Nothing Ventured (William Warwick Series #1)

by Jeffrey Archer

Overview

Nothing Ventured heralds the start of a brand new series in the style of Jeffrey Archer’s #1 New York Times bestselling Clifton Chronicles: introducing Detective William Warwick. But this is not a detective story, this is a story about the making of a detective . . .

“Archer has a real gift for family sagas, and here, with Warwick, he’s launching what promises to be a series just as riveting as the Clifton Chronicles.” —Booklist

THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA
William Warwick has always wanted to be a detective and decides that, rather than become a lawyer like his influential father, he will join London’s Metropolitan Police Force. And so, after university, William embarks on a career that will define his life: from his early months on the beat to his first high-stakes case as a fledgling detective in Scotland Yard’s arts and antiquities squad.

THE END OF AN OLD REGIME
Investigating the theft of a priceless Rembrandt painting, William meets Beth Rainsford, a research assistant at the gallery with whom he falls hopelessly in love. But Beth has a secret—one that threatens to tear her and William apart. Meanwhile, as he follows the trail of the missing masterpiece, William comes up against an art collector and his influential lawyer, a man who knows everyone and sfears no one—and will use whatever means necessary to keep William off his client’s trail. . .

“Archer is a master entertainer.”
—Time

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250621894
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/30/2020
Series:	William Warwick Series , #1
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	440,461
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 7.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

JEFFREY ARCHER was educated at Oxford University. He served five years as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons and has served twenty-six years as a Member of the House of Lords. Now published in 97 countries and more than 37 languages, all of his novels and short story collections—including Kane & Abel, Only Time Will Tell and Heads You Win—have been international bestsellers. Jeffrey is married with two sons and three grandchildren, and lives in London, Cambridge and Majorca.

Hometown:

London and the Old Vicarage, Grantchester

Date of Birth:

April 15, 1940

Education:

Attended Brasenose College, Oxford, 1963-66. Received a diploma in sports education from Oxford Institute

Editorial Reviews

Advance Praise for Nothing Ventured

"An expert juggling act that ends with not one but two intercut trials. More, please." —Kirkus Reviews

"A fully realized character, the intelligent Warrick is ambitious but naive with a lot to learn. He’s surrounded by a distinctive cast of family, colleagues, and villains, while a well-placed romantic situation fills out a near-perfect hand. The final section dealing with dueling courtroom dramas brings genuine suspense to a relatively bloodless, but thoroughly gripping, tale. Archer reinforces his position as a master storyteller.” —Publishers Weekly

"Archer has a real gift for family sagas, and here, with Warwick, he’s launching what promises to be a series just as riveting as the Clifton Chronicles . . . Readers who know Warwick from the Chronicles will be interested to learn more about him (such as exactly how he acquired the nemesis who haunts his every move later in his career), but previous knowledge of the character is certainly not necessary to enjoy this first in what we hope will be a long series.” —Booklist

"A story that builds in intensity . . . Archer’s numerous fans will appreciate another dramatic, character-driven mystery set in the world of art, police work, and court trials.” —Library Journal (starred review)

From the Publisher

07/08/2019

An opening note to bestseller Archer’s enjoyable series launch informs the reader: “This is not a detective story, this is a story about a detective,” the detective being William Warwick from the author’s Clifton Chronicles (This Was a Man, etc.). In 1979, William, who has always wanted to be a police detective, tells his father he’s not going to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a barrister. Joining the London police force straight out of school, he quickly proves himself to his superiors and in short order moves from patrol officer to fledgling detective for Scotland Yard’s Arts and Antiquities unit, where he investigates forgeries, counterfeit antiquities, a missing Rembrandt, and a master art thief. A fully realized character, the intelligent Warrick is ambitious but naive with a lot to learn. He’s surrounded by a distinctive cast of family, colleagues, and villains, while a well-placed romantic situation fills out a near-perfect hand. The final section dealing with dueling courtroom dramas brings genuine suspense to a relatively bloodless, but thoroughly gripping, tale. Archer reinforces his position as a master storyteller. 300,000 announced first printing. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

2019-06-17
His Clifton Chronicles (This Was a Man, 2017, etc.) complete, the indefatigable Archer launches a new series that follows a well-born police officer from his first assignment to (spoiler alert) his appointment as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police some volumes down the road.

William Warwick may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he's done everything he can to declare his independence from his father, Sir Julian Warwick QC. When William, fresh out of King's College with a degree in art history, announces his intention to enroll in Hendon Police College, his father realizes that he'll have to count on William's older sister, Grace, to carry on the family's tradition in Her Majesty's courts. Instead, guileless William patrols the streets of Lambeth until a chance remark lands him on DCI Bruce Lamont's Art and Antiques unit under the watchful eye of Cmdr. Jack Hawksby. No fewer than four cases await his attention: the forger who signs first editions with the names of their famous authors; a series of even more accomplished forgeries of old masters paintings; a well-organized series of thefts of artworks by a gang whose leader prefers selling them back to the companies who've insured them and often don't even report the thefts to the police; and a mysterious series of purchases of century-old silver by one Kevin Carter. His investigations take William across the path, and then into the bed, of Beth Rainsford, a research assistant at the Fitzmolean gallery, still reeling seven years after a priceless Rembrandt was stolen from its collection, most likely by landowner and self-styled farmer Miles Faulkner. As if to prevent William from getting even a moment's sleep in between rounds of detection and decorous coupling, Beth unwillingly drags William into a fifth case, a 2-year-old murder whose verdict she has every reason to doubt. One of these cases will bring William up against Grace, whose withering cross-examination of him on the witness stand is a special highlight.

An expert juggling act that ends with not one but two intercut trials. More, please.

Kirkus Reviews