Be Careful What You Wish For by Jeffrey Archer

Book Summary: Be Careful What You Wish For

Be Careful What You Wish For, the fourth instalment in Jeffrey Archer’s The Clifton Chronicles, opens with Harry Clifton and his wife Emma rushing to hospital to learn the fate of their son Sebastian, who has been involved in a fatal car accident. But who died, Sebastian or his best friend Bruno? When Ross Buchanan is forced to resign as chairman of the Barrington Shipping Company, Emma Clifton wants to replace him. But Don Pedro Martinez intends to install his puppet, the egregious Major Alex Fisher, in order to destroy the Barrington family firm just as the company plans to build its new luxury liner, the MV Buckingham.

“In any conversation, it’s often something that seems quite insignificant at the time that gives you the piece of information you’re looking for.”

Back in London, Harry and Emma’s adopted daughter wins a scholarship to the Slade Academy of Art where she falls in love with a fellow student, Clive Bingham, who asks her to marry him. Both families are delighted until Priscilla Bingham, Jessica’s future mother-in-law, has a visit from an old friend, Lady Virginia Fenwick, who drops her particular brand of poison into the wedding chalice. Then, without warning, Cedric Hardcastle, a bluff Yorkshireman who no one has come across before, takes his place on the board of Barringtons. This causes an upheaval that none of them could have anticipated, and will change the lives of every member of the Clifton and Barrington families.

Hardcastle’s first decision is who to support to become the next chairman of the board: Emma Clifton or Major Alex Fisher? And with that decision, the story takes yet another twist that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Book Review: Be Careful What You Wish For

I just cannot get enough of Jeffrey Archer’s Clifton Chronicles. “Be Careful What You Wish For” is the fourth in this series. It spans the years 1957 through 1964. The Clifton’s and Barrington’s continue to face much adversity and evil. Don Pedro Martinez (sworn enemy of the Clifton’s and Barrington’s) continues his campaign to destroy lives.

This novel, like all other Clifton Chronicles, jumps right in and keeps us on the end of our chair, flipping pages frantically so we might find out what happens next.

“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.

Specifically, Martinez is targeting the Barrington Shipping company. But Martinez is not the only enemy the Barrington’s and Clifton’s are trying to thwart. Lady Virginia Fenwick is also around to ‘spoil the day’. And, of course, there is also Captain Alex Fisher, though his evil intentions are short-lived, as he is offered a permanent seat on the Board of Barrington Shipping. Will he do Martinez dirty work, or will he shed his evil strips for the better good.

All of this and more will confront you in the fourth novel in the Clifton Chronicles. Overall, this is an interesting read, succeeds in keeping you on your toes most of the time, always keeps you guessing, decently paced, and worth reading, for being part of one of the most thrilling series of current time.