Best Kept Secret: Clifton Chronicles, Book 3

Another gripping episode in the incomparable best selling saga, the Clifton Chronicles. Featuring members of the Cliifton and Barrington families, it is highly recommended.

Excellent, gripping story. I'm finding it difficult to put the book down. The background research is exceptional. The web of the connections: characters and events: leaves us wanting more.

Good plot, typical of the author.

Didn't want the hardback version. Has to wait for this paperback. Glad the wait is over.I have never been disappointed by Archer - this one is no exception. The pace, the story are both great. However, people know Archers' works well may find it getting a little old with the same formulas - a life history of so many people, bad guys (and I mean people with absolutely no moral whatsoever), a little complicated affairs and a hint of danger on the side.Another problem is this Clifton Chronicles will go from 3 to 5 or even 7 books! This is ridiculous. Of course one can drag it on for ever. Sebastian can have a son, but by then Harry Clifton would probably be dead (the new villain killed him or something). Jessica grows up and find out Emma is her half sister and thus Sebastian is her Uncle etc.... she might change as a result of this knowledge and start going off from there....Mr Archer, be careful! You may turn a good series into something that everyone hates.'Be careful what you wish for' will be out early next year. I just hope Archer will come to his senses and round things up. I think getting to No.5 with everyone' life coming to a close will be fine. Don't drag it on.

We take up the story from the end of the second book. The Lord Chancellor is to give his casting vote in the ludicrous (because it could never have happened) debate of the whole House (not just the judicial committee) on which of our two heroes is to inherit the Barrington baronetcy. He appears to be wholly uninfluenced by dreary considerations of law (Archer assumes throughout that illegitimate sons could inherit baronetcies). I will not reveal how the vote is cast.We then move on to about the most unbelievable Chancery trial of the challenge of a Will. The challenger calls exceptionally brief evidence from a doctor who never met the testator and who simply asserts that someone who is dying from cancer can never be capable of making a Will. Those who support the Will call straight forward evidence from the treating doctor saying the testator was perfectly able to understand what she was doing. But Archer asks us to believe that the result is almost impossible to call. Again, I won't reveal the result.Next we move on to the main story, a story of evil villains and saintly heroes. The plot is about as far fetched as you could imagine. The characters are all one dimensional. Everyone is either good or bad, there is nothing in between. Perhaps the most unbelievable character (though there is stiff competition) is Lady Virginia. She is plainly a baddie, from the moment she first appears. Why on earth Giles sees anything in her is never explained at all.But Archer does have something. The story may be bonkers (often causing me to laugh out loud at things which Archer reckons to be desperately serious), the characters may be cardboard, but everything moves at such a bewildering pace that one just can't help reading to the end. And, of course, the end leaves us hanging over yet another cliff, so we will have to buy the next volume when it comes out.No one buys Archer out of a desire to read good literature. What they want is fast paced drama. They get that with this book, hence my generous allocation of three stars. And, anyway, it's a jolly good laugh (even if the author does not intend it to be).Charles

Best Kept Secret is the third in the Clifton Chronicles series and builds on a cliffhanger ending from number 2. These stories really do need to be read in sequence. It starts with a legal judgement as to the rightful heir to the Barrington estate; Harry Clifton and Giles Barrington are the contenders.Following the ruling, Giles pursues a political career and Harry continues as an author. But the road is never clear cut and as I've recently discovered, Archer really knows how to pull the reader in to a convoluted yarn and make it compelling. I particularly enjoyed the machinations around an election. Archer builds the tension' even when the storyline is slightly preposterous. I think he captures a particular age and some elitism really well. Most of the characters here are untouched by a bleak post war mid 50s Britain. But that's what escapist fiction is all about. It's sometime cliched, it's easy to read and the bottom line is, this is another ripping yarn which kept me reading. Having avoided all his books over some 20+ years, I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying this series, given my inherent dislike if the author.

The way the author describes the story is amazing! So many twists in the plot. I can't wait to read the next book!

Everything was well narrated by the author. Liked the book very much.

Another best seller in the series of Clifton chronicles. Still a gripping story which unfortunately keeps you guessing until the next instalment. A book that you can't put down.

Great plot, characters, use of words...all the books in the series are great!

No imaginas que el autor tome esas decisiones sobre personajes tan importantes. Dramático!