Jeffrey Archer is a popular author despite his brush with the law and subsequent holiday at Her Majesty’s Pleasure. Perhaps he was able to do in-depth research during this break! Anyhow, Over My Dead Body is the next instalment in the series featuring Detective Chief Inspector William Warwick.

I struggle to see how Archer sells so many books if this is a prime example! Do you remember the Biggles books when you were younger? Well this smacks of Biggles for adults. A cliche plot with predictable outcomes Rarely does the plot surprise you and at times it appears the author has been desperate to find an angle. For example, one villain who run rings around the police for years is finally caught out by a failed battery in his special watch. 

Basically, Warwick is going to lead a unit to investigate cold crimes. His unit has a number of disparate characters who are charged with arresting criminals who have evaded the law. One of the members of the team is ex-undercover agent Ross Hogan who has a reputation for his unorthodox approach! During the novel, Hogan meets Josephine and falls madly in love. Jo is a plant from one of the underworld figures. Surprise surprise Jo falls for the charms of Ross and they marry. Ross and Warwick are closing in on this underworld figure and he takes his revenge by hiring a hitman. Jo is murdered brutally and for a while, the plot becomes more interesting. Hogan is going to exact his revenge on this criminal and all the other cold case crooks the team are investigating. His strategies are clever and ingenious.

Finally and thankfully the cold cases are closed and the master criminal is behind bars. At best, this is a quick holiday read. Will you remember it in the future? Probably not.