Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less

By: Jeffrey Archer

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

The thrilling novel that launched #1 New York Times bestseller Jeffrey Archer's career, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less.

THE SWINDLE IS INGENIOUS

The conned: an Oxford don, a revered society physician, a chic French art dealer, and a charming English lord. They have one thing in common. Overnight, each novice investor lost his life's fortune to one man. The con: Harvey Metcalfe. A brilliant, self-made guru of deceit. A very dangerous individual. And now, a hunted man.

SO IS THE REVENGE

With nothing left to lose, four strangers are about to come together—each expert in their own field. Their plan: find Harvey, shadow him, trap him, and penny-for-penny, destroy him. From the luxurious casinos of Monte Carlo to the high-stakes windows at Ascot to the bustling streets of Wall Street to fashionable London galleries, their own ingenious game has begun.

It's called revenge—and they were taught by a master.

©1976 Jeffrey Archer (P)2014 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“'Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less' [is] read by Martin Jarvis, who switched voices so quickly that not a beat is lost in th[is] fast-moving mystery.” —Patriot News

What a Story

The thorough research and the details are as fascinating as the story it self. The audio performance is understated and just right.

Entertaining Caper

This was quite an entertaining caper.

Archer’s writing style is very distinctive:

• Very little dialogue.

• A lot of “showing” - No need to exercise your imagination.

• A propensity to explain plans in minute detail. Sometimes I swear he was reading off a spread sheet! I am paraphrasing here, but not exaggerating : “He owes fifty eight thousand four hundred and nine dollars and fifty two cents, and paid twenty seven thousand six hundred and seventy eight dollars and ninety seven cents, so his remaining balance is thirty thousand seven hundred and thirty dollars and fifty five cents”

• Books that feel like a collection of short stories.

• Any excuse to show off his research.

If you like his style then you’ll enjoy this adventure; it felt nostalgic to me somehow, like an 80s miniseries.

I've got a bridge to sell you!!

I've enjoyed so many of J.A. Books. One might say I've nearly overdosed on them. This particular read has a slightly different twist. I enjoyed the read thoroughly. It was great fun!!

Interesting

Interesting, quick read by Jeffrey Archer. It tells the tale of a big time swindler who swindles those less fortunate than him, and what happens when he swindles a group of the wrong men. They form a group for pay back and from there the story goes. Normally Jeffrey Archer gets a 4 or 5 from me, but this earlier writing is not quite up to the quality of his more recent books. He is a phenomenal author and this book is worth the read, which will go quickly.

CLASSIC!

NOT A PENNY MORE NOT A PENNY LESS BY JEFFREY ARCHER AND NARRATED BY JOHN LEE is Jeffrey Archer's first novel. In my opinion, his greatest novel.

Harvey Metcalfe is a very wealthy self made man. He is also,to put it bluntly a crook, a liar and a swindler. Harvey in the guise of Prospecta Oil has, in one of his cons, swindled four men out of a million dollars. Those four men want not only their money back but revenge. In NOT A PENNY MORE NOT A PENNY LESS, those four men plot to steal their money back . By hook or by crook they are determined!

When I first read this book many many moons ago I labeled it back then one of my favorite read and re-read books. Now that it is own audio it is even higher on my fav list. John Lee, who does the narration did a really good job with voices,with the exception of Harvey's Other than that hats off Mr.Lee!

Love Archer's story, did not love the narration

I am a huge fan of Jeffery Archer and was looking forward to listening to his first book. The story had potential, but the rush of the narrator made many details hard to follow. I found myself glossing over paragraphs to ignore the pompous tone and overly dramatic dialog.

None better than John Lee

John Lee turns an average story into an enjoyable listen.

With touches of a Count of Monte Christo type revenge plot, the story is enjoyable but just not as gripping as some of Archer's other efforts. The let down comes with the way the story winds down and concludes.

Overall it's a decent story with a great narrator so I'd recommend it.

Just ok

I thought the beginning was weak. Got better as story develops. Wasn’t type of book I enjoy

So so.

Not a terrible book. It's main problem is that it is dated. The revenge plots could have only worked in the 1970s and in today's information age, it is no wonder that readers not familiar with the 70s find them convoluted and improbable. Poor narration doesn't help the story either. Finally, there is a great plot twist at the end of the book but the author chooses to do absolutely nothing with it. On the plus side, the book did fill some time but that is about as enthusiastic as I can get.

Drama, Suspense, Entertainment!

Where does Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I rate my audiobooks by placing them into two categories, Read Again or Don't Read Again. While this was a good book it would not fall into the Read Again list.

What did you like best about this story?

The story was about 4 men who were working to get even with someone who had taken advantage of them in the past. Each had to come up with a plan for revenge so money could be taken from him and the methods and plans they came up with were very entertaining.

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

John Lee is in my top 3 narrators ... possibly number 1! He is AMAZING! I have listed to him on MANY books and he never disappoints. He is absolutely brilliant.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I like books that are longer, 15 - 40 hours. So listening to this all in one sitting is just not doable ... but when I go to my car for lunch each day just so I can listen to my book in peace and quiet, it's a good book. I did this with this book!

Any additional comments?

I believe anyone would enjoy this novel. Revenge can be sweet!