See review for A Matter Of Honour under the single edition of that book.

Shall We Tell The President: 4 stars
Okay so as you can see I've given Shall We Tell The President? 4 stars, but I'm going to start by sharing the most disappointing thing about this book - the lack of Florentyna Kane, one of my favourite literary heroines from Kane and Abel and The Prodigal Daughter. She may be the President in question (and how I cheered for her when that happened!) but this story focuses more on the Director of the FBI, H.A.L. Tyson and Special Agent Mark Andrews, as well of course as the crooks (there's always crooks, this is no spoiler!).

This may be because originally this book was not about Florentyna Kane, but was revised and updated to include her as the President as opposed to Edward Kennedy. While I appreciate that, I was under the impression that this was a continuation of the story that evolved through Kane and Abel and The Prodigal Daughter. So you can see, particularly if you have already read the book, how I was disappointed.

However (here we come to my explanation of the 4 stars despite my disappointment), if you look at the story on its own merits and not as part of the Kane and Abel saga, then it is Archer in his element. I have enjoyed all of his stories to date, of course some more than others, and while this is not his best, still a great story that sucked me in and had me turning the pages quickly and trying to unravel the mystery. An unanswered question or two at the end, as usual in most Archer fiction, that makes it an even more tantalising read. With Archer, you are always left wanting more.

First Among Equals: 3 stars
This book, I felt, was a lot to swallow - particularly if you don't follow politics or even if you do, like me. A lot of names, a lot of political jargon and sometimes it felt like there wasn't a lot going on. Still, Archer manages to weave together an interesting tale of four would-be politicians with high ambitions. I may not have cared much for them throughout this novel, but I was still intrigued. Unfortunately though, this is not one of Archer's best works. ( )