User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Jeffrey Archer, and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.Having loved Jeffrey Archer’s Clifton Chronicles, I was pleased to see this new series that will have my fellow fans just as excited. Those who remember Harry Clifton and his prodigious career as a writer will remember the William Warwick novels that were the author’s bread and butter. Archer has decided to shed some light on these, writing a series of novels about the man who climbed the ranks of the police service. In this series debut, William has decided not to follow in his father’s footsteps and refuses to read law. Instead, he chooses the path of art history before enrolling in the police academy. After passing his entrance exams, Warwick is sent to the beat, where he garners some much needed experience under the tutelage of a seasoned copper. When given the chance to write the detective’s exam, he soars through the experience and is soon assigned to Art and Antiquities, using his attention to detail and past academic experiences. Warwick has much to learn, but is also tossed out to juggle a number of cases, all of which take him in different directions and has him meeting book forgers, currency schemers, and even traffickers in stolen artwork. While not entirely won over by his son’s choices, Sir Julian Warwick QC can see the benefits to Warwick’s choices and works with him on a side project. It would seem the woman who has caught young DC William Warwick’s eye has a secret she has tried to keep her herself. However, as Warwick grows fonder of Beth Rainsford, he cannot fight the urge to unravel yet another mystery. A brilliant launching pad to what I hope will be a sensational series, Archer does not disappoint readers with this piece. Highly recommended to those who love Lord Archer’s writing style, as well as readers who like a light and fast-paced police procedural series with artistic flavourings.
In my long reading career, I can say that I have long loved every opportunity that I have had to curl up with a Jeffrey Archer novel. His ability to keep the story simple and yet enthralling is second to none, while also developing strong characters and a plot that keeps the reader wanting more. As I mentioned above, this is an interesting project, one in which Archer almost assumes the role of Harry Clifton in crafting these stories that appeared throughout the Clifton Chronicles. William Warwick serves as a wonderful protagonist whose early rise as an officer of the law is documented here. From his passion for police work on the beat through to his intuition and ability to find clues where others fail, Warwick is both in tune with his surroundings and a character worthy of the reader’s attention. The novel portrays both his personal and professional sides, injecting the needed passion in each to develop a well-rounded individual who enriches the larger story. There are many threads left dangling, which Archer will hopefully tie-off or add to in the subsequent novels of the series. Others enrich the story and the plot lines, complementing Warwick where possible, but also developing sub-plots that could emerge in future novels. The story was strong and introduced the reader to this most formidable character. While some may worry that there is a need to know the Clifton Chronicles to read this piece, the Warwick novels are independent of the previous series, though I am sure devout fans of Clifton will see tie-ins when Harry mentioned the novels throughout his time as a protagonist in Archer’s earlier work. A mix of short and longer chapters, as well as Archer’s use of themes from past novels—art, policing, court proceedings—allow this series debut to be one that is sure to garner much discussion and anticipation between novels. I, for one, cannot wait to see how William Warwick will rise through the ranks to the pinnacle of his career.
Kudos, Lord Archer, for this great start. As you mentioned in the author’s note, I can only hope you will survive the entire journey as you dazzle your countless fans.
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Rating: really liked it
I wanted to give this four stars, however, the second half diminished that option. 6 of 10 stars
Rating: really liked it
Fans of Jeffrey Archer rejoice. We have a new series to savor. The first book in this new saga was simply wonderful. We meet William Warwick (who we actually first met as a fictional character in The Clifton Chronicles,) son of Sir Julian Warwick QC as he chooses law enforcement as his career and quickly rises to Scotland Yard in its Arts and Antiquities squad. We already know he is bound for great things. His first major case is solving the theft of a Rembrandt from the Fitzmolean Museum, where he meets his love interest Beth, who has some secrets of her own. Wonderful storytelling and character development. Very entertaining read. Can’t wait for the next installment. Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the wonderful Lord Jeffrey Archer for an advance copy.
(On a personal note, Archer was my late mother’s favorite author and through her, I discovered his books. Sadly she never got to read the final installments of The Clifton Chronicles which she loved so much. Now every time I finish one his latest books, I feel I am reading it for the both of us. Thanks Mom, you taught me well!)
Rating: really liked it
One of my favorite authors.
It’s always a pleasure reading his books.
Every time he releases a new book it becomes my priority.
His writing style is so good, so easy to follow.
He is, without any doubt, a wonderful storyteller.
But, no matter how much I love this author, I have to be honest.
This book, although quite entertaining, was a disappointment, especially after reading the terrific Clifton Chronicles series (I will never forget the hateful Lady Virginia).
The flow is great, fast and very engaging.
I did not want to stop reading it.
But everything is so easy, and everyone is so polite and everything happens so fast...
There is no excitement or a real mystery, and at the same time it’s far from boring, but the story is totally shallow and forgettable.
If you don’t read this one you will not be missing much, unless you want to start a new series.
My 3 stars rating is mainly for the author’s writing style.
