Member Reviews

A solid, really interesting book which is a set of different police stories. I enjoyed all the characters and the plot. The narrator was fantastic and really added to the experience with his different voices.

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My first introduction to Jeffrey Archer! I've heard of this author but never read his books until now. This is the audiobook version, narrated by George Blagden. Firstly the narrator is fantastic and really brought the characters to life.
I especially liked the main character William Warwick, who is the lead detective in this story.

The relationship William has with his wife Beth is entertaining- the couple jokes, she calls him 'caveman' and the intimate moments they share made me smile and chuckle.

William is searching for a criminal who faked his own death and then has cosmetic surgery to look completely different. The story follows Warwick trying to catch this crook who has a penchant for fine art.

I'm looking forward to reading/hearing more about William Warwick as his story unfolds. This is book four in a series so I'm going back to read this collection from the start.
Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this audiobook.

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I eagerly requested this audiobook not realising it was one of a series of books but despite not knowing the back story I quickly caught up and found myself really enjoying the book so much I am planning to go back and read the earlier novels. The audio version was wonderful to listen to, a lovely narrator who was a pleasure to listen to.

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Detective Inspector Warwick and his team must track down a millionaire art collector, thief and forger that they had previously believed to be dead.

I was approved for the audio book soon after I started reading this. I can’t fault the audio version, and the narrator’s calming voice is probably the only reason I continued with this book until the end. I hadn’t read a Jeffrey Archer book before, and unfortunately it just wasn’t what I was expecting from it. I enjoyed the storyline at the beginning, but once Inspector Warwick got off that boat my interest level dropped considerably. I may have been more invested if I had read the previous books in the series.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

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I have been reading Jeffrey Archer's books for a few months and was pleased when I saw this one available.
Archer writes books with a LOT of detail. This book continued the series and was easy to enjoy the narration and the intricate details and clues as you continued.
Looking forward to the next one.

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I was curious to read a Jeffrey Archer novel and given my interests I thought a "crime" novel might be a place to start. Thus, I started listening to this series with a rather supercilious attitude - and then found it so engaging, that I found myself eagerly waiting for this, the latest book. Not at all what I anticipated at the outset with Book 1, even though clearly, after all this time as a best-selling author, his popularity must be based on merit rather than the sensationalist fame with which he started all those years ago.

As the author himself explains very precisely - this is not a detective story, it's a story about a detective. It is in fact a story or set of stories about William Warwick's career in the police force.
There is no doubt that Archer certainly does know how to tell a story, and I continued seamlessly from one book to the next in the manner that one is hooked into a soap opera. True, I did find the "good egg" main character - not to mention his love life - more than a little nauseating, and even though his father was a bit OTT, I thought the hero's family relationships were well drawn, (one suspects based on some true to life experiences as a child, or a parent), and the story line - like a <i>Boy's Own</i> adventure - was very entertaining, with its thoroughly decent chaps, and proper arch enemies.

The audio books are well-read and clear, and I always enjoy the interviews with the author, (sometimes included at the end), which add a great deal to the overall experience. From this one I learn that I agree with him in thinking of himself primarily as a story-teller, which he regards as a "gift". Where I do not entirely agree is that he believes anyone with a "fairly good education" can write (not a "gift"). However, I can confidently say that my own writing skills are pretty limited, despite a good education, (unless he means specifically public school followed by Oxbridge), so I think he can actually congratulate himself on his writing ability as well as his jolly good plots.

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i feel like i would have enjoyed this book more if i had of read the rest of the series.

A story of revenge and love and a layered plot line, this story had good likeable characters who you become invested in.

Over all a solid book and great mystery

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Over My Dead Body is the fourth instalment in Jeffrey Archer's William Warrick series. Despite not having read the rest of the series I was able to pick up the story.

Advertised as a thriller I was surprised to find this was more a tale of high jinks and mishaps framed around a hit-and-miss police chase. A little slow but an OK read, particularly if you have read the previous instalments.

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Another excellent book from Jeffrey Archer, this is the fourth book in the William Warwick series. The writing is the of the calibre I’ve come to expect from the author and the story is fast paced .
The characters are strong in their nature and the plot is well structured , this book can easily be read as a stand alone due to the nature of the writing.
The story weaves old plot lines with new in an easy and uncomplicated way , leaving me listening to chapter after chapter.
The narrator is excellent enhancing the audio experience.
A great story and highly recommended, looking forward to the next instalment Iain the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio.

