Scan barcode
humatariq's review against another edition
5.0
Not that I need to say anything else after my 5 star rating for the book, but I absolutely loved the book. Archer continues to amaze me with his writing.
SPOILERS Ahead. Consider yourself warned!!
Harry finds out that the man-whose-identity-he-has-assumed is accused of killing his own brother. As Tom Bradshaw he is being tried in a New York court not only for murder but also for deserting the army and fleeing the country. His lawyer, hired by Tom's parents, tricks him into pleading guilty of the 2nd offense. But instead of the promised 6 months, he is sentenced to serve 6 years of jail time.
Meanwhile back home in England, Maisie hasn't opened that letter of condolence for her son's death. But Emma is bright enough to notice that the hand writing on the envelope is Harry's.....and re-ignite the hope in her heart that he may not be dead after all!! Also, Emma has given birth to a son that may inherit the whole Barrington's empire since Harry is still believed to be Hugo's first child.
As Maisie does not allow Emma to read Tom Bradshaw's letter, she makes a secret plan to go to USA and find Harry. She trains as a waitress at The Grand Hotel under Maisie and boards a ship going to America as a waitress. But on reaching USA she finds out that Tom has been arrested for killing his brother, and she finally accepts the fact that Harry may finally be dead...if only she had somehow read the letter.
As Harry keeps his head down at the prison in hopes of being granted an early release, his best friends back home are becoming a part of the war he so much wanted to participate in. Deakins seem to have been called in for intelligence or code-breaking while Giles has become a commissioned army officer and may soon be leading a troop to fight the enemy at the battle front lines.
The Chief Librarian, Lloyd is up to something funny...he's asked Harry to mail him his prison journals when he is being released. Harry becomes the Chief Librarian but as Lt. Bradshaw is being recruited to be a part of the secret army, just as USA joins the war. He has to change his name and he promptly decides upon Harry Clifton!!
Emma finds some pictures of Harry in USA and she reads the Prison Diary that Max Lloyd has published. She now knows that Harry is alive and kicking, but meeting him is going to be another matter entirely!!
Giles has a reunion with the school prefect, Fisher, who used to beat Harry in the dorm. Like his best friend in America, Giles is also a Deputy to a cunning man who takes credit for someone else's work.....and Giles becomes a POW in a German army camp with his new friend Terry Bates. He gets a job as a wine server by imitating his valet Jenkins. He eventually manage to escape to Switzerland disguised as a German Commander, but Bates is killed just a few steps away from the Swiss border.
Hugo is delighted to hear about Harry's dead. He charms a rich women and moves in with her. He promises to marry her once his divorce is finalized without ever meaning to. She is about to give him some news when he reads in the papers that his father has died. He is relieved that he can now return him to claim the Barrington title.
Maisie, meanwhile, is still popular among the men. She meets Mike, a widowed American businessman who proposes to her. Patrick Casey, her old boyfriend returns after three years; and now a free man, asks her to marry him too. As she is also being made the Manager of the Grand Hotel, she decided its time to learn to read. Stan, her brother is determined to get his share of the Tilly's property she is selling.
Emma finally goes to meet her Grand-aunt who has a lawyer son called Alistair. They manage to convince the publisher that Lloyd is a fraud and agrees to re-print the book with Harry's name and picture as the author. Her request to meet Harry are denied again, but by the hints given by the Warden, they conclude that Harry is now serving in the American army.
Hugo is back and running the company built by two generations to ground. We find out that he has also bribed Stan to convince Maisie to sell her land for 200 pounds. Once the company is about to go bankrupt, and his friend gives him up as the man behind the robbery of his mistress' house, Hugo decided to make a run for America taking 8000 pounds with him. He has also made arrangements to receive the profits after selling off Barrington Hall. But he is caught before reaching Irelend and saved from rotting in prison by the death of his friend.
