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A Prisoner of Birth by Jeffrey Archer
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A Prisoner of Birth

by Jeffrey Archer

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Showing 1-5 of 21 (next | show all)
2009 ( )
  katiemertz | Nov 21, 2009 |
I started to put it down half way through and suddenly got rapt up in it again....... ( )
  marilynr | Sep 20, 2009 |
It was a good read - fast and not complicated in its plotting. However, it's quite a ways into the world of the far-fetched and requires that there be a corrupt cop, corrupt lawyers, corrupt prison guards, and a bond between 3 men that would have 2 of them risking prison to protect their murdering friend in a drunken fight. Also it plays on the stereotypes of rich men disinheriting their rebellious offspring, greedy relatives, Swiss bankers being underhanded and etc.

Oh, and for some reason, lawyers in this book also make great detectives and spies and candid photographers.

Sigh... there's not a lot of effort put into creating original or necessarily believable characters or situations, but it's well enough written that it makes for an interesting read. ( )
  crazybatcow | Sep 13, 2009 |
A predictable and pacy holiday read. I read it in two days. I won't give a synopsis of the story as many others have already done so.

It was entertaining, but not thought provoking. Throughout my rather fast reading of this book, I had an image of Archer plotting out all the inter-connections and the twists and turns on a single sheet of paper. A times it felt a little clunky, as though he thought to himself, "I must just add this bit here, so book 4 or book 5 later on makes sense". It also felt as though it had been written with the idea that it might be made into a film or serialised for TV at a later date.

This is not a book I'd recommend to someone who is an avid reader; rather I'd recommend it to someone who only reads whilst on holiday and is looking for summer escapism. Not my favourite book by a long stretch. ( )
  TussahSilk | Aug 12, 2009 |
Slow-starting jailbreak novel that turns on an absurd premise. Reworking the plot of a classic novel diminishes the surprise that is the key element of a thriller and Archer's prose technique is not strong enough for tha to be the work's main merit. Superficial characters exchange flat dialogue in what feels like the inept novelisation of an unmade movie. I have enjoyed some Archer novels for the energy of his plots; this lacked that. ( )
  TheoClarke | Apr 5, 2009 |
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A Prisoner of Birth

Book description

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0312379293, Hardcover)

International bestseller and master storyteller Jeffrey Archer is at the very top of his game in a story of fate and fortune, redemption and revenge.

If Danny Cartwright had proposed to Beth Wilson the day before, or the day after, he would not have been arrested and charged with the murder of his best friend. But when the four prosecution witnesses are a barrister, a popular actor, an aristocrat, and the youngest partner in an established firm’s history, who is going to believe your side of the story?

Danny is sentenced to twenty-two years and sent to Belmarsh prison, the highest-security jail in the land, from where no inmate has ever escaped.

However, Spencer Craig, Lawrence Davenport, Gerald Payne, and Toby Mortimer all underestimate Danny’s determination to seek revenge, and Beth’s relentless quest to pursue justice, which ends up with all four fighting for their lives,

Thus begins Jeffrey Archer’s most powerful novel since Kane and Abel, with a cast of characters that will remain with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

And if that is not enough, prepare for an ending that will shock even the most ardent of Archer’s fans.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:02 -0400)

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