Exhilarating, as always!. Review on Not A Penny More Not A Penny Less - Jeffrey Archer

Another splendid piece of ingenuity from the master himself; constantly bordering between the outrageous and entertaining. Or as the Brits would put it, ‘a delightfully old-fashioned crook-adventure story’. A rather pacy, often amusing, account of how a large scale crook financier is vengefully pursued by four of the most intelligent (and most varied in expertise) of the investors he has defrauded, complete with the smooth drama and rougher skullduggery of money-making. Vintage Jeffrey Archer.

Harvey Metcalfe, life-long king of shady deals and financial frauds. A man who made his millions by fooling people. With empty promises of an oil bonanza and lucrative wealth, Harvey fools four men out of One Million Dollars. Overnight, four men- the heir to an earldom, a Harley street doctor, a Bond street art dealer and an Oxford professor, find themselves penniless. Each man, an expert in his own field, yet swindled by an expert in share fraud. Individually, they are helpless, but together, they stand a chance. The four decide to bond together and plot four fool-proof plans. Their aim is simple : to steal back exactly what they lost, ‘Not a penny more, not a penny less’.

For those who are more accustomed to Archer’s antics, the twist towards the end comes as no real surprise. In fact, one even begins to anticipate the climax. But never the less, an extremely fine read. Skillfully constructed and mellifluously integrated with Archers natural aptitude for story telling.

All in all, ‘Not a penny more, Not a penny less’ is marvelously plotted, with just the right amount of romance, wit and savior-faire.