Back in office, Stan gives him Maisie's letter that stuns him by revealing that Harry's alive. He wants to know if Emma has any knowledge of this news....but is interrupted by Olga...Olga brings her daughter to Hugo demanding the same rights for her as his two legitimate daughters. She knows about Harry after turning his own detective who Hugo hasn't paid since the last 6 months. She threatens to reveal the secret about her daughter to the world... and she kills him in a struggle and then commits suicide by jumping in front of a train. Meanwhile, Maisie has got engaged to Harry's old school teacher.
So the question of Harry's father remain unresolved to the end of this book. When they were talking about blood groups I was hopeful they were going to resolve this matter in this book, but I was wrong. It seems like Archer is determined to stretch this question till the very last volume of The Clifton Chronicles. I guess it will take some decades to resolve this issue as DNA testing is yet to be made possible in those times.
Emma, Harry and Giles were for the most part of this book following their own adventure, but they unite once again at the end. Harry takes to writing detective novels as he develops his sleuth based on his best friend, Giles. I missed Deakins in this book. But seeing that Archer brought back many old characters like Fisher, I think that their third school friend too has yet to play a part in this novel.
This book also ends on a suspense note, as the decision on whether Harry or Giles will inherit the Barrington state and title is still pending.
SPOILERS Ahead. Consider yourself warned!!
Harry finds out that the man-whose-identity-he-has-assumed is accused of killing his own brother. As Tom Bradshaw he is being tried in a New York court not only for murder but also for deserting the army and fleeing the country. His lawyer, hired by Tom's parents, tricks him into pleading guilty of the 2nd offense. But instead of the promised 6 months, he is sentenced to serve 6 years of jail time.
Meanwhile back home in England, Maisie hasn't opened that letter of condolence for her son's death. But Emma is bright enough to notice that the hand writing on the envelope is Harry's.....and re-ignite the hope in her heart that he may not be dead after all!! Also, Emma has given birth to a son that may inherit the whole Barrington's empire since Harry is still believed to be Hugo's first child.
As Maisie does not allow Emma to read Tom Bradshaw's letter, she makes a secret plan to go to USA and find Harry. She trains as a waitress at The Grand Hotel under Maisie and boards a ship going to America as a waitress. But on reaching USA she finds out that Tom has been arrested for killing his brother, and she finally accepts the fact that Harry may finally be dead...if only she had somehow read the letter.
As Harry keeps his head down at the prison in hopes of being granted an early release, his best friends back home are becoming a part of the war he so much wanted to participate in. Deakins seem to have been called in for intelligence or code-breaking while Giles has become a commissioned army officer and may soon be leading a troop to fight the enemy at the battle front lines.
The Chief Librarian, Lloyd is up to something funny...he's asked Harry to mail him his prison journals when he is being released. Harry becomes the Chief Librarian but as Lt. Bradshaw is being recruited to be a part of the secret army, just as USA joins the war. He has to change his name and he promptly decides upon Harry Clifton!!
Emma finds some pictures of Harry in USA and she reads the Prison Diary that Max Lloyd has published. She now knows that Harry is alive and kicking, but meeting him is going to be another matter entirely!!
Giles has a reunion with the school prefect, Fisher, who used to beat Harry in the dorm. Like his best friend in America, Giles is also a Deputy to a cunning man who takes credit for someone else's work.....and Giles becomes a POW in a German army camp with his new friend Terry Bates. He gets a job as a wine server by imitating his valet Jenkins. He eventually manage to escape to Switzerland disguised as a German Commander, but Bates is killed just a few steps away from the Swiss border.
Hugo is delighted to hear about Harry's dead. He charms a rich women and moves in with her. He promises to marry her once his divorce is finalized without ever meaning to. She is about to give him some news when he reads in the papers that his father has died. He is relieved that he can now return him to claim the Barrington title.
Maisie, meanwhile, is still popular among the men. She meets Mike, a widowed American businessman who proposes to her. Patrick Casey, her old boyfriend returns after three years; and now a free man, asks her to marry him too. As she is also being made the Manager of the Grand Hotel, she decided its time to learn to read. Stan, her brother is determined to get his share of the Tilly's property she is selling.
Emma finally goes to meet her Grand-aunt who has a lawyer son called Alistair. They manage to convince the publisher that Lloyd is a fraud and agrees to re-print the book with Harry's name and picture as the author. Her request to meet Harry are denied again, but by the hints given by the Warden, they conclude that Harry is now serving in the American army.
