family in England that he was buried at sea so that the complications for Emma and Giles remain resolved as they were with his supposed death.

Emma, who had Harry’s child about nine months after his disappearance, discovers that Harry may still be alive and, still desperately in love with him, leaves immediately for America to try to find him. While she is develops numerous leads regarding Harry’s circumstances and whereabouts, she seems to be thwarted at every turn. She had planned to be gone from England and her son only a few weeks, but soon finds that she is stuck in America following the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. Emma moves in with her great aunt in Manhattan and remains tenacious in her search for Harry.

Jeffrey Archer keeps the action fast-paced with many unexpected turns. I highly recommend this follow-up to the first of the trilogy and very much look forward to volume three.

[Book 61 of revised 2012 target 70 (Jan-10; Feb-11; Mar-9; Apr-8; May-7; Jun-8; Jul-7; Aug-1)]
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Jun 15, 2012 Jenny rated it 3 of 5 stars

For whatever reason I did not enjoy volume 2 of the Clifton Chronicles as much. I LOVED the first one (as evidenced by my 5-star rating) and this one didn't quite live up to my exceptions. I have a few theories as to why this is...

When I first saw that this book was coming out in May, I was very surprised and happy, as the first one was published in August. I guess it is not as short of a window as I thought, but typically it is about a year between books bring published in a series, assuming th...more

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About Jeffrey Archer

Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English author and former politician.

He was a Member of Parliament and deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, and became a life peer in 1992. His political career, having suffered several controversies, ended after a conviction for perverting the course of justice and his subsequent imprisonment. He is married...more

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The Sins of the Father (The Clifton Chronicles #2)

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