An Eye for An Eye, Jeffrey Archer, author; George Blagden, narrator
I was unaware of the fact that this novel was book 7 of 8 in a series, the final of which is to be published later on in September of this year 2025, and was therefore a little confused with the introduction of so many characters that readers of the first six novels would have known. Soon, however, it all falls into place as the novel revolves around a very lucrative Saudi arms deal with three countries in the bidding, France, Italy and England. It follows with murder, false imprisonment, art fraud, and the fraudulent sale of the Fair Copy of the Declaration of Independence in Thomas Jefferson’s own hand. Spanning continents, from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to London, England, to New York City in the United States, it takes the reader on quite a ride through the twists and turns of the political and legal/criminal world that seems to exist everywhere.
Simon Hartley, the CEO of Kestral Bank, is summoned by his country to go to Riyadh to meet with the Defense Minister to try and seal the arms deal worth billions of pounds for England. Behind the scenes, however. a man named Hani Khalil who is driven by greed alone and has no moral compass, is being paid to make sure that France gets the deal, but since money alone drives him, he will work for the highest bidder.
When the Italian representative, Paoli Conti is murdered for getting too close to the paramour of the Black Prince, Ahmed bin Majid, the very powerful second son of the Saudi Defense Minister, Khalil turns against Simon Hartley and names him as the killer. He says he witnessed it. He pays off all other witnesses to swear to that story, except for the reluctant lover of the Prince. Avril refuses to be paid off. When Simon is arrested for the murder and thrown into a Saudi prison, his life is in grave danger, as is the life of Avril (Jenny Prescott), actually from a seaside town in England called Cleethorpes. She is the only witness who is willing to tell the truth about the murder and name the prince as the culprit, but she must appear in person to testify on Simon’s behalf because everyone else will accuse him, sealing his fate to protect the dangerous prince. This chain of event may give the arms deal to France, pleasing and enriching Khalil.
Ross Hogan is dispatched to Saudi Arabia to smuggle Avril out of Riyadh in order to rescue her from those who will surely arrange her murder. Her passport has been taken and she has been forbidden to leave. He pretends to purchase her services for the night and then attempts to fly her out of Saudi Arabia and back to England.
Meanwhile, at the same time, Miles Faulkner, in an English prison, is plotting revenge against the Warwicks. Miles was once married to Christina, now Mrs. Wilbur Hackensack (W. T. Hackensack III ), who hopes to become the new Chairman of the Fitzmolean Museum. Beth Warwick is the Director there. Her husband, Scotland Yard’s Chief Inspector William Warwick was responsible for the capture and imprisonment of Miles Faulkner. Miles has devised a diabolical scheme to take revenge on Beth and William, both of whom are up for huge promotions, she to Director of the Tate and he to Commander of Scotland Yard.
Miles has not been idle while in prison. He has bribed prison guards and officials, as well as fellow prisoners to do his bidding. He has made a fortune investing on the outside through his lawyer and his contacts. His lawyer is Booth-Watson, an unscrupulous man who will do pretty much anything for money. When he goes to the funeral of Simon Hartley’s father, he pretends to have known him and offers his legal services to Lady Hartley. She appears to be at wit’s end after the death of her husband, without her son Simon to advise her. Booth Watson manipulates her and arranges for her to sell a Constable painting and the Fair Copy of the Declaration for far less than it is worth. Miles Faulkner is the buyer presented to her as an art investor. They are both pretending to be ever so helpful. Lady Hartley also appears ever so grateful for their help, since she is in dire need of funds while Simon remains in prison.
Meanwhile, Miles Faulkner has also devised a diabolical plan to steal a Rembrandt painting that Beth Warwick had hoped to acquire for the museum. He anonymously helps to fund the purchase so the Fitzmolean can purchase it, and then, on opening night, he arranges for it to be stolen and switched with a fake in order to shame Beth Warwick’s shining moment, as it is unveiled. He also arranges to illegally sell the Declaration for many millions more than he paid for it.
Before long, laws are broken by the lawmen and the lawbreakers, because the demands of the law actually interfere with the swift capture of those who are guilty. They seem to be afforded more rights than they give others and know very well how to use and abuse the legal system.
With the arms deal salvaged, Ross Hogan develops a plan to catch Faulkner. He also wants him to pay for his part in the murder of Avril for which Ross blames himself. He discovered that Warwick’s daughter had a relationship with Simon Hartley’s son Robert. They had both been arrested while protesting the visit of the Saudi Prince. He learned that Robert had memorized the words in the missing document that would prove the Declaration belonged to America and could not be sold. It would stop Faulkner in his tracks. He asks Artemis Warwick to help him trap Faulkner by introducing him to Robert Hartley. Everything went according to plan, until the night of his wedding to Alice, Jojo’s former teacher, when Faulkner, out on bail, showed up with an officer and had Ross Hogan arrested before he could leave on his honeymoon.
Oh, what a cliffhanger! Now, we are all going to have to patiently await the final novel to find out what happens. And I have so many other questions. Who arrested Hogan and why does he dislike Warwick? What will happen to Miles? What makes him so powerful? Who will ultimately pay for the many crimes that were committed by so many of the characters? Is there ever an excuse for criminal behavior? White lies, crimes for good reasons, vs malicious lies and evil crimes come face to face and I am left with the question of what is right and what is wrong.