In the true spirit of reviewing books here in the Rec room,we decided to bare-all with the new release of the third book of the muchawaited Clifton Chronicles. However each book deserves its own space so thisweek we will review the very first book of the Clifton Chronicles called ‘OnlyTime Will Tell’.
Only Time Will Tell introduces the reader to the protagonistHarry Clifton and his ilk at the start of the 20th century. Harry Clifton isthe orphaned son of a Bristol stevedore who was doomed to be an obscuredockworker for the rest of his life. It would have been so, had it not been forthe saving grace of his hardworking mother, old Jack Tar (the recluse vagabond,who was a war veteran), Mr Holcombe (teacher/ mentor) and his own talent ofbeing able to sing like an angel. He soon realises that there is more to hisfather’s death and there begins the unravelling of the plot. Harry enrolls in aposh private school, where he learns that the proverbial gap that societyinfringes upon him is indeed hard to bridge. Despite being mercilessly bulliedin the first few weeks, he inadvertently makes friends with two boys, one ofwhich may be his half-brother (although neither of them have a clue).
And here lies the suspense factor in the book. Will Harrymake it through school in one piece? Will his mother manage to keep him inschool? Will her new tea shop business survive? Does Harry find out the actualidentity of his father? And eventually, the clincher- (the Jeffery Archersignature question-) will justice prevail? The book concludes in a fashion thatmakes the reader drop everything to buy the second part and find out the fateof Harry Clifton, so if that was Jeffery Archers motive in writing this fivepart series, he has definitely achieved it. Whether all five parts will be asexciting as the first page turner remains to be seen. Only time will tell….
