Review: Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

Only Time Will Tell is the first audiobook I've listened to in years, and it was part of the in-flight entertainment offered on my recent overseas trip.

It has a playing time of 12 hours 30mins compared to a page count of 400 pages which was interesting and is also the first in a series called Clifton Chronicles with the next called The Sins of the Father.

The story follows the life of Harry Clifton, beginning with him as a young boy from a working class family in the 1920's, living with his Mum, believing his Father died in the war. His beautiful singing voice doesn't go unnoticed and earns him a scholarship in an elite boy's boarding school where he becomes best friends with a boy from a wealthy family which changes the course of both families forever.

This is a family saga, with family secrets gradually revealed in a careful and delicate way.  I've read other family saga novels that seemed to have a quicker pace but this could have been because I was reading the stories and not listening to them; it was hard to tell.

There weren't any great twists or big reveals that caught me off guard or characters that I absolutely fell in love with, although there is a very likeable character Jack Tarr who dispenses some wisdom throughout Harry's journey.

All in all, a likeable tale, but not one that will linger in my memory for long.

What about you, do you listen to audiobooks? I've heard they're great to listen to in the car and are popular now with truckies. I remember listening to The Silence of the Lambs audiobook many years ago and it was quite chilling. What was the last one you listened to and do you have any recommendations?

My rating = **1/2

Carpe Librum!