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This is the fourth instalment of the Detective William Warwick saga and a real rollercoaster of a book.

As usual in this twisty thriller from the Master of the pen, there's murder, revenge and betrayal I think this book could be read as a standalone, but for the fullest enjoyment I would recommend starting at the beginning of the series.

William starts off on a cruise liner to New York with his wife for a rare break, but before long becomes embroiled in death on the ship and then flies back to London to continue investigations into the previously thought dead Miles Faulkner. We meet all the characters from the series and find out how their lives are moving on with various side stories along the way, bring it all to life. A thoroughly exiting read.

A big thank you to Harper Collins Audio for the chance to listen to and review this audio version on Over my dead body by Jeffrey Archer and read by George Blagden who is an extremely good narrator with some excellent voices. It was a joy to listen to and cant wait until the next book is released.

At the end of the audiobook was an interview with Jeffrey Archer which should not be missed and gives you a great insight into how he thinks and writes his books. I could not believe how many drafts Jeffrey makes of his books to ensure they are absolutely perfect. I'm also looking forward to the remainder of the series and only hope he remains in good health and is able to complete the series and many more besides as he's now in his 80s.

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Thank you to @HarperCollinsUK and @Jeffrey_Archer for this advanced audio copy of Over My Dead Body in return for an honest review. Over My Dead Body is due to be published on 12th October 2021 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

Detective Chief Inspector William Warwick is (as usual) in the middle of a whirlwind of cases. In London, his team at Scotland Yard have been assigned a selection of murder cases that have gone cold. In Geneva, William’s long standing enemy Miles Faulkner is pretending to be dead and living as a different person. On a luxury liner half way to New York, a wealthy family are insisting that the man at the top of their hierarchy has died of a heart attack, whilst a few people are certain it was murder.

William tries to juggle all of this with the help of his faithful team. This time around, Ross Hogan has been pulled in from undercover work to assist, but will he adjust to life in plain clothes and will he and the team be able to catch all of the murderers and keep Miles Faulkner in their sights?

General Thoughts 🤔

I was taken by surprise when I started this book. I had a brief moment of panic when I thought that William Warwick wouldn’t have his team with him and he’d be riding solo. I should have known better though as of course William could never indulge in a holiday and actually switch off.

Once again, I loved the mix of old plot line with new in this book. Miles Faulkner has a standing role within this series and I really liked that he was here again for Over My Dead Body, but with new criminals and new crimes added into the melting pot.

One thing I did miss within this book was a court room battle. They were one of my favourite parts of the previous books and I know that they can’t all be the same but I was hanging on waiting for Sir Julian and Grace to show up and destroy some people in the witness box. It’s no big deal, just means I’ll have to hold on until the fifth book in the series.

Characters 👭👬👫

As the series progresses, I find it harder to write this section of the review unless my feelings about characters have changed. I still love William, I still love Beth, I still love the way William and his team work and bounce off one another. My only feelings that changed were towards Ross Hogan.

When I first met Ross he was working undercover and I had a lot of respect for him. He went to prison for goodness sake! Not many people would do that for their job. However when he was “brought in from the cold” I think he struggled with working with people and not doing his own thing. I think that this was the main reason for him running rogue a little; to feel like he had more control over himself. But I disagreed with some of his actions and I empathised with William for trying to help Ross whilst at the same time, not turn a blind eye (to quote a previous book title).

Writing Style ✍️

It goes without saying that I have become hooked on Jeffrey Archer’s writing seen as I have binged this entire series (what’s written of it to date) within the last week or so. I don’t doubt that I’ll probably go back and read some of his other series at some point. He is obviously an amazing story teller and I love that the story is all hung off the characters.

What I haven’t talked about so far is that I’ve listened to the audiobooks for all of these books. The narrator is the same throughout which is great for continuity and I have really enjoyed listening to him. He captured the spirit of each character perfectly and has helped me to envisage exactly what they’re like in my mind.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

Another William Warwick book that I enjoyed wholeheartedly. In summary I didn’t love this one as much as the third, but loved it just as much as the first and second. I’d say that’s pretty good going for four books. I recently learnt that Jeffrey Archer plans eight books in total for this series so I’m very happy to know that I’m only half way towards the end. Hopefully the wait isn’t too long for the fifth book.