Hugo is back and running the company built by two generations to ground. We find out that he has also bribed Stan to convince Maisie to sell her land for 200 pounds. Once the company is about to go bankrupt, and his friend gives him up as the man behind the robbery of his mistress' house, Hugo decided to make a run for America taking 8000 pounds with him. He has also made arrangements to receive the profits after selling off Barrington Hall. But he is caught before reaching Irelend and saved from rotting in prison by the death of his friend.
Back in office, Stan gives him Maisie's letter that stuns him by revealing that Harry's alive. He wants to know if Emma has any knowledge of this news....but is interrupted by Olga...Olga brings her daughter to Hugo demanding the same rights for her as his two legitimate daughters. She knows about Harry after turning his own detective who Hugo hasn't paid since the last 6 months. She threatens to reveal the secret about her daughter to the world... and she kills him in a struggle and then commits suicide by jumping in front of a train. Meanwhile, Maisie has got engaged to Harry's old school teacher.
So the question of Harry's father remain unresolved to the end of this book. When they were talking about blood groups I was hopeful they were going to resolve this matter in this book, but I was wrong. It seems like Archer is determined to stretch this question till the very last volume of The Clifton Chronicles. I guess it will take some decades to resolve this issue as DNA testing is yet to be made possible in those times.
Emma, Harry and Giles were for the most part of this book following their own adventure, but they unite once again at the end. Harry takes to writing detective novels as he develops his sleuth based on his best friend, Giles. I missed Deakins in this book. But seeing that Archer brought back many old characters like Fisher, I think that their third school friend too has yet to play a part in this novel.
This book also ends on a suspense note, as the decision on whether Harry or Giles will inherit the Barrington state and title is still pending.
ecdereus's review against another edition
4.0
Boeiend tweede deel uit deze reeks, waarin de periode eind 1939 tot september 1945 wordt beschreven en de afzonderlijke belevenissen van de verschillende hoofdpersonages worden verhaald:
■ Harry Clifton, die de identiteit van de overleden Tom Bradshaw heeft aangenomen, wordt na aankomst in New York gearresteerd en veroordeeld tot zes jaar gevangenisstraf; na de Japanse aanval op Pearl Harbor, wanneer ook Amerika zich in de Tweede Wereldoorlog mengt, kan Harry de rest van zijn straf 'uitdienen' in het Amerikaanse leger...
■ Emma Barrington, Harry's geliefde, is in kennis gesteld van Harry's zeemansgraf maar gelooft niet in zijn dood en vertrekt een jaar later, inmiddels moeder van een zoon, naar Amerika om Harry te zoeken
■ Giles Barrington breekt zijn studie aan Oxford af en neemt dienst in het Engelse leger
■ Maisie Clifton, onwetend van het feit dat haar zoon nog in leven is, maakt promotie in het restaurant waar ze werkt en besluit naar avondschool te gaan om te leren lezen en schrijven
In deze periode sterft eerst Sir Walter Barrington, de grootvader van Giles en Emma, waarna hun vader Hugo de titel baronet, de landgoederen, scheepvaartonderneming 'en alles wat dit behelst' erft, maar ook Sir Hugo komt voortijdig aan zijn einde.
Volgens testamentaire beschikking van overgrootvader Joshua, die het Barrington-imperium heeft opgebouwd, is de eerstgeboren zoon de erfgenaam en latere jurisprudentie heeft uitgewezen dat dat niet noodzakelijk de wettige eerstgeboren zoon hoeft te zijn. En Harry is enkele weken vóór Giles geboren... maar: wie is zijn vader? Hugo Barrington of toch Arthur Clifton?
Uiteindelijk wordt deze kwestie aan de Lord Chancellor van het Britse kabinet voorgelegd...
■ Harry Clifton, die de identiteit van de overleden Tom Bradshaw heeft aangenomen, wordt na aankomst in New York gearresteerd en veroordeeld tot zes jaar gevangenisstraf; na de Japanse aanval op Pearl Harbor, wanneer ook Amerika zich in de Tweede Wereldoorlog mengt, kan Harry de rest van zijn straf 'uitdienen' in het Amerikaanse leger...
