Only Time Will Tell - Jeffrey Archer

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"Once upon a time, there existed a book thief wandering around the stacked bookshelves of a public library wondering what to read next. The best shelf to look into was the "best-selling" shelf. What a colourful shelf that was indeed, with various genres and captivating titles that made your fingers itch...."

I think that's enough with the dramatic effect, back to business.

    I came across the fourth volume of the Clifton Chronicles at a local book store hoping that it would be as exciting as its brief summary on the back of it. Little did I know that was the fourth book. For some reason I ended up purchasing it was boy wasn't it a hock to find out that it was the "fourth" book, FOURTH BOOK! Woah, that was a shock I couldn't contain. Upon the second visit, I was determined to get myself a copy of the first volume and wasn't I just lucky enough to get it. I have to admit though, this book sat on my shelf for quite some time before I mastered the courage of read it, and when I did, I read the first few chapters before deciding to keep it as a "second-hand" book while I read something else. Little did I know, little did I know indeed. Once the primary book on my list was read, I grabbed "Only Time Will Tell" and continued. Though for the time it remained untouched on my shelf I had this urge to read it, there was something about the story line, the plot, the writing, basically everything about it that got that feeling in me of wanting to read it.

    This was the very first book I read by Jeffrey Archer and to my surprise his books were all over the libraries I've been to and I couldn't help but ask myself "How come I've never heard of you?" and things like "What is it with your writing that makes you pop out everywhere?". At this moment, I understand why. There are a lot of writers out there that make your heart ache for a few chapters then you simply get sick of that and just feel it got too drifted away. Others will make you feel anxious and excited to know what's to happen next, but as things get taken too seriously and dramatically you simply stop reading the book. Jeffrey Archer is a whole lot different. I have to admit though, despite my intensive reading habit that's getting a little out of control now that I'm interning, I have never came across a mind gripping novel as this one. Literally, just literally from page one to that very last page of the book, I was simply living in an endless loop of excitement, anxiety, sadness, anger, worry, and shock literally! How can someone make you feel gripped till that last page of the book, how? Goodness this was simply beyond the best adjective in the entire dictionary that would fit in to describe this novel. What made it the best of the best is how the story line was carried out from all the main-character's perspectives, and that was smoothly done. Some writers focus on the perspective of one of the characters or two and fail to keep that goodness for the other character's perspective.  I fit weren't for the different perspectives approach, I would've lived the story from Harry's point of view only and that would've bored me to death. But Archer did not, he took the story from Harry's point, Old Jack's point and even Hugo's point of view and did so so very perfectly I could cry from the magnificence it brought to life. You get to taste the ultimate feelings of friendship, sacrifice, loyalty and unexpectedly hatred and power-abuse it's not joke.

    I do have to mention the fact that I couldn't wait to finish reading this book and start "The Alchemist". I remember half-way through the book I felt like I've got the entire basic idea of the Clifton Chronicles and decided to mark this as the last book I read and not continue with the entire series, but when I came to read the very last chapter of the book I was in complete I shock I simply lost  control on my thoughts, and most importantly my mental state. It was the most unexpected and most unanticipated twist in the entire book! How can I not read the second volume? Now that would simply be intense torture to my soul.  I don't want to get started with how magnificent the book cover by itself make me delighted to carry around, I haven't got the chance to carry a red book with an abundance of goodness to read.

    Now I know why Archer is all over the place, and he sure deserves it for the master piece he's created. This book is not like any other book with a story line told from all the main character's perspective it does not even give you a moment to doubt any of the characters for yourself it's pure grandness. That's the main reason I've without a doubt given this book a 5/5 stars without a single hesitation because it was more than that <3 

The Seven Dials Mystery - Agatha Christie

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Where to begin, where to begin with this magnificent nerve-gripping goodie?

    There's something I'd like to point out before I actually start reviewing this book. In the first part of this series "The Secret Of Chimneys", Bundle was mentioned asa character and from the way the novel was taking place while mentioning her I imagined her as a typical English woman who's wondering around her father. But not that I read her adventures in this book. No, she's not your typical English girl living happily with her father, let me tell you this : She's more than that.

    The brief introduction at the back of the book gives you the impression that the storyline will revolve around finding out what happened to the eighth clock that was put in Wade's room because that's exactly the feeling you get when you read the back cover and start off with the first chapters. That's what I personally thought this book was all about from the beginning because events start to unfold like at the very beginning and I remember thinking to myself as I read "wow, this happened too fast" compared to other books I read by Agatha Christie. I guess that's part of what makes this book really on level with its grand reception.

    As the storyline starts to form and the mystery begins, you start to discover the true self of Bundle and that turns out to be your typical adventurous, daring English woman. I have to admit that I saw myself in Bundle in a few incidents and I couldn't help but laugh because regardless of being told to stay away from "big boy type of business" she proudly admits to loving the thrilling excitement she gets knowing she should not throw herself in this mess, but she does. And in the end, the ending was very shocking, very unexpected and very jaw-dropping. I loved how Bundle although being told to not meddle in such dangerous searches, she was able to draw trace of what was going on in some sense, like knowing that the Countess was actually part of the Seven Dials members. Then the shocking-out-of nowhere proposal from Lomax was simply shocking, I was shocked myself. Then when Bill confessed and she went all "Oh, Bill darling" that was very funny!! Bundle was just amazingly written and portrayed, I loved her character in every sense.

