A Prisoner Of Birth

Ah! Another book review. This one is by Jeffrey Archer as well. This is his most recent work to be published. And as always its a treat for ardent Jeffrey Archer fans. ( I am one of them for sure).

This book follows the life of an English West End mechanic Daniel Arthur Cartwright, after he has been accused of murdering his childhood chum Bernie Wilson. Three witnesses of high standing turn up against in the court. They are Spencer Craig- a barrister, Lawrence Davenport-a soap star, and Toby Mortimer-an aristocrat. The only person who tells Danny's side of the story is his girlfriend Elizabeth Wilson. She is the sister of the murdered victim Bernie. Unfortunately, the jury rules against Danny and he ends up being locked up in jail for 22 years.

In jail he meets up with Nicolas Moncrieff and Albert Crann with whom he shares his cell. While serving his sentence Danny learns to read and write thanks to his cell mate Nick. Coincidentally, both Nick and Danny are lookalikes. Nick is due to be released on parole in a few months. When a prisoner mistakes Nick for Danny and murders him, Danny escapes from the prison as Nick and sets out to avenge the death of his pal Bernie.

He goes off to Scotland, from where Nick hails, gets trapped in a legal battle with his uncle Hugo Moncrieff (Nick's uncle) over the family fortune, barely escapes from being sent to prison again for violating his parole conditions, and plots revenge on his enemies.

Eventually his enemies finds out about his true identity and then he is sent back to prison. How he proves his innocence and he finds justice forms the rest of the story. Like all Archer novels, this one is full of thrills, suspense and above all very well written. Makes a good read. To read the reviews of other Jeffrey Archer titles click on the author.