Book: Nothing Ventured

Author: Jeffrey Archer

Publisher: Pan MacMillan

Pages: 324

Published: 5th September, 2019

Blurb

William Warwick has always wanted to be a detective, and decides, much to his father’s dismay, that rather than become a lawyer like his father, Sir Julian Warwick QC, and his sister Grace, he will join London’s Metropolitan Police Force.

After graduating from university, William begins a career that will define his life: from his early months on the beat under the watchful eye of his first mentor, Constable Fred Yates, to his first high-stakes case as a fledgling detective in Scotland Yard’s arts and antiquities squad. Investigating the theft of a priceless Rembrandt painting from the Fitzmolean Museum, he meets Beth Rainsford, a research assistant at the gallery who he falls hopelessly in love with, even as Beth guards a secret of her own that she’s terrified will come to light.

While William follows the trail of the missing masterpiece, he comes up against suave art collector Miles Faulkner and his brilliant lawyer, Booth Watson QC, who are willing to bend the law to breaking point to stay one step ahead of William. Meanwhile, Miles Faulkner’s wife, Christina, befriends William, but whose side is she really on?

This new series introduces William Warwick, a family man and a detective who will battle throughout his career against a powerful criminal nemesis. Through twists, triumph and tragedy, this series will show that William Warwick is destined to become one of Jeffrey Archer’s most enduring legacies.

Review

William Warwick is not a new character. He was first introduced in Clifton Chronicles in the stories written by the protagonist Harry Clifton.

I did not read the Clifton Chronicles but I did not miss anything. Nothing Ventured can be treated as a new series.

I love Jeffrey Archer for his attention to detail in his stories which makes his fiction come to life.

In this book too the nitty-gritty of art, police proceedings, court proceedings play important roles in the story.

The protagonist too has been meticulously sketched and brought to life.

My only grievance is that there were too many storylines or cases running at the same time. The transition from one to another was rather ragged. I had a hard time keeping track. Also the three cases seemed half baked. A lot of meat was missing from the steak.

After reading Kane and Abel and A Prisoner of Birth, I was not so satisfied with this book.

My Rating: 3.5/5 🌟

P.S. I had received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. I thank the publisher for the opportunity.