About the Author
Jeffrey Archer is one of the most prolific fiction writers of our age. All his stories are fast paced stories with highly melodramatic climaxes. "Not a
penny more, Not a penny less" was one of the first books written by him and till date I rate it as one of his best books. In fact the book's simplicity makes me recommend this book to anyone who wants to start reading novels.
The Plot Harvey Metcalf is an expert fraud. He swindles money from lots of people by making them invest in North Sea oil shares. Too late, they realize those shares are worthless and they have been duped. But not all give hope. Four gentlemen: an Oxford Don, an English Lord, a Physician and an Art Dealer resolve to
extract revenge from Metcalf for taking away their life savings.
But the peculiar thing about the resolution is that they would extract the
exact amount that they have been
duped of
Not a penny less, not a penny more. From this point on the
story becomes an
interesting narration of how four experts in their own field, hound an expert fraud by bringing him into their own respective domains.
The Pros and Cons
1) Considering that this is his first published novel, Jeffrey Archer has done a wonderful job. This guy is a great story teller.
2) The plot has a touch of mystic about it as the
concept of getting back the exact amount is interesting.
3) The characters have been well etched and their roles have been well defined.
4) The story has been kept at a great pace apart from a slightly slow start.
5) The concept of the book is good.
6) A little bit of experience and slight more detail into the various characters would have done this book wonders.
Summary Slick, fast paced and thrilling, it is hard to believe that this is the first book ever published by Jeffrey Archer.
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