Jeffrey Archer's latest William Warwick novel is AN EYE FOR AN EYE. I had no idea when I started this thriller that it was part of a series, but it quickly became clear that the plethora of characters were ones that would be known to readers of the previous books. While I struggled a bit with all the names, the action and the plot were sufficiently intriguing that I wanted to find out what would happen next, and eventually the characters crystalized individually in my mind.

AN EYE FOR AN EYE begins with Simon Hartley, who is meeting with his dying father. They discuss how Simon's mother will be financially cared for and how a copy of the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson and loaned to a member of Simon's family, will be returned to the American government, as Jefferson had indicated in his letter to Simon's ancestor.

"Archer succeeds in creating a pulse-pounding sense of urgency as the characters race against the clock to try to further their goals."

Simon has traveled to Saudi Arabia to represent the British government in their negotiation to seal an arms deal with the Saudis worth three billion pounds. A Lebanese agent is looking for a 10% cut of the deal if he can get the British the contract, but he is as amoral and ruthless as can be. His only goal is to make as much money as he can, however he can. Simon is framed for a murder and ends up in a Saudi jail. Those who might testify to his innocence are bribed or threatened and won't testify.

When the only witness who might testify to Simon's innocence is a British prostitute, it's Inspector Ross Hogan whom the British government relies on to go to Riyadh to spirit her out of the country. Archer describes the actions of the characters, and we marvel at how he creates a complex, complicated web of intrigue, with layers of good guys on one side trying to do the right thing and two very bad guys on the other side. One is Miles Faulkner, an extremely wealthy British mastermind criminal who is just set to get out of jail and has revenge in mind for those who helped get him incarcerated. The other is Hani Khalil, the Lebanese agent who works with the Saudi Minister of Defense's son, another sleazy, no-good, do-nothing scion of someone important.

There are many twists and turns, and the book takes us from the bucolic British countryside to Riyadh to New York City and an auction at Christie's. The action is nonstop, and the narrative switches quickly from place to place and from one character to another --- from the Governor of the jail in Riyadh, where Simon is being held, to his family home in Bucklebury in Berkshire, where Faulkner meets with Simon's mother in an effort to cheat her out of a family heirloom that isn't really theirs.

Archer succeeds in creating a pulse-pounding sense of urgency as the characters race against the clock to try to further their goals. Lives are on the line, millions and billions of pounds are at stake, and several of the players are completely ruthless in their determination to become even more powerful through that most important device: money.

The characters surprise us, from Simon's seemingly frail mother to Simon himself. The ending is quite satisfying, but Archer cleverly provides a cliffhanger, ensuring that readers will be ready to dive into the next book in the series. While I would highly recommend reading the previous entries to have a better idea of who everyone is, AN EYE FOR AN EYE does work as a stand-alone novel.