Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

This fascinating tale is set in Bristol of the 1920’s and 1930’s.  It is a wonderful story

of Harry Clifton, brought up and raised in the city but by a mere chance of his singing

ability is given opportunities which he would not otherwise have and receives an

excellent grammar school education.  This can only be marvelled at when he is living in

a working class environment of the times and often accompanies his uncle to the dockyards,

where he meets Old Jack, who later becomes a defining influence on his young life.

This book is the first book of a series of The Clifton Chronicles and I eagerly await the next book

“The Sins of the Father” in the series to read.

Harry Clifton is the main character of the story and he realises that there is a mystery surrounding

the death of his father which is a theme in the story.  His early life, school companions, friendships,

his mother’s life and world of his grand-parents and education are all covered in this book and the story also involves a beautiful romance with Emma, a sister of one of his school companions.  The story certainly does keep the reader spellbound and the ending is very much a cliff-hanger where the second book in the series is bound to keep the reader engaged with this absolutely fascinating story.  It is a touching, sad and poignant tale and also appears very authentic of the times with the descriptions of people and places and the dialogue of the characters.

The story is so real it is almost as though the reader is there with the characters and following them

every step of the way.