False Impression
Jeffrey Archer
(Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan)
2006 St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 0312353723

The FBI & Interpol hunt for the murderer of an Englishwoman & a stolen Van Gogh.

However, it is an art curator presumed missing & dead after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, who has insider information & the right stuff to take on both sides of the law & avenge the death of an old harmless lady.

Pursued around the globe by both agents & a ruthless assassin, it's only in New York that the mystery unravels.

Sr. Associate Reviewer Narayan Radhakrishnan writes:

With Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code opening the floodgates to this genre, what I call ‘artystery’, there have been a slew of thrillers set in the art world including Michelangelo's Notebook by Paul Christopher, The Secret Supper by Javier Sierra & The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr.

Now this British author turned politician turned convict turned author again centers his latest caper in the world of art, & I suspect the root of this plot stems from an acquisition he made while in prison -- of a Botein original. Want to know more about that? Read Heaven.

False Impression is important in another sense -- it's the first work Jeffrey Archer has published since his release from goal -- for that drama, read Prison Diary.

As a veteran Jeffrey Archer fan, & an owner in possession of all his books,…& I mean ALL his books, including 5 very, very rare ones (read as the manuscript of the unpublished play Exclusive, his 3 books for children & his one & only non-fiction work -- A Better Deal For London), I strongly recommend False Impression because it has everything an ardent Archer fan wants,…& then some!

Lately, Archer's novels had been following a steady formula which started with Kane & Abel, & continued with The Fourth Estate & Sons of Fortune. So, I was wondering if False Impression would be different... & it is! Sooooooo…different & thrilling!

This time round Archer centers his attention on not the sophisticated auctions & refined collectors, but on the underbelly where cutthroat competition thrives, including murder.

Set post-9/11, First Impression features Anna Petrescu, art lover & Van Gogh expert, working in the acquisitions department of Bryce Fenton Finances. Though she had accepted the job at a time of personal crisis, she soon learnt that Fenton Finances had a hidden agenda, that would make money-hawkers look like saints. On the morning of that fateful day Anna is unceremoniously fired over an alleged failure in securing a Van Gogh deal. Moments later American Airlines Flight 11 slams into the North Tower & in the aftermath everyone thinks she has perished.

Anna, however, is very much alive, fired by thoughts of revenge, & of restoring the Van Gogh to its rightful owners.

Archer's passion for art is well known, & his respect for curators & experts is clearly revealed which, mark my words, will make False Impression a classic in this genre!

Do catch my Interview with this renown British author.

More by Jeffrey Archer:
Nonfiction:
Prison Diary Vol.I
Purgatory Vol. II
Heaven Vol.III
Fiction:
The Eleventh Commandment
Shall We Tell the President?
The Prodigal Daughter
First Among Equals
As the Crow Flies & many more!
(03/12/06)

Narayan
2006©Narayan Radhakrishnan
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I am a 26 years old lawyer practicing in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Along with my legal practice, I have finished post-graduate studies for both Business Law & Human Rights. I am a self proclaimed numero-uno legal thriller lover & am the proud owner of all of Grisham's & Turow's novels. I enjoy John Mortimer's Rumpole & relish an occasional Martini & a rare Scot(ch)t-oline with a Patterson on the side.

My work A FICTION OF LAW is now about 500 pages in length & features 500 lawyer authors & 2000 legal thrillers covering a 300 year period - inclusive of entries from the USA, UK, Asia, Europe, China, Middle East etc. Still in search of a publisher.
www.keralatourism.org