Customer Reviews
Love him or hate him, Archer can write. - By: Robin Johnston, 22 Mar 2007 
I really enjoyed this book. I won't write what it's about since everyone else has covered it quite thoroughly. However, I returned to it many times to read again passages that I found particularly enjoyable. I can pick it up, open it at a random page & instantly be engrossed once more. As a matter of fact I find that with many of Archer's books.
Certainly that's the kind of thing that makes him a bestselling writer, but does bestselling mean `great'?
I don't know. What does `great' mean? I tried reading One Hundred Years of Solitude (which is supposed to be a great book) a few years ago, & gave up after 300 pages when I couldn't remember who was related to whom any more. On the other hand, I have loved Catcherin the Rye & To Kill a Mockingbird since I was a teenager. Beauty isin the eye of the beholder.
Is Archer a great writer? Who cares? For me, `Not a penny...' is a great read, & that's what counts.
Fast paced and entertaining - By: DragonOn, 08 Aug 2006 Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less, Jeffrey Archer's first novel, is a cunningly thought out story of revenge. It works around the theme of illicit reprisal, after four unconnected men are swindled out of large sums of moneyin the vain hope of earning a quick profitin an apparently success-bound oil company. These four men, however, join forcesin order to gain back what was once theirs. Archer brings into play his usual trick of interweaving characters to great effectin this fantastic book. There are a few negligible flawsin the story, but allin all it is deserving of a 4 star score. Top notch from one of the best storytellers of his time.
A Potpourri of deceit, humor, romance, and revenge... - By: Ilavarasu Tamilmani, 01 Nov 2005 If you want a story of pure revenge, of people who get back at their deceiver, no matter what it takes, then this novel is for you. There are other novelsin the same genre, but when the master story teller sets forth on the same theme, you get a novel like this. It stands apart from the restin terms of the scenes, pace (or its variation), balance etc. There is no doubt about it.
Harvey Metcalfe, whose business acumen (irrespective of the moral connotations) had been sharpened on the streets, cons four unsuspecting investors (who are strangers to each other, but who had been baited by Harvey for carrying out his plans), with prospects of huge oil money. And they are not common folk - each of them is a notable personin his right - Stephen is an Oxford professor, Robin is a high profile physician, Jean-Pierre, a famous art dealer, & James Brigsley, an heir to earldom. They have one aspectin common - they have all been ripped off by Harvey - for a huge sum of money (million dollars).
How they join hands & get back at Harvey forms the rest of the story,in this thriller saga of revenge, with cunning & deceit. The pace never wanes any time, & I never wanted to keep the book down. If you liked the Payback movie, you are going to love this novel more, since it has 4 people wanting revenge - not a penny more, not a penny less... that is their motto, & they stand by it.
I expected a page-turner, & got onein this. It has the intelligence, pace, language, plot, characters - all that makes this a great novel, which is expected from a novelist of such acclaim as Archer. I read this after finishing Kane & Abel & The Prodigal Daughter, & should say that this novel is devoid of any unnecessary digressions,in spite of handling at least four players.
Do they finally succeedin their enterprise? The way Archer has written the ending of the novel is worth noticing. You have to read it till the end to get the thrill (and the fun)
Must buy for long weekends, long journeys, or simply anytime you want to spend your time with a good novel. I would recommend this book to all my friends.
Amusing tale of a swindler swindled - By: L O'connor, 09 Jul 2004 Harvey Metcalfe, a shady American businessman, cons four men into buying between them a million dollars worth of sharesin a dud oil company, Prospecta Oil, then disappears with the money. The four men get together & decide that theyin turn will swindle Harvey out of the exact amount of money they lost to him - hence the title, not a penny more, not a penny less. They all come up with elaborate & crafty schemes for parting Harvey from his money. The first scheme, involving a a very shady art deal, is my favourite, but all the schemes are quite ingeneous. There are several unexpected twists to the plot, & a very funny ending. I didn't find the charactersin this story particularly interesting, none of them struck me as having very distinctive personalities, but it doesn't really matter,in this story the plot is the thing, & the plot is very clever & amusing, making the deficincies of character unimportant. The book will keep you turning the pages eagerly until the end. One thing I did wonder about this Pan edition, why have Pan Books seen fit to replace their distinctive & charming logo, the sillhouette of Pan, with their present meaningless squiggle?
Dire - By: JOHN, 18 Nov 2003 
Intense loathing for Archer himself wouldin theory have prevented me from ever coming into the remotest contact with this, his first book. But a friend whose judgment has often proved trustworthy assured me that it was a wonderful read, & with an excellent plot, & consequently pressed a copy upon me.
It is one of the worst novels I have ever read - the only consolation being that it can be read extremely quickly. As far as the plot is concerned: one character swindles four other characters, who then band togetherin the most unlikely circumstances [how many detective inspectors disrespect other people’s privacy & chuck names around as willingly as the onein chapter four?]in order to gain revenge. Which they do,in a series of farcical scenes, totally disconnected from one another. So much for plot.
As for the characters: they are all caricatures,
and of their inner lives & deep feelings we never learn a single thing. OK, they like to indulge their lust occasionally, & knock back the expensive champagne... but with Archer we never get beyond the most basic instincts. So much for psychological plausibility.
So what’s left? Perhaps the accumulated references to the sometimes quaint & eccentric traditons of English life (Ascot, Wimbledon, Oxford University, swanky London hotels) appeal to American readers just as they do the villain of the piece?
And as for the ending... I’d been hoping for a last minute reprieve from implausibilityin the form of an unexpected twistin the tail. But no. True to form, Archer rounds it all off with most predictable part of all. Pulp fiction at its worst.
