Book Review: This Was a Man - Highly Recommend

Several months ago, my library experienced a disruption of their services due to some sort of breach in their information system. For many days, the catalog was down. In addition, once the information was once more available, all of my held titles had been wiped clear and I had no idea what I had been waiting on. Thankfully, in a mad dash to find another audio title, I happened upon this final installment of the long-awaited Clifton Chronicles conclusion and remembered I had been waiting on it. I knew I was in for a treat and I was certainly not disappointed.

The previous book had ended, as usual, with a stirring cliffhanger. Giles Barrington's wife Karin had come to a crossroads and was in the midst of being confronted by her spying co-hort, when shots were fired and the reader left to wonder which individual succumbed to the bullets. This Was a Man picks up the battalion and carries the story forward into further deep waters. Full of political intrigue, literary and artistic aspirations, and a fair dose of pure wickedness (from Lady Virginia), this book provides a satisfying conclusion to a brilliant over-arching family tale.

I took great pleasure in the final moments of the Clifton-Barrington union. The funeral scene was especially fun since it included the mention of The Salvation Army (the church I was raised in) and the song, "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat," from Guys and Dolls (a song we rehearsed with the faculty choir at music camp this past summer - challenging, but such fun). I loved every minute of the seven-book saga.

Indeed, I cannot recommend this series highly enough. You will be entranced by the masterful storytelling and will come to consider the characters as long-held friends. Jeffrey Archer always manages to carry his readers along on a current of steadily-moving plot developments and to end his books with a twist in the tale. I further recommend listening to the series in audio form because it is so stirring to hear it read with the fine British accent and expert narration of Alex Jennings. I will miss Harry and Emma Clifton, along with their extended family of interesting characters, and may have to return to this series all over again if I run out of suitable audio selections available at my library.