I am a Jeffrey Archer fan. I count "Kane & Able" as well as "The Prodigal Daughter" and "As the Crow Flies" among the best fiction I've ever read. All three of those share a common theme with this book: a family saga depicitng individuals struggling to make their way in the world. Some good guys and some not so good; some rich and some poor; some romance, some revenge, but an always intriguing mixture. I do confess to enjoying Archer's earlier works a bit more than his more recent novels but this one seems to be a return to his successful roots of storytelling.

I won't go into details of the plot here; others have done that well. But I will say that the characterization that Mr Archer has achieved here is outstanding. He uses the historical setting of 1920's Britain to start, telling the story of Harry Clifton not only through Harry's eyes but also through the characters of those most close to him including his best friend, his mother, his girlfriend and several others. Each of these characters gets a shot at his/her own section of the book, telling the story from their point of view. Some of them overlap to an extent but each offers a unique perspective. It's really cool to see how they see things differently sometimes and it really serves to build multi-dimesional characters. If you've read a lot of Archer's work, then you will see similarities to past characters but always in his distinctive style. This also serves an additional purpose: Mr Archer excells at the short story format and this techniqiue allows him to exploit that strength in a larger novel.

We also get to see the changing landscape of history from just after the "war to end all wars" all the way up until the beginning of WWII. The cover states that this book is just the first in a series, (something new for Archer as far as I know; he has written sequels but not series) and indeed, I'm glad I'll get to spend more time with this extraordinary cast of characters. But there is a cliffhanger ending so the second book should pick up immediately after this one.

Jeffrey Archer readers should love this one and those who have never tried him before are in for a treat. You may still want to consider one of the others I mentioned up top only because you'll have to wait for the follow-on books in this series to be published.

Glad to have you back Mr Archer!