Takes some time to take off, but a decent thriller nonetheless. ( )

Part of book project. This was fun, SPOILER WARNING, pretty standard love the Brits hate the Soviets fare. I don't think the central idea really held water, and the plot is pretty improbably in the specifics. (ok, I guess no spoiler here)

Clearly an early effort. The pacing and suspense are there, but characterization is completely absent. ( )

Archer is on our English CP reading list, I recommend his books to Tom Clancy fans. ( )

From Library Journal
In 1966, Adam Scott, an unemployed British ex-army officer with an uncertain future, attends the reading of his disgraced father's will. Part of his inheritance is a letter detailing the events of Hermann Goering's suicide and two unopened letters from the Nazi general giving him access to a Swiss bank vault and the valuable Russian icon it contains. However, a veritable state secret is concealed in the painting and the KGB and the CIA both want it before the expiry of a crucial deadline. Scott's perilous journey across Europe to the questionable safety of England is by plane, car, foot, bus, ambulance, van, and ferry as he stays one step ahead of death with the assistance of farmers, salesmen, racing cyclists, hoodlums, and an entire orchestra. An epic chase thriller tidily concluded with a series of neat twists. Highly recommended. Literary Guild main selection. John North, L.R.C., Ryerson Polytechnical Inst., Toronto
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

http://www.amazon.com/Matter-Honor-Je...