Aug 29, 2008 01:01 PM
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Prisoner of Birth is a captivating fictional story containing dramatic twists and turns. Book’s protagonist is Danny Catwright, who lives in East End of London. Danny is simple, extremely bright, young garage mechanic and is madly in love with his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth (Beth). Beth is the sister of Danny’s best buddy Barnie. Danny and Beth are planning to get married. Danny proposes to beth and predictably, she agrees to marry him. To celebrate their engagement, Danny, Barnie and Beth go to the local bar named Dunlop Arms.
This ecstatic evening soon turns in to an unfortunate one as Danny and Barnie get in to a brawl with a group of four men sitting in the Bar. Barnie gets murdered by one of the men of the group who calls themselves “Musketeers”. Danny gets arrested for Barni’s murder which he never committed. The jury believes musketeers’ side of story as all the four men were at “respectable” position in society and included a highly successful solicitor (the murderer….), a popular actor, an investment professional and an aristocrat.
Danny’s lawyer fails prove his innocence and Danny ends up in the Belmarsh Prison to serve twenty two year sentence. In prison, he shares cell with an ex Army officer Nick Moncrieff. Nick is literate, cultured and noble man who works as a teacher in prison. Nick and Danny establish a special bond and become close pals. Nick teaches Danny to read and write and encourages him to educate himself. Danny proves to be exceptionally smart in studies and decides to get himself a college degree in future.
The story takes a turn here and Nick gets murdered in prison. Danny manages to wear nick’s identity due to resemblance in their appearance and escapes from the Belmarsh. The circumstances around Nick’s murder and Danny’s identity switch are least plausible and far fetched. The reason behind a noble and educated man like Nick’s prison sentence seems anything but believable.
Rest of the story revolves around Danny’s transformation into an educated and smart man and his revenge with the “Musketeers”. Danny earns Nick’s family fortune after battling with his enemies. He manages Nick’s money smartly and later, uses it for his revenge. Danny’s revenge does not involve the clichéd murders or violence but he destroys his enemies intelligently and gets justice in the court of law.
The flow of story goes at fast pace and manages to engage readers’ interest. Yet, there are loopholes and delusive twists in the story which classify this book as an entertaining fiction rather than literary competent work. Jeff Archer manages to produce a well crafted story which is perfectly suitable for the times when you want to escape and get yourself emerged in an enjoyable thriller.
