Jeffrey Archer

Spinning a story around the elite Royalty Protection Command and hinting at their duplicitous and despicable activities felt like a strange departure from Archer’s typical subjects. Focusing a portion of this story on Princess Diana, her questionable liaisons, and painting her in a less than favorable light is puzzling. It made me wonder whether the plot is fact or fiction. It’s never a good thing when one agency is sent in on “the sly” to investigate another and while the characters show more of William Warwick’s team and the elite Royalty Protection Command, along with their specific functions were well described and the action is well plotted, nastiness abounds. There was just something that didn’t ring true. Maybe that is wishful thinking because if there is any truth to the narrative it is horrifying.

The secondary storyline involving Warwick’s wife and her profession was interesting and interconnected with the main plot. I thought this was the more interesting and meticulously constructed part of the book. The characters were so completely flawed and their thinking was so interesting and convoluted that the tension created was electric.

Archer’s writing is extraordinary, his plots are complex and well thought out, described and defined. I liked this installment of the Detective William Warwick Series, jurist didn’t love it. Thank you Harper 360 / HarperCollins and NetGalley for a copy. show less

Why read a historical novel about the life of George Mallory, who may or may not have actually been the first man to reach the top of Mount Everest? Because it’s there — in audiobook read by Roger Allam. That was my reason for reading this, anyway. Despite knowing how his life ended, I found the book interesting overall. I laughed out loud at the story of his climbing the church tower in Venice; rolled my eyes at the imperialist attitudes of the English in India, Nepal, and Tibet; and show more choked back tears at Mallory’s last letter to his wife.

Although I did enjoy the story, I found it cringey to read about how the expedition leaders talked about the mountain as a woman that they were trying to “conquer”, and I had to fast-forward through the Mallorys’ wedding night, because I didn’t need to hear about that.

After finishing this, I am struck by how much of a waste it was that Mallory took that one last chance for glory. He wasn’t to know for certain that it would end in his death, but he could have turned back at any point and remained alive. He had already achieved a great deal. Did he really need to be the first to the top of the mountain? Maybe I am just not sufficiently adventuresome (my idea of “roughing it” these days is staying in rented accommodation that doesn’t have wifi), but Mallory should perhaps have taken the hint from Sagarmatha/Chomolungma when his first expedition did not reach the summit.

If you’re interested in Mallory’s story, this is as good a place to start as any. It’s a bit shorter than Wade Davis’s biography Into the Silence, which I now want to try again after getting this book under my belt. show less

Plotting borders on the ridiculous but is relentlessly paced. It's difficult to stop reading this pulpy goodness - even though we know the oh-so-good main characters will triumph over the cardboard villains in the end and that a few secondary and tertiary characters will be needlessly killed off along the way. I can't rate this 2nd installment as more than 'average' but will continue with the series because the pages turn so very easily.

Cometh the Hour is the 6th book in the Clifton Chronicles series by Jeffrey Archer. I won a copy of the audiobook version from a Goodreads giveaway. Having never read any of the series, at first I felt a bit lost as I didn't know the characters or anything about the plots of prior books. As the story continued, I got past that awkward confusion and just enjoyed the story.

The audiobook, narrated by Alex Jennings, has great production value. I suffer from hearing loss, but was able to show more understand and enjoy this audiobook with no problems. Jennings reads at a perfect pace and is easily understandable. The tense moments in the story are not over-done.....no cheesy melodrama here....just an enjoyable narration.

For me popping in at book 6, this series seems to be an upperclass British soap opera. A suicide note leaked to the press ruins a political career. A man wondering if his foreign lover truly cares for him or is she a spy? Wealthy upperclass woman facing bankruptcy meets a man who might be able to solve her financial woes....if she can trick him. It's like As the World Turns or Falcon Crest with Uppercrust Brits. But...the one difference is that story is very well-written. I guess it's cheesy melodrama done with superb style.

Definitely recommended for readers who enjoy political intrigue, nefarious plots, and spy mystique. Very well done! show less