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Great story as usual from Mr Archer!!. A good plot,characters, how could you not enjoy the story?!!.
The narrator was great with all of his accents. His different character voices were so good!. He seemed to flow from one character to the next!!. Thoroughly enjoyable story, I loved it all!.
Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC book for an honest review.

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This is my first Jeffrey Archer book and I really enjoyed it.
It is part of a detective series, but I didn’t realise that until after I finished it, so it’s obviously a stand alone book too.
I thoroughly enjoyed all the stories intermixed together, the death on the ship, the hunt for Faulkner and the personal relationships between Warwick and his wife, Hogan and his new love.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for letting me review this audio book.

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First time reading this author and was pleasantly surprised, the writing was very good. Plot well thought out and structured and although part of a series i think it read well as a stand alone. Based around met police unsolved murders squad, the characters are developed through the book so gives you a good idea of the personality traits and attributes of each person and helped understand their thinking. Although set in past the plot and detective techniques may not have changed much. Fast paced, the story took the reader across Europe and the Atlantic. There was an interview at the end with the author, which was a lovely end to the book. Narration was very good and easy to follow. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

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This was actually my first Jeffrey Archer book and I really did enjoy it. This is book 4 of a detective series and I didn't realise this prior to requesting it, so was a little lost at first but its enough of a stand alone story that I felt I knew enough to continue with it.

To be honest it's not the best page turner book I've read this year but I did still enjoy the fast paced twist and turns of it. I enjoyed going along with the detectives on the 'thrill of the chase' and globe trotting across the world in their efforts to catch him.

There was also an interview with a journalist and Jeffrey Archer himself at the end of the book which was very insightful and I really enjoyed that.

Thanks to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this book.

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My first Jeffrey Archer book not the best thriller or page turner I was expecting but I did enjoy the audio book

This is part of a detective series but the book is also a stand alone story so you don't need to read the others which is good
A new team is put together to investigate cold case the main character is Detective Chief Inspector William Warwick, rising star of the Met, and ex-undercover operative Ross Hogan, a maverick brought in from the cold.
Despite attending the funeral of millionaire art collector Miles Faulkner , DCI Warwick finds evidence that his nemesis may still be alive and the hunt is on
Faulkner is a slippery character and the detectives have to use all their skills to track him down
After the build up I found the ending a little flat but don't let that put you off.
There was also an interview with a journalist and Jeffrey Archer himself at the end of the book and I also enjoyed that.
Thanks to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this book

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Over My Dead Body is the fourth book in Jeffrey Archer’s latest serious about William Warwick. I like Archer’s earlier books and a fan of his short stories collections, however I am getting increasingly disappointed with his latest work. As with The Clifton Chronicles, this new series started off promising and got progressively worse with each new instalment. I sometimes think that maybe Archer starts the first book and someone else continues the series. Over My Dead was another disappointment- disjointed and predictable plot, contrived writing, cliche characters… I listened to the audio version and narration was very good, which earned an additional star for me.
I don’t think I will be reading book 5, sorry Mr Archer.

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Narrator 5 stars

Story 3 stars

I didnt realise this was the fourth book in a series, so Ive brought the other 3 from Kindle as I quite enjoyed this one

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EXCERPT: 'Are you a detective, sir?'

William looked up at the young man who'd asked the question. 'No, I'm the assistant manager of the Midland Bank in Shoreham, Kent.'

'In that case,' continued the young man, not looking convinced, 'you'll be able to tell me what the exchange rate was between the dollar and the pound when the currency market opened this morning.'

William tried to remember how much he'd received when he changed a hundred pounds into dollars just before he'd joined the ship the previous evening. But he hesitated for too long.

'One dollar and fifty-four cents to the pound,' said the young man before he could reply. 'So, forgive me for asking, sir, why aren't you willing to admit you're a detective?'

William put the book he was reading on the table in front of him and took a closer look at the earnest young American who seemed desperate not to be thought of as a child, although he hadn't started shaving. The word 'preppy' immediately came to mind.

'Can you keep a secret?' he whispered.

'Yes, of course,' the young man said, sounding offended.

