Only Time Will Tell

Synopsis
A coming-of-age epic about Harry Clifton, a promising young boy of uncertain parentage. This is the first of a trilogy and ends with the beginning of World War II - and a whopper of a cliffhanger for Harry.

My thoughts
"Time will tell," my grandma always used to say. That's what drew me to this book, even though I'd never read anything by Jeffrey Archer. This family-based saga seems to be a deviation from Archer's normal repertoire of espionage thrillers, but his background in writing fast-paced, plot-driven novels works to his advantage here. I was hooked from the beginning and flew through the book. I never got bored.

My one criticism has to do with the multiple points of view. Most of the book was told from Harry's point of view, but other supporting characters get their own chapters too. The problem is that the switch from one to the other is jarring. The narration switches and all of a sudden you're reading about something that happened 20 pages ago. Most of the time it was interesting to see someone else's perspective, though.

This is a strong beginning to a promising new series. I immediately put the second book in the Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel, Archer's best-known thriller, on my to-read list.

Bottom line
Excellent read, especially when you're looking for something lighter.

Fine print
Only Time Will Tell, by Jeffrey Archer
Genre: fiction
Photo from Goodreads
I borrowed this book from the library