■ Emma Barrington, Harry's geliefde, is in kennis gesteld van Harry's zeemansgraf maar gelooft niet in zijn dood en vertrekt een jaar later, inmiddels moeder van een zoon, naar Amerika om Harry te zoeken
■ Giles Barrington breekt zijn studie aan Oxford af en neemt dienst in het Engelse leger
■ Maisie Clifton, onwetend van het feit dat haar zoon nog in leven is, maakt promotie in het restaurant waar ze werkt en besluit naar avondschool te gaan om te leren lezen en schrijven
In deze periode sterft eerst Sir Walter Barrington, de grootvader van Giles en Emma, waarna hun vader Hugo de titel baronet, de landgoederen, scheepvaartonderneming 'en alles wat dit behelst' erft, maar ook Sir Hugo komt voortijdig aan zijn einde.
Volgens testamentaire beschikking van overgrootvader Joshua, die het Barrington-imperium heeft opgebouwd, is de eerstgeboren zoon de erfgenaam en latere jurisprudentie heeft uitgewezen dat dat niet noodzakelijk de wettige eerstgeboren zoon hoeft te zijn. En Harry is enkele weken vóór Giles geboren... maar: wie is zijn vader? Hugo Barrington of toch Arthur Clifton?
Uiteindelijk wordt deze kwestie aan de Lord Chancellor van het Britse kabinet voorgelegd...
_traveler_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
cfh's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
pihlamm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
wessela's review against another edition
4.0
I can't wait to read the next story about Harry Clifton and family.
danaisreading's review against another edition
4.0
Great book, but missing a few pages at the end. ;) Cliffhanger ending. Hope the 3rd book in the series is released soon.
topdragon's review against another edition
4.0
This one is a little difficult for me to rate and I'll try to explain why. It's the second book in Archer's "Clifton Chronicles" following [b:Only Time Will Tell|10872085|Only Time Will Tell|Jeffrey Archer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1317068009s/10872085.jpg|14570985] in what is reportedly to be a 5 book series if not more. I really really enjoyed that first book in the series and felt Archer had finally returned to form. This one is also very likable, with likable characters, a likable plot, (albeit a bit "soapy"...as in like a soap opera) and a nice setting against the backdrop of WWII.
But at the same time it seemed to be a little too clichéd with a few too many convenient plot coincidences. The protagonist, Harry Clifton, has turned almost autobiographical undergoing a prison sentence and becoming a best-selling author. Also, I see lots of similarities to his earlier great stories such as [b:The Prodigal Daughter|78987|The Prodigal Daughter (Kane & Abel, #2)|Jeffrey Archer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316636554s/78987.jpg|1839081] and [b:As the Crow Flies|7201|As the Crow Flies|Jeffrey Archer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316129399s/7201.jpg|2630354]. I have no actual problem with that as I enjoyed those books so much and in fact represents his "return to form" that I mentioned earlier. So for my rating I went with my gut in that the book was an enjoyable read and I "really liked it".
Looking forward to number 3, not just because of the cliff-hanger ending in this one but because it should also be a fun reading experience.
But at the same time it seemed to be a little too clichéd with a few too many convenient plot coincidences. The protagonist, Harry Clifton, has turned almost autobiographical undergoing a prison sentence and becoming a best-selling author. Also, I see lots of similarities to his earlier great stories such as [b:The Prodigal Daughter|78987|The Prodigal Daughter (Kane & Abel, #2)|Jeffrey Archer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316636554s/78987.jpg|1839081] and [b:As the Crow Flies|7201|As the Crow Flies|Jeffrey Archer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316129399s/7201.jpg|2630354]. I have no actual problem with that as I enjoyed those books so much and in fact represents his "return to form" that I mentioned earlier. So for my rating I went with my gut in that the book was an enjoyable read and I "really liked it".
Looking forward to number 3, not just because of the cliff-hanger ending in this one but because it should also be a fun reading experience.