Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less

Four strangers who have been duped get together to reclaim their losses in a series of stings. A light-hearted romp full of stereotypes including a charming Frenchman and an ignorant but wealthy American. And a lot of name-dropping of expensive wines.

It was OK, but this early novel of Archer's is not his best. A shady character gets investors to part with their money. When the money is lost the four biggest losers hatch a plan to get back every penny. It was quite far-fetched to think that someone as sharp-witted as Harvey Metcalfe would have been taken in by their antics. I noticed this won an ALA Best Books for Young Adults award. I'm sure Archer didn't intend it as a YA story, but it is a suitable choice.

I very much enjoyed this little romp of revenge - a shadowy businessman runs a sharemarket pump and dump scam stealing a million dollars from four investors. Upon realising they've been scammed the four people join forces to recover the exact amount, not a penny more, not a penny less, back through various schemes.

The various schemes and developments in the story line keep the pages turning as you keep wondering if they're really going to pull it off or if this is the time they'll get caught making for an entertaining and captivating read.

Don't get mean, get even...One million dollars - that's what Harvey Metcalfe, lifelong king of shady deals, has pulled off with empty promises of an oil bonanza and instant riches. Overnight, four men - the heir to an earldom, a Harley Street doctor, a Bond Street art dealer and an Oxford don - find themselves penniless. But this time Harvey has swindled the wrong men. They band together and shadow him from the casinos of Monte Carlo to the high-stakes windows at Ascot and the hallowed lawns of Oxford. Their plan is simple: to sting the crook for axactly what they lost. To the penny.

Very much dated now (it was written in the 1970s), with things like: 98p train fare between Ascot and Oxford, managing to get a seat on the commuter trains show more between Oxford and London where there's only a £2 price difference between first and second class tickets...HA! This story details, in great detail of how the 4 men get their money back after being swindled by Harvey Metcalfe.

Sometimes I like Archer's detail, but this book just felt remarkably smug and so I felt a little dirty at the end show less

2692 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, by Jeffrey Archer (read 31 Dec 1994) This book, published in 1976, is Archer's first book. When I started it it was at once clear this was very inelegant writing, and I thought I shouldn't be wasting my time reading it. But it soon caught me up, and it read so easily and effortlessly--no worry about looking at page numbers (which I am tempted to do when I wish a book would end). Four guys are swindled by an obnoxious American, Harvey Metcalfe. They decide to swindle him back to get their money back. What a slapstick story! It is NOT great writing but it was such fun to read. A very pleasant surprise-filled read.

Most popular books have durability but this one is not among them. Reason is that the last 3 chapters or so were stabs at comedy that went wide off the mark. Although my enjoyment and my remembrance of this book and my smile faltered near the end, for most of the story I pronounced it a perfect 5/5. I enjoyed it immensely. Nevertheless the plot in retrospective seems less clever in the cold light of the day. It was one of those books that don't have much staying power and cannot be enjoyed a second time. I should mentioned though that as an author, Jeffrey Archer has grown on me and I'm curious about his books. Watch this space.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book. As usual, Jeffrey Archer delivers. The only reason I could not give it 5 stars was because as I was reading it I was fully aware of how dated it had become. This is not a sign of poor writing by any means, but merely that certain things are no longer relevant.