Audiobook Review: Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publishing Date: May 8th, 2012
Genre: Adult Historical Fiction
Pages: 352 pgs
ISBN: 9781250000972
Source: borrowed from the library

Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads:
On the heels of the international bestseller Only Time Will Tell, Jeffrey Archer picks up the sweeping story of the Clifton Chronicles….

Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Harry Clifton, hoping to escape the consequences of long-buried family secrets, and forced to accept that his desire to marry Emma Barrington will never be fulfilled, has joined the Merchant Navy.  But his ship is sunk in the Atlantic by a German U-boat, drowning almost the entire crew.  An American cruise liner, the SS Kansas Star, rescues a handful of sailors, among them Harry and the third officer, an American named Tom Bradshaw.  When Bradshaw dies in the night, Harry seizes on the chance to escape his tangled past and assumes his identity.

But on landing in America, he quickly learns the mistake he has made, when he discovers what is awaiting Bradshaw in New York.  Without any way of proving his true identity, Harry Clifton is now chained to a past that could be far worse than the one he had hoped to escape.

My Review: 
This is the second in a series by Jeffrey Archer.  It follows the life of Harry Clifton and those around him.  This book starts right where the first book ends.  It is set during the Second World War and Harry has traveled to the United States to get away from his personal problems in England.  This just leads to more and more problems for Harry, who has faked his death and taken someone else's identity.  I don't want to give too much away but the writing of this book is amazing.  You can't help but fall in love with each of the characters.  Well, all of them except Harry's suspected father.  
Archer is an amazing writer who really brings you into the world of the characters.  This book is mostly character driven and I feel almost like I know the characters now.  Archer shows you all the positive and negative qualities of each character. No character is above reproach and you get to know all their quirks and endearments.  You can't help but root for each of them in all their plights.  
I also really like how Archer brings in the historical aspect of this novel.  You almost feel like you're right there dealing with all the stresses of war.  It shows the American perspective on war but it also shows the English perspective.  Archer doesn't let his opinions seep into the narrative of the story.   
The audio of the book is also very well done.  The narrator engages the reader and does an excellent job of expressing the emotions of the characters.
I really enjoyed this novel but one thing that I disliked about it is the way that it ended.  Even though it is part of a series, I don't think that a book should just end almost mid-sentence and this is exactly what this book does.  I much prefer if a novel somewhat wraps things up rather than stop in the middle of a pivotal point.  This is not a TV show that will come back in one week or maximum a few months.  This is a book that takes about a year to continue.  I can't stand waiting that long and by the time the next book comes out sometimes I lose interest or forget what happened in the previous books.  
Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.