Good Start to a Series

Only Time Will Tell is the first of seven novels of the Clifton Chronicles series written by Jeffrey Archer. The book was published in 2011 and imminently garnered positive reviews and became a bestseller. Below I have outlined why Only Time Will Tell is one of the most sought after Jeffrey Archer novels and why readers should give it a read.

Set in the post-WWI era in Bristol, England, the plot revolves around the life and many adventures of one Harry Clifton. Born into a poverty-stricken family, Harry is expected to follow the footsteps of his uncle and late father and work in the docks, but his hard-working and sacrificing mother wants him to get a much better life. Harry grows up believing his father was martyred in the Great War, but much of his mother's life is shrouded with mystery over the cause of her husband's death. Harry's mother, working as a waitress, his headmaster Mr Holcombe and his friend in the docks, Old Jack Tar help Harry realise his remarkable talent in singing and with their relentless support and his praiseworthy voice he earns himself a place in St. Bede's, an esteemed boarding school via a choir scholarship. 

St. Bede's is where Harry meets Giles, his future best friend, and it is the timeline in which Giles' father, Hugo Barrington, who owns the shipping yard where Harry's father and uncle worked, starts taking an uncanny interest in Harry. Hugo Barrington swiftly becomes Harry and his mother's foe and is the main antagonist of the story. His enigmatic obsession with Harry's life and the reason behind it becomes a focal point of the novel with numerous twists to keep a reader completely engrossed. 

Jeffrey Archer's knack for telling compelling stories made this novel an absolute hit. I personally loved how he incorporated this mind-boggling storyline in the backdrop of post-war England. There are a number of twists to enthral, engross and entertain a reader and anyone who reads it will follow Harry Clifton's life with thorough interest. I would recommend this book to every reader as Jeffrey Archer's splendour in story telling should be widely experienced. The sequel and the second book of the Clifton Chronicles, the Sins of the Father released a year later.

Tahmeed Chaudhury is a diehard Liverpool fan and procrastinator who dislikes being asked questions. Don't ask him questions at tahmeed789@gmail.com