I’m really glad that I borrowed a copy from the public library. Regardless, I’m looking forward to reading the follow up of this new series. I do hope it will get better.
(edited on August 26, 2020)
Rating: really liked it
This is my first time reading anything written by Jeffrey Archer. I have no idea why I haven't picked up one of his books earlier - didn't know what I was missing! First of all I really, really enjoy British detective novels and this fits the bill to a tee.
This is the first in the William Warwick series. William has wanted to be a detective since the age of eight so he chooses to pursue that path - against his father's wishes (his father is an attorney and wants William to follow in his footsteps). William has good instincts and has put in his time learning the trade when he gets tapped for the Arts and Antiquities department in Scotland Yard. It was fun following William through his first cases and seeing both his successes and his failures. William gets wrapped up in a doozy of a case and I enjoyed following the leads with him. I look forward to reading the next book in this series when it becomes available!
Thanks to Jeffrey Archer and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Another excellent novel by Jeffrey Archer that left me wondering why don't I read more of his books. It's true that I always enjoy his books and feel in awe of his writing which appears to write with ease.
This is the start of a new series that features Detective William Warwick. A detective who decided on his career against his fathers wishes, who was hoping he would become a lawyer. His father, Sir Julian Warwick QC, and his sister Grace also appear in this book and I am sure will also feature in future books. This book is a more gentle crime novel rather than the more gritty detective novels sought by many readers. I enjoy both type of books but with Archers writing you get very strong descriptive characters and well thought out plots. Within this novel you can already see Archer sowing the seeds for further story-lines to come in following novels.
I am suffering today after feeling the need to stay up into the early hours of the morning to finish this novel. Recommended.
Rating: really liked it
Let me begin by stating that I won Nothing Ventured by Jeffrey Archer in a giveaway I put in for as I've become quite the fan of detective murder mysteries thanks to Agatha Christie, however this was not that. In saying that, I also thought it a bit ridiculous for him to mention her name in this novel, as well as Poirot's when stating that DNA evidence was making it harder to defend criminals, as Poirot does not defend anyone--he seeks only the truth! It was a name drop, and a confusing one, as the author himself states that this novel is not a detective mystery but a novel about a detective's life.
In saying all that, the novel is well written (other than William laughing as much as he did, it felt childish) and was very easy to read, but if you are unaware with some British terms you may need to look them up (though the rest of the sentences should fill in the blank for you) (examples: kip=sleep, gaffer=boss, and kerb=curb (just difference in British and American spelling)).
However, I wanted to give it three stars (I liked it) but some parts of the novel were just too much of a miss for me so I gave it two stars (it was okay). The first three chapters for example I thought were a slow way of beginning the story while being cheesy at that. It begins with a father disappointed in his son not following his footsteps (snooze). The story began for me in chapter four, but then once again felt cheesy and cliche in the fifth chapter when the officer who has taken the young rookie William Warwick under his wing was killed in a routine stop, one day short of his retirement (saw that coming). If someone dies in a novel, I think you should feel something and for me this death was not surprising in the least, it's been so overdone in other stories I rolled my eyes when William woke up in his hospital bed to find his partner had been killed.
William then meets a beautiful girl named Beth and after 6 short months they both announce how madly in love they are and want to marry, this too felt pretty cliche but hey, some loves are like that (still feels cliche, I think the author added it to the story possibly to give the next part of the story a door to cross, though it was another issue I had with the novel)
The part that gives conflict to his relationship with Beth is when Mrs. Faulkner climbs into bed with Warwick (cliche) and he felt he had two choices--to turn on the light and tell her to leave possible risking the return of the priceless art or to sleep with her and not tell Beth, securing the Rembrandt's return. This kinda made no sense to me on a few levels, 1) he had just told Beth how much he loved her and he wants to marry her so would he really risk that? Perhaps someone married a long time in a semi-happy relationship would but I don't think a madly in love person would, 2) Mrs. Faulkner needed the cops on her side more than William needed to sleep with her to secure the painting, it and the detective were already on board the yacht on the way to the museum with the police to be receiving them when they docked (I really don't think he was in enough of a corner to justify it-so in my mind it just makes him an non-loyal, untrustworthy creep), and 3) Mrs. Faulkner had put a private eye on her husband to gather as much information on his adultery as possible to secure the best possible out-come in her divorce proceedings, why would she risk her husband doing the same to her (which she should believe he would as he has the resources to do so) and discover she had slept with the detective? In my opinion, what she stood to gain from the divorce would have been too much a risk to ruin it on a young detective who hardly seemed receptive of the advance in the first place (he never made any show of flirtation towards her).
