Jeffrey Archer Once Again Has Written A Riveting Novel | A Prisoner of Birth

Enjoyable and well written story of retribution and the law | A Prisoner of Birth | Jeffrey Archer

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	• A Prisoner of Birth Jeffrey Archer St. Martin's Press, 2008 - 512 pages average customer review:based on 61 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Outstanding!

A fateful meeting between Danny Cartwright, an East End cockney garage mechanic, and Spencer Craig, a young West End barrister on the fast track to success, ends in Danny being arrested, convicted of murder--thanks to Spencer, who becomes the prosecution's main witness--and sent to prison, where he spends his time plotting to escape and seek revenge. BT.
I haven't read the 'Count of Monte Cristo' so I can't compare this novel to that one. All I know is this was one of Archer's finest novels in recent years. A compelling and enthralling story. Well written and well rounded. I enjoyed it immensely.
Jeffrey Archer goes back on my 'must read' list.

Highly Recommended.

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Jeffrey Archer Once Again Has Written A Riveting Novel

In A Prisoner of Birth Jeffrey Archer offers up another multilayered thriller that includes a bevy of crimes emanating from a wrongful murder conviction. Among the transgressions are: the escape from Belmarsh prison that is a high-security establishment in southeast London, identity theft, stealing a very valuable stamp collection and its subsequent sale, perjury and forgery.

The story unfolds with a Prologue where we read about Danny Cartwrights's marriage proposal to his girlfriend Beth Wilson. To celebrate, the couple decide to meet Beth's brother Bernie, who was also Danny's oldest friend, at a local wine bar to celebrate. It is here where the trio encounter four obnoxious individuals, an attorney, Spencer Craig, a well-known actor, Larry Davenport, an investment dealer, Gerald Payne, and an aristocrat, Toby Mortimer. The four, who seem to be inebriated, begin to spout vicious remarks at Danny, Beth and Bernie, particularly at Beth who they call a slut.

Eventually, Danny, Beth and Bernie decide to leave the bar and they wind up at the back entrance where a fight ensues wherein Danny and Bernie take on two members of the quartet. Beth witnesses what is happening and heeds her brother's advice to grab a cab and as she enters the cabs she tells the driver that Danny and Bernie will be along shortly, whereupon the cab driver retorts, "I don't think it is a taxi they'll be needing, luv. If they were my friends, I'd be phoning for an ambulance."

After this prologue, Archer then goes onto divide his tale into six books Trial, where Danny is falsely convicted of murdering his best friend Bernie, Prison, where Danny befriends two prisoners who will have quite an influence on his future life, Freedom, where Danny escapes prison impersonating one of the prisoners, Revenge, where Danny becomes very creative in settling scores with the guilty parties who were all instrumental in contributing to his unlawful incarceration, Redemption and Judgment.

Archer once again shows himself to be gifted as well as being very creative.
From the very first pages the story-telling clutches the reader and never lets go.
He has written a carefully contrived thriller with great momentum and some very interesting characters which no doubt can be attributed to the two years he served in Her Majesty's prisons as well as his five years as a member of the British Parliament. Some of his previous novels as Prison Diaries, Kane and Abel, and False Impression have been international bestsellers and it would not surprise me if A Prisoner of Birth likewise reaches this plateau.

Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures

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Enjoyable and well written story of retribution and the law

Falsely accused of murdering his best friend, mechanic Danny Cartwright stands trial and is convicted. The evidence of three men, best-friends and drinking buddies, formed the critical evidence against him. Even the sworn word of his fiancee and the dead man's sister that one of those three, not Danny, committed the crime is not enough to convince the jury. After all, Danny was a poor mechanic and the three are affluent, successful, and University graduates.

Sent to prison for twenty years, Danny shares a cell with an ex-soldier who teaches Danny the social graces--how to speak, how to eat and order in a posh restaurant, as well as encouraging him to pursue his education. Danny begins to model himself on his cellmate, Sir Nick Moncrieff and when Moncrieff dies, an apparent suicide, Danny is able to switch places with him, eventually enjoying release from prison. A free man, at least temporarily, Danny goes about a plan for revenge on the three men responsible for destroying is life, and that of his fiancee, Beth.

Author Jeffrey Archer writes convincingly of both the English trial system and of English prison life. Danny's time, spent both improving himself and surviving in the tricky and dangerous world of prison makes for compelling reading. Once out of prison, Danny finds that he's got to reclaim Nick's life before he can go about destroying the lives of those who destroyed his own life. This portion of the story, and indeed much of the book is a clear homage to Andre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo. Perhaps, however, Archer relied too much on the older story. Danny's attempts to ruin the three conspirators have consequences that stretch far beyond the three, consequences Danny ignored. Also, I would have liked to see a bit more cleverness on the part of Spencer Craig, the actual killer and mastermind.

Overall, A PRISONER OF BIRTH made for compelling and page-turning reading. Both Danny and especially Beth are sympathetic characters and Danny's decision to refuse a plea bargain because it would make Beth out to be a liar is especially touching. I do wish Archer had dug a bit deeper into Danny's motivations and his growth as a person.

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Absolutely Brilliant!!

Jeffrey Archer is a master! There's no one else quite like him. This is a page-turner, filled with incredible suspense, memorable characters and amazing twists.

A Tossed Archer Salad

What do you get if you mix up a good portion of Archer's works together and toss them into something new? A Prisoner of Birth is a pretty good idea of what happens.

Archer fans can see a lot of his previous characters in Danny Cartright, who is sentenced for a crime he didn't commit. Set free and in new circumstances by fate and the admiration of men who believe he's innocent, he suddenly is forced to fight a battle against the unjust on two fronts. He doesn't seek revenge or vengeance as much as poetic justice - and all within the letter, if not the spirit, of the law.

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