    Right at the ending, upon the revealing of what was going on and who the members of the Seven Dials were, I kind of lost track as to the thought of trying to know who what the culprit. But then there was this following chapter where Battle explains the entire novel in a single conversation and that leads to a single chapter summarising the entire novel. If it weren't for that chapter I would've finished the novel lost in track and thought as to thinking "Okay....but then who was it?"

Perfectly gripper this was.

The Secret Of Chimneys - Agatha Christie

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   After reading "Endless Nights" by the same author I started to doubt whether I want to read more mystery and thrillers because I was very much disappointed with that book. But it all comes down to not all books are good enough, like there's this amazing book the author writes and stuff that just make it stand out. Anyways, this book was worth all the time I spent on it. I've spent all my days and nights reading through it because you just couldn't help but want to know what's going on. 

The final twist in the book was not really expected but what made me enjoy reading this was the old-vintage-like english type of writing that got me attracted. It was like watching an old English movie from the old ages, simply splendid. Everything about the way the story was written was captivating, you just couldn't stop at any point, you just wanted to continue reading for the sake of the english and for the sake of wanting to know what's going to happen next.

   At some point though, I shall admit to losing track of some of the characters, but what made me really anxious is how Cade was involved in the entire drama and how he managed to work out the events. Things did eventually fall in order, and that was the beauty of the ending although for some reason I sense that this is not really the ending....or is it?

This turns out to be a series, so I don't take this book as being the end, but actually being the beginning of something quite thrilling?

And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie

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    When deciding on the next goodread, there is no particular way for me to search for it. It just happens to pop out of nowhere and that is quite abnormal.  Trying to find that next book to read is tiring because I do not find the brief description at the back of every book satisfying so basically I live up to taking a challenge every time I choose to read a book unless it's a Mitch Albom book. Anyways, this time it was one of the Agatha Christie novels. How did that happen, I have no idea. A few months back, there was this huge buzz about Agatha Christie's novels all over the bookstores I've been to and that was odd considering I have not heard of her and that her writings date back to like the 1880s and stuff. 

    As it turned out, I already has a list of books to read through, Agatha Christie was not listed. My mother did mentioned she used to enjoy reading her books when she was around my age, that was impressive considering the fact that I was not aware of the fact that my mother enjoyed mystery, so that was part of the reason why I had the though of reading a novel by Agatha Christies, only if I do not find the books I had in mind. So it was just somewhere down there in that list of mine. Mom never fails to impress me, she knows how much reading I do, however mystery was well..a mystery to me. I never thought I would go back to it after the Frieda Klein series, well the first two books were kind of mystery but then ...lets not get to that now. Anyways, the other reason that made me want to read this book was one of the professors back at my college. There was this one time where he suddenly started talking about this mystery story where a bunch of people start to disappear off an island and no one knows how that actually happens. That was creepy, and well I thought now that's something for a change! The funny part was that he couldn't remember the title of the book, but that wasn't difficult to find though.

    Anyways, this book started off differently. Most writers decide to start their books with that vague epilogue of simply stating " writers opening ". Agatha Christie started off this book with that strong statement that simply means "Writing this and finishing it was very difficult, you won't know but I sure will because it was me who wrote it and it was me who struggled to perfect it." Wow.

    This book walks through a poem where 10 people suddenly meet their faiths differently. It's creepy just writing about it. The only thought that goes through ones mind is "Why?" Well there's this one psychopath that finds joy in murder. Ten people are invited to an island for what they are told " a time away from it all", they all decide to take that and just accept it. They don't make it through the first night, because that's when people's lives start to be taken away. As you read through the book, you can't really blame one of the characters and point them out as the one who's behind all the tension and murders until there's like 5 people alive. You start to analyse the situations, desires and actions of the 5 remaining people and you really do feel their tension, and panic. When they decrease to 3 you start to think that there is no one other than those three on the island, and you get the idea that one of them is actually possessed. When it comes down to two, you change that and just skim through the pages to know who it is. When only one remains, that's when you start to panic yourself because you know it's not possible to be over. That's not what the poem says, all should die but then if one remains, then who's the one....nobody. Well that's not really true.

   They do all die, but then you end up finishing the story but not knowing who did it. Why because Agatha Christie is cool that way. Well the blessed part of having an Epilogue to dig into. That's when you shockingly find out who was behind it all and it just blows your mind away. 

  Right at the end of the very last page of this book, you get sleepless nights from the creepiness this book hold and the awesomeness of reading it.

   I have never thought that such a writer that existed ages ago could come up with such well written mysteries that literally make you stay up all night all paralyzed from the tension and panic that's spilling through the lines of it. I have underestimated this, though I'm having second thoughts as to move on and read another mystery or just stick to something else...but then I should decide when to finish it, and that should definitely be during daytime and never again at night, thank you mom for the late heads-up.