ARCHER HITS THE BULLSEYE ONCE AGAIN

NOTHING VENTURED ★★★★ by Jeffrey Archer Macmillan, £20

THE name William Warwick may sound familiar to eagle-eyed JeffreyArcher fans.We first encountered him as the detective in novels written by Harry Clifton in the seven-book Clifton Chronicles. Nothing Ventured was inspired by readers’ requests to learn more about this fictional policeman. So he takes centre stage in the first novel in a new series.

As the novel opens,William is 18. He shocks his father Sir Julian, an eminent QC, by announcing that instead of taking up his place to read law at Oxford, he intends to study art history then join the police.

It’s not long before rookie policeman William is promoted to Detective Constable at Scotland Yard where his knowledge of the art world secures him a place on the Art And Antiques crime team.

His colleagues are celebrating tracing a stolen Rembrandt – until William points out it is a fake.

The police have long suspected suave millionaire businessman Miles Faulkner was behind the theft but thanks to his unsavoury lawyer Booth Watson QC, they have never been able to press charges. It falls to DC Warwick to investigate Faulkner’s dirty dealings by inveigling his way into the confidence of Faulkner’s wife Christine. However Christine has a treacherous agenda of her own.

In the course of his investigations, William falls head over heels for the fragrant Beth Rainsford, a researcher at The Fitzmolean. But what are the secrets she hides?

The two central mysteries converge when Miles Faulkner finally finds himself in the dock for the case of The Crown vs Faulkner while next door Beth is battling a miscarriage of justice with William’s father fighting her corner.

Only one thing is certain: both William and Beth will be irrevocably changed by the verdicts of both trials.

A juicy, engrossing read with a fabulous ending.