Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less

Jeffrey Archer

Sept 2008 · Pan Macmillan

About this eBook

Jeffrey Archer's first novel, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, is page-turning tale of fraud, revenge and determination as four men stop at nothing to get back what was stolen from them.

One million dollars – that's what Harvey Metcalfe, lifelong king of shady deals, has pulled off with empty promises of an oil bonanza and instant riches. Overnight, four men – the heir to an earldom, a Harley Street doctor, a Bond Street art dealer and an Oxford don – find themselves penniless. But this time Harvey has swindled the wrong men. They band together and shadow him from the casinos of Monte Carlo to the high-stakes windows at Ascot and the hallowed lawns of Oxford.

Their plan is simple: to sting the crook for exactly what they lost – not a penny more, not a penny less.

Ratings and reviews

There is a type of Brit who thrives on the concept of Personal Justice - an eye for an eye - etc... This is the philosophy of the urban vigilante. The government is doing nothing; ditto the police, so we'll have to do it ourselves. I would call these people Archetypes, after Jeffrey Archer, who writes Boys Own yarns, getting in the odd dig about the incompetence of HM Government - of which he was once a prominent & outspoken Member. His characters are black and white. The Villains - corrupt parasites, often from unsuitable countries, feeding off the Good Chaps - OE; Oxbridge; clean-cut, white Brits - SAS types - and Ivy League Americans, lending a hand. This type of book was popular in the 1920 & 30's. Writers such as Leslie Charteris, part Chinese; part Brit wrote "X Esquire" and "The Bandit" about killers who did what was necessary. Edgar Wallace wrote a book called "The Three Just Men" & followed it with "The Four Just Men". He wrote at great speed, as he had gambling debts to settle. The books were harmless hokum and "Not a Penny More or Less" is a direct lift from the Wallace oeuvre. Archer's dialogue is stilted - it reads like prose. Archer maintains the pace at the expense of credibility, incorporating massive compliance of his characters with coincidence. The characters themselves are cardboard cut-out stereotypes, people that Archer would like to be? Dr. Robin Oakley, of Harley Street, the "dangerously handsome" GP; James Brigsby, ineffectual heir to the Earl of Louth, a thoroughly decent fellow, the voice of common sense - "Come on, chaps, let's give it a go!" He drives, wouldn't you know, an Alfa-Romeo. I could have written this critique after thirty pages & I'm afraid it gets worse. One wonders if he ever edits his M/S? There are so many unnecessary repetitions; implausibilities and jingoisms. And, for someone who aspires to the nobility - "Dentures" (P39). and at P 86..."He returned to his "home" in the Kings Road ..." There is absolutely no tension in the development of the story (he learned nothing from Wallace) and the plot is given away on the back page. Archer has admitted that he "wrote" Not a Penny to make money. In this, he was being faithful to poor old Edgar, who was permanently skint from horses that kept losing. Much of his "writing" is based on personal and imagined experiences. During a presentation at Oxford (he was not an undergrduate, but inferred that he was), the exchange, below, took place. "At the interval I went to the toilet, and there beside me was Ringo Starr. He asked if I knew this Jeffrey Archer bloke. I said everyone in Oxford was trying to work out who he was. Ringo said: 'He strikes me as a nice enough fella, but he's the kind of bloke who would bottle your piss and sell it.'[8] (Wikipedia) But best of all was the judges references during Archers trial for giving cash to a prostitute, Monica Coglan: "Remember Mary Archer in the witness-box. Your vision of her probably will never disappear. Has she elegance? Has she fragrance? Would she have, without the strain of this trial, radiance? How would she appeal? Has she had a happy married life? Has she been able to enjoy, rather than endure, her husband Jeffrey?" The judge then went on to say of Jeffrey Archer, "Is he in need of cold, unloving, rubber-insulated sex in a seedy hotel round about quarter to one on a Tuesday morning after an evening at the Caprice?"[14] (Wikipedia)

This one is a inspirational, a thriller, and everything packed in one. Jeffery Archer is a genius!

Story is full of surprises and you will love the ending. You will keep asking for more. The best part of the novel is its quirky humor which is missing in later works of Jeffery Archer......

About the author

Jeffrey Archer, whose novels and short stories include the Clifton Chronicles, Kane and Abel and Cat O’ Nine Tales, is one of the world’s favourite storytellers and has topped the bestseller lists around the world in a career spanning four decades. His work has been sold in 97 countries and in more than 37 languages. He is the only author ever to have been a number one bestseller in fiction, short stories and non-fiction (The Prison Diaries).

Jeffrey is also an art collector and amateur auctioneer, and has raised more than £50m for different charities over the years. A member of the House of Lords for over a quarter of a century, the author is married to Dame Mary Archer, and they have two sons, two granddaughters and two grandsons.