Hidden in Plain Sight (William Warwick Novels, 2)

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Meanwhile, William and his fiancée Beth enjoy making preparations for their upcoming wedding, though an unpleasant surprise awaits them at the altar. I liked this second instalment of the William Warwick series more than the first and I have a feeling that each book is going to get better and better. If I remember correctly, the Boat Race takes place between Putney and Mortlake, so he’d be back on the beat.

The case proceeds and the jury is empanelled, leaving the courts to decide the fate of Faulkner once and for all. You would be reading one section and all of a sudden, with no warning, you were in another scene of action.

Not only that, Faulkner continues his brazen flaunting of his ill-gotten wealth and, in so doing, provides the Major Drug Squad a possible link to the Viper, with the help of an informant nurtured by William, that could finally be his undoing. This new series, which is actually the collection of writing referenced repeatedly throughout the Clifton Chronicles, may be set in the 1980s, but can easily hold the attention of the dedicated thriller fan. This is a very uncommon issue with his books- usually, I'm hooked in the first chapter and can't put it down, all the way back to Kane and Abel, one of my first favorite modern fiction novels years ago. Beth, his wife is expecting their first child and they bring in most of the characters from the last book including family and colleagues and old adversaries plus some new additions. Remember when you read this that it is set in 1986, so the drug scene could seem quaint compared to the "advanced chemistry set" of drugs available today.

I enjoyed this mystery as it had a lot of police procedural in it and the characters were interesting and engaging. The case he’s been handed is a big one and involves huge quantities of heroin that have been passed through London in increasing numbers as a result. Faulkner cries foul and does anything he can to keep the changes from sticking, though the prosecutorial team is none other than Sir Julian and Grace Warwick, the father and sister duo of our beloved William.William Warwick has been promoted to Detective Sergeant but his promotion has meant reassignment, along with the rest of his team, to the Drugs Squad in Southwark, where they are immediately tasked with apprehending a drug dealer known as ‘Viper’ who is operating a drugs factory out of South London. In the course of this novel, William gets married to his long standing girlfriend Beth and they become proud parents to twins – a girl and a boy.

This time, William Warwick has been promoted to Detective Sergeant, and his first assignment was to catch some drug lord Viper. Meanwhile, William is also on his track to nab Miles on a drugs charge, based on inputs of Adrian Heath, a small time drugs peddler and William’s old schoolmate. It has always been evident in the author's earlier works, and this book is no different, that the author draws on his personal experiences for some of these storylines. Archer does well developing some of his secondary characters as well, who surely help enrich the story in many ways. Filled with Jeffrey Archer’s trademark twists and turns, Hidden in Plain Sight is the gripping next instalment in the life of William Warwick.Archer uses his wonderful style to take the reader on this twisted journey, as they lose themselves in the strong narrative. However, despite the fact that this book was able to grab my interest much more quickly than the previous book in the series, I couldn't help but feel that it didn't quite live up to the reputation of Jeffrey Archer's other works. In addition to the excitement of unravelling the mystery and mastery of the drug lord, Hidden in Plain Sight by Jeffrey Archer features a number of touching moments that are shared between William and Beth, William and his father, and Grace and her father. His job is hard enough but in the background is his old nemesis from book one Miles Faulkner a slippery and wealthy character who appears well to do but beneath his outward appearance he is as crafty and as devious as they come. He also has to deal with his previous enemy, Miles Faulkner and also meets his childhood friend Adrian Heath.

There are unexpected twists and turns at every corner and the witty prose is a perfect example of the well known British sense of humour – dry, laconic but quite funny! In addition, he is entangled with a criminal financier, Miles Faulkner, and his soon to be ex-wife, Christina. With Jeffrey Archer’s trademark twists and turns Hidden in Plain Sight is the extraordinary sequel to Nothing Ventured , the first novel featuring William Warwick. They have two sons, William and James, three grandsons and two granddaughters, and divide their time between homes in London, Cambridge and Mallorca.I mentioned in my review of Nothing Ventured that I wanted to know more about some of the characters and Hidden in Plain Sight delivered. And so, on the big day, the only thing that can - and does - disrupt their happy day comes in the form of William’s nemesis, Malcolm Faulkner.