Lockdown appears to have been good for Jeffrey Archer as he has published two books in his William Warwick series in six months with another due out later this year. That’s perhaps for the best as each book ends with the current thread tied up, but another dangling tantalizingly out of reach.
The book starts with William prepared to resign, but since the cover refers to Detective Inspector William Warwick, I don’t believe I’m spoiling anything by saying he doesn’t. Instead, we follow the well-trodden path of the court case and its twists and turns. Will Sir Julian and Grace beat Booth Watson or will he once again pull off an unlikely victory? It is testament to Archer’s writing that you are not able to ascertain which way things will go as he keeps the story moving along with wins for both sides.
I bought the book on the day it came out and started reading it almost instantly. Then I put it down as distracted and only returned to it several weeks later. That I then finished it in one sitting is perhaps the best comment I can make. By his own admission he doesn’t plot the book out before writing, he simply allows it to flow as he writes. As someone who must plan everything to the nth degree this is intriguing, and virtually impossible for me to wrap my head round. It does however make for fascinating reading as you can’t go back and see the “signs” as there weren’t any.
In series like this I often find myself more interested in the “baddies” than the “goodies”, it is after all far more fun to play the villain, and in this instance the wonderful duo of Miles Faulkner and Booth Watson provide plenty of instances for smiles. Were I to meet these men in real life I doubt I would find them pleasant company, but within the confines of the book I find myself rooting for them more than I should.
This is another in a long line of excellent books from Jeffry Archer, after more than 40 years he continues to intrigue me. I’ve written before about his earlier books, and this is another I shall be returning to for years to come both as a standalone and as part of the William Warwick series. I can’t wait to see what he provides in November.
