March 29, 2013
Series: Clifton Chronicles #3
Genres: Fiction, Mystery
Best Kept Secret
by Jeffrey Archer
Best Kept Secret is the third book in the series called ‘The Clifton Chronicles’, written by Jeffrey Archer. the first two books are: Only Time will Tell and The Sins of the Father. The book is is 380 pages long and is divided into 46 chapters. You will be hooked to the book right from the prologue if you have read the earlier two books of the series. The book focuses on the life of Harry Clifton and people around him during the years 1945 to 1957.
The Sins Of The Father ends at the moment where the judge is about to declare who would be inheriting the Barrington title, Harry Clifton or his best friend Giles Barrington after the death of Sir Walter Barrington. This judgement is announced at the beginning and sets the course of Harry Clifton’s unpredictable life.
As the book progresses, the focus of the story gets shifted to Sebastian Clifton. He plays an important role is defending his uncle Giles’s seat in the house of the Commons. Also, he wins a scholarship to Cambridge in 1957 and gets caught up in a mess and which is where this book ends.
The book is no extraordinary but is a satisfactory. Archer’s way of swiftly changing the course of story is appreciable, but the book certainly has some points which were unnecessary. But then, he’s the storyteller not me. And he tells his story gracefully. The book is a fast read. Archer knows very well how to grabs readers’ attention by plunging them into the action from the first page, shifting frequently between different characters’ points of view, peeling back another layer of the story in nearly every chapter, and knowing exactly when to leave readers dangling in suspense.
No doubt Archer is one of the best storyteller in modern days. Though I will hope he releases the next book this year, which would focus on the life of Sebastian Clifton, but I am told that I have to wait till 2014.
