The perfect Jeffrey Archer novel, First Impression is the kind of book that keeps you turning pages even if there isn't much of a suspense in it. It starts with the murder of Lady Victoria Wentworth, and the person who gets it done is an unscrupulous banker who has his eye on the Van Gogh masterpiece in the family's collection. With Lady Wentworth's murder, it is left to a couple of people to pick up the clues, nail the murderer, and save the family home and paintings from being auctioned off by the banker.
The key characters:
Dr. Anna Petrescu - An arts expert, she was hired by Mr. Fenston to work for his banking firm. Her work would be to evaluate the worth of the paintings that the clients pledge as security to get loans from his bank. She turns out too honest for the bank.
Agent Delaney - FBI agent who started with investigating Anna for the murders but increasingly gets protective of her as he finds out she is not only innocent but perhaps also next on the list of the murderer.
Krantz - An ex-gymnast from the Soviet Union, now a paid assasin whose weapon of choice is kitchen knives - easiest to slit throats with.
Bryce Fenston - The chairman of Fenston Finance. His company gave loans to people in need, provided they had enough art collection on the walls to keep him interested. The moment they tried to sell something and settle his debt, they would be found murdered, their throat slit, and their property would be auctioned off by the finance company to settle their loan and a few pieces of their art unaccounted for.
Lady Arabella Wentworth - The younger sister of Lady Victoria Wentworth, she inherits the family home and the debts after the murder of her sister, and she is more than willing to take the law in her own hands when it comes to setting things right.
Set in the backdrop of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, the story goes from New York to Bucharest to Tokyo, following a self-potrait by Van Gogh, leaving quite a few people dead, and many more lives in danger. This is the ideal Archer book, pick it up whenever you are bored :)
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