The final cheesy and cliche part was the very end of the book. Mr. Faulkner gets off with probation on the condition he does not commit any crimes or is thrown in prison to serve his full sentence, fine. But why on Earth when he shows up to the grand revealing of the returned Rembrandt and of the Rubens which he was so kind in gifting the museum would Faulkner whisper into Warwick's ear that he'd love to show him the real original Rubens in his New York apartment?!?!?! This made NO sense, considering the judge let him off easy on the condition that he supply the museum with the Rubens they believed to be the real deal (Warwick could bring this to someone's attention and have the Rubens at the museum scrutinized) and for the mere fact that this is the man who basically almost put you in prison and relieved you of your "two precious" (stolen) artworks!!! Why would he light that fire inside the detective again, considering he kinda got away with it (just barely) the first time? There's no way someone would be so foolish, and I get that it sets up the next book but it is so far from anything realistic. If Faulkner doesn't go to prison next time, I feel the readers of the series will be surely let down, because of the blatant careless demeanor Faulkner showed and the fact that it will be just another failure to the "hero" Warwick.
Rating: really liked it
The plot had elements which were too cliched for me plus things happened too quickly. I felt this was subpar as compared to his other novels.
Rating: really liked it
“Accept nothing, Believe no one, Challenge everything.”
Unfortunately, this statement is probably the only thing that I will be remembering about this novel a couple of days from now. The beginning seemed too rushed with too much going on. It felt like looking out of the passenger side window while driving down the interstate... everything was a blur. When I’d stop reading then pick it back up I had to spend time trying to figure out which case they talking about.
The rest of the story just meandered on with no real action ever happening.
I was sadly pretty bored most of the way through. Not what I’ve come to expect from Archer. Definitely not his best work. 3 stars.
Rating: really liked it
This book is the beginning of a series. This book is about a character that was introduced in one of the author's other series. It is about how the beginning of his adult life as he becomes a member of Scotland Yard.
If you are looking for an action book you should look somewhere else. This book and series is a character study and about the origins of this character. I haven't read the other series and I was never lost with the character. I am not sure if it affected my enjoyment of this book as maybe I would have liked the idea of this book being a total flashback more. It was a decent read but it never grabbed me like other books from this author. It filled in the requisite information for the beginning of this character. How he gets his start in his profession. How he meets the girl of his dreams. His first big case. I guess that is why it never really grabbed me. Nothing was new to me as this book followed the basic formula. The only surprise was the last sentence which will entice readers to read the next one.
I liked the book and I liked the main character. But there was nothing that really stood out for me besides the last sentence. It read like an introductory book and that is what this book is. It is an introductory book for a new series. I will read the second book to see if this series eventually grabs me.
Rating: really liked it
Jeffrey Archer is a favourite among many of my library patrons and I've enjoyed the first book from his popular Clifton Chronicles series. Now, Archer is back with a new series which stars Detective William Warwick, one of London's Metropolitan Police Force's newest officers.
Nothing Ventured focuses on two art-themed schemes and readers are given a brief background on Warwick's family life. Art fans will enjoy the mentions of famous art pieces/artists and the ensuing art fraud but those topics didn't quite hold my interest and I felt the tension was lacking just a bit.
There is a romantic aspect but their connection happens quite quickly leaving readers to be told about their relationship but not actually witnessing it. The author's blurb states that this book is "not a detective story, but a story about a detective" but I came away feeling that I didn't get to know Warwick as well as I would have hoped. The good news is, this is a series so I figure readers will get to know Warwick better as the series progresses.
While I'm not overly enthusiastic with this first book in the series, this was a good read and I appreciate that Warwick is a smart and eager good guy. He's a breath of fresh air and I'm hopeful that we'll get to know Warwick (and his family who added wit) better in future books.
Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to St Martin's Press for my complimentary digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
Rating: really liked it
I absolutely love this new series by Jeffrey Archer.
Magnificent storytelling without any of the ‘new-age’ spell- it out crime details that tend to typify novels of late. A clever, multilayered series of crimes that segue subtly and succinctly.
Sheer brilliance, I could not put it down and will be waiting with bated breath for instalment #2. Genuine, masterful storytelling.
Rating: really liked it
I am a die hard fan of Jeffrey Archer, from stand alone novels to a series. His ability to tell a story, descriptive words and my love of most things British...keeps me coming back for more.
Exploring the good and bad of the art world was a nice beginning to the developing character of detective Warwick. Enjoy
Rating: really liked it
I keep trying Jeffrey Archer novels and am going to throw in the towel with this one. Cardboard characters, dull, simplistic writing--how does this guy win so many readers? I was bored early in and stopped there. There's too much good stuff out there to bother with this.
Rating: really liked it
Likable main characters and a good plot! My first Jeffrey Archer book and certainly not the last from this author or this series!
As mentioned in the cover it's not a detective's story but a story about a detective (or something along this line)
William Warwick and his family are a good team and I enjoyed very much both the investigating part and also the courtroom sessions!
A little bit disappointed though at how a case turned out but very glad of the outcome of the other which William's father and sister were leading!
Not much of personal drama but I can't be sure for future installments since I'm none the wiser about what happened with William in Monte Carlo and if this matter will be brought up again!
Villains that you can't quite manage to dislike but I for sure want justice at some point!
Can't wait to read the next story and see where it will lead William, Beth and their families!
