Only Time Will Tell (2011) is 1st of the 7 books in the Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer.

Excellent.

The narrative spans the years 1920 to 1940, tracing the early life of protagonist Harry Clifton in Bristol, England. 

• The Mystery of Parentage: Raised by a single mother, Harry grows up believing his father died a war hero. He eventually discovers dark family secrets that tie him to the wealthy Barrington shipping dynasty, forcing him to question his true identity.
• A Changing Destiny: Though expected to follow his uncle into the grueling dockyards, Harry’s exceptional singing voice earns him a scholarship to an exclusive boys’ school, altering his future completely.
• The Outbreak of War: The novel follows Harry through his university years and culminates as the Second World War erupts, forcing him to choose between attending Oxford or enlisting to fight Nazi Germany.

The character I enjoyed most — of many — is Harry Clifton’s close friend and mentor, Old Jack Tar.

Wisdom personified.

Harry’s rise from poverty to high academic prowess is inspirational.

Cliffhanger ending …

I’m thinking Shan Serafin was the principal author of these 3 fast novellas. The style really doesn’t feel like Patterson.

Very good.

DEAD MAN RUNNING: Psychiatrist Randall Beck specializes in PTSD cases–and his time is limited. Especially when he uncovers a plot to kill a presidential candidate.

113 MINUTES: Molly Rourke’s son has been murdered–and she knows who’s responsible. Now she’s taking the law into her own hands. Never underestimate a mother’s love.

13-MINUTE MURDER: He can kill anybody in just minutes–from the first approach to the clean escape. His skills have served him well, and he has a grand plan: to get out alive and spend his earnings with his beloved wife, Maria.
An anonymous client offers Ryan a rich payout to assassinate a target in Harvard Yard. It’s exactly the last big job he needs to complete his plan.

Amazon

This book explores the complexities of aging, loneliness, and the “extraordinary resilience” of ordinary people.

Olive Kitteridge is the 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning book adapted for an the HBO miniseries starring Frances McDormand.

Olive, Again (2019) is a sequel, 13 short stories that are interrelated but discontinuous.

The sequel is similar — but I’d argue even better than the original.

Olive Kitteridge is now in her seventies and eighties.

Still blunt, unkind, and insensitive — but less so. Seems she’s gotten a little more mellow.

In her review for The Washington Post, Joan Frank gave the novel a positive review, calling it “arguably better than the original” and writing, “Sentences flow in simplest words and clearest order — yet line after line hammers home some of the most complex human rawness you’ll ever read.”

I was surprisingly intrigued with the chapter called Cleaning:

A teenage girl, Kayley, develops an unsettling arrangement with her employer while struggling with her own awakening and the loss of her father.

Neither book is a must read in my opinion.

BUT, as I get elderly, I find I’m more interested in old farts.

I can relate.

If you like a murder mystery where it’s not easy to guess the killer, this book is for you.

You might not like the final reveal as it’s highly improbable.

End of Story is a 2024 psychological thriller by A.J. Finn (the pen name of Daniel Mallory), who also wrote the bestseller The Woman in the Window.

Set in San Francisco, it is a thriller about a young woman writing the biography of a celebrated crime writer. …

Chris Hewitt of the Star Tribune praised the novel’s plot and scene-setting, concluding that “Finn is an assured, witty writer with a gift for entertaining description and sharp instincts.

The Times of London noted “… a critic may query the slow pacing,” and concluded that Finn is “more skilful stylist than original auteur, there’s no doubt that he can write, and well.”

I enjoyed the first book in this series — Nash Falls — so downloaded the 2026 sequel.

Hope Rises finds our hero, Walter Nash, living under the alias Dillon Hope.

Having transformed from a gentle businessman into a skilled operative, Nash is working as an FBI informant to infiltrate the inner circle of global criminal leader Victoria Steers.

Nash’s primary mission is to dismantle Steers’ empire and exact revenge for the loss of his family. However, as he penetrates her operation, he uncovers shocking truths that force him to choose between completing his mission and protecting the woman he previously viewed only as a monster.

Baldacci’s books have been improving in recent years.

This one, too, is far more sophisticated than his shoot-em-up, save the world thrillers of old.

I give him A for effort.

BUT … the book is far inferior to Nash Falls.

If you think of the complicated plot for even 30 seconds, you’ll see it makes no sense. NONE of the characters act logically.

OK, Thura: penniless guy from Burma acts logically.

related – a positive review

Buckeye (2025) is bestselling historical fiction by Patrick Ryan.

No car crashes. No murders. Everyday suburban life, for the most part.

Listening to this book is relaxing.

It’s long. But so fast paced that I never found it to drag.

NPR: “A superb novel… captures both the sweep of history and the mundane”

… an intergenerational family saga set in the fictional small town of Bonhomie, Ohio.

Spanning roughly 60 years—from just before World War II to the early 1980s—it traces the interwoven lives of two families bound by a long-held secret.

• The Plot: The story begins on the day of the Allied victory in Europe. An impulsive, life-altering moment between Cal Jenkins and Margaret Salt creates a secret that echoes through their lives and the next generation.
• Key Characters:
  • Cal Jenkins: A man unable to serve in WWII due to a physical disability (one leg shorter than the other), which leaves him with a sense of failure.
  • Becky Jenkins: Cal’s wife, a “seer” with a spiritual gift for communicating with the dead.
  • Margaret Salt: A woman attempting to outrun a mysterious past.
  • Felix Salt: Margaret’s husband, serving in the Navy, who carries his own secret regarding his identity.
• Major Themes: The narrative explores forgiveness, the long-term consequences of secrets, the ripple effects of war (from WWI to Vietnam), and the complexities of small-town life.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Spellman Files (2007) is hilarious.  

First book in a comedic mystery series by Lisa Lutz that follows the chaotic lives of a family of private investigators in San Francisco.

The story is narrated by Isabel “Izzy” Spellman, a 28-year-old PI with a checkered past who works for her parents’ firm, Spellman Investigations. In a family where snooping, tailing, and wiretapping one another is the norm.

If you are looking for an easy read with a lot of laughs, check it out.

Originally published in 2009, it is the fourth and final book in his Oxford Investigations (or Zoë Boehm) series.

The story follows Sarah Tucker as she travels to Newcastle to identify a body pulled from the River Tyne—a woman who appears to be her friend, private investigator Zoë Boehm.

As usual with Mick Herron books, the writing is excellent.

The story telling far too slow and confusing for this reader.

Watch the TV show instead ➙ Down Cemetery Road staring Emma Thompson as Zoë Boehm.