'Then have a seat,' said William, pointing to the comfortable chair opposite him. He waited for the young man to settle. 'I'm on holiday, and I promised my wife that for the next ten days I wouldn't tell anyone I was a detective, because it's always followed by a stream of questions that turn it into a busman's holiday.'

But why choose a banker as your cover?' asked the young man. 'Because I have the feeling you wouldn't know the difference between a spreadsheet and a balance sheet.'

'My wife and I gave that question some considerable thought before we settled on a banker. I grew up in Shoreham, a small town in England, in the sixties, and the local bank manager was a friend of my father's. So I thought I'd get away with it for a couple of weeks.'

'What else was on the short list?'

'Estate agent, car salesman, and funeral director. All of which we were fairly confident wouldn't be followed by never ending questions.'

The young man laughed.

'Which job would you have chosen?' asked William, trying to regain the initiative.

'Hitman. That way nobody would have bothered me with any follow up questions.'

'I would have known that was a cover immediately,' said William with a dismissive wave of his hand. 'Because no hitman would have asked me if I was a detective. He would have already known. So, what do you really do when you're not a hitman?'

ABOUT 'OVER MY DEAD BODY': In London, the Metropolitan Police set up a new Unsolved Murders Unit—a cold case squad—to catch the criminals nobody else can.

In Geneva, millionaire art collector Miles Faulkner—convicted of forgery and theft—was pronounced dead two months ago. So why is his unscrupulous lawyer still representing a dead client?

On a luxury liner en route to New York, the battle for power at the heart of a wealthy dynasty is about to turn to murder.

And at the heart of all three investigations are Detective Chief Inspector William Warwick, rising star of the department, and ex-undercover agent Ross Hogan, brought in from the cold.

But can they catch the killers before it’s too late?

Due for publication 12 October 2021

MY THOUGHTS: I first read Jeffrey Archer in 1979,or shortly thereafter, having bought my father Kane and Abel as a gift, which I promptly borrowed back to read. My father is long passed away, but I still have that copy. Thus began my love affair with this extraordinarily talented storyteller.

Now in his eighties, he certainly hasn't lost his touch, and has created a wonderful character in William Warwick who has risen to the rank of Detective Chief Inspector (youngest in the history of the Met), and also in Ross Hogan, an ex-undercover agent and loose cannon.

The cruise that William and his delightful and clever wife Beth are taking, doesn't turn out to be the relaxing holiday they were planning on. A suspicious death on board puts paid to that, and William leaves his wife in New York after they dock and flies back to England where he becomes embroiled in a plan to catch the escaped, and previously thought dead, criminal Miles Faulkner.

Over My Dead Body is fast paced and kept me spellbound from beginning to end. It's not often that I will listen to an audiobook in two days, but I had my earbuds in every chance I had. It's brilliantly written, with plots and subplots, twists, turns and drama. I frequently had my heart in my mouth, and at one point I called out a very loud and anguished, 'Nooo!' If you read Over My Dead Body, and I hope that you do, you will know exactly at which point I did this.

Archer has left me on the edge of my seat, waiting for #5 in this planned series of 8 books.

Narrator George Blagden gave an excellent performance, but then I would expect nothing less from such a distinguished actor.

At the end of the audiobook is an excellent interview with Jeffrey Archer. Please don't skip this, it's priceless.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#OverMyDeadBody #NetGalley

I:

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#fivestarread #detectivefiction #thriller

THE AUTHOR: Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English author and former politician.

He was a Member of Parliament and deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, and became a life peer in 1992. His political career, having suffered several controversies, ended after a conviction for perverting the course of justice and his subsequent imprisonment. He is married to Mary Archer, a scientist specialising in solar power. Outside politics, he is a novelist, playwright and short story writer.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK Audio via Netgalley for providing an audio ARC of Over My Dead Body for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

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That was seriously fast paced and enjoyable - terrific story.

How on each JA packs in so much detail is hard to comprehend, classily written book and really well narrated too.

I've got to add that at the end of this audiobook, in the interview with JA, the way that he spoke about his wife left me frozen with a hot steam iron in the air! Every woman should hope that this is how they're spoken about by their man - God, it was pure adoration and love...just beautiful.

Thanks so much HarperCollins UK Audio, via NetGalley and Jeffrey Archer for gifting me an audiobook copy for review.

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