Honor Among Thieves Read online

  Praise for Jeffrey Archer and his Bestselling Novels

  “Archer is a master entertainer.”

  —Time

  “One of the top ten storytellers in the world”

  —Los Angeles Times

  “There isn’t a better storyteller alive.”

  —Larry King

  “Archer is one of the most captivating storytellers writing today. His novels are dramatic, fast-moving, totally entertaining—and almost impossible to put down.”

  —Pittsburgh Press

  “Cunning plots, silken style…Archer plays a cat-and-mouse game with the reader.”

  —The New York Times

  “A storyteller in the class of Alexandre Dumas…Unsurpassed skill…making the reader wonder intensely what will happen next.”

  —The Washington Post

  Honor Among Thieves

  “Jeffrey Archer has weighed in with yet another bestselling novel of Among intrigue. An action-packed story that capitalizes on our rising fear of terrorism, Honor Among Thieves is fast-moving…and believable.”

  —St. Petersburg Times

  “I was pulled quickly under the influence of this author’s storytelling power…The creativity put into this effort is brash and wonderful, counterefforts also are engrossing.”

  —Denver Post

  “Archer must be psychic. The events, especially those about the new presidency seem impossibly up to date…Fast-paced…Such perfect summer reading it should have come with a hammock.”

  —Tulsa World

  “The satisfying wrap-up of the novel’s several plot turns leaves readers with a pleasant and hopeful glow.”

  —The Des Moines Register

  “Cleverness and imagination.”

  —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

  “Outrageous and top-notch terror.”

  —Vogue

  “Witty, action-filled…Archer’s masterful narrative provides thrills and surprises.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  A Matter of Honor

  “Sizzles along at a pace that would peel the paint of a spaceship.”

  —The New York Times Book Review

  “A wild, no-holds-barred, slam-bang, pell-mell international thriller.”

  —Buffalo News

  “Archer is an expert entertainer with a unique perspective.”

  —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

  A Twist in the Tale

  “Archer is a smoothly accomplished writer, able to produce a touching pause as well as a snappy pace.”

  —Cosmopolitan

  “Archer’s talent as a raconteur is evident…[His] straightforward style actually enhances each concluding jolt. Archer’s understanding of human nature and his talent for surprise endings make this volume a must.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  First Among Equals

  “A dramatic plot…An absorbing read.”

  —Detroit Free Press

  “This engrossing, well-spun tale of ambition and will-to-power is a pick-hit in the summer sweepstakes. Archer received his usual high marks for readability and gives his novel a pleasing sense of substance.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Not since Gore Vidal’s 1876 has there been such a cliffhanger aspect to an election and to the selection of a head of government…At the conclusion, Archer brings the reader to a moment of truth…a surprising finish.”

  —The San Diego Union-Tribune

  The Prodigal Daughter

  “Chalk up another smash hit for Jeffrey Archer…An exceptional storyteller.”

  —John Barkham Reviews

  “Fast-moving and compelling.”

  —Library Journal

  Kane & Abel

  “A smashing good read!”

  —The Des Moines Register

  “I defy anyone not to enjoy this book, which is one of the best novels I have ever read.”

  —Otto Preminger

  “A sprawling blockbuster!”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Grips the reader from the first page to the last. A smash hit.”

  —John Barkham Reviews

  As the Crow Flies

  “A certified page-turner.”

  —New York Daily News

  “Top flight…Mr. Archer tells a story to keep you turning those pages.”

  —The Washington Post

  “Archer…has an extraordinary talent for turning notoriety into gold, and telling fast-moving stories.”

  —The Philadelphia Inquirer

  “An endearing story.”

  —The Wall Street Journal

  “Archer plots with skill, and keeps you turning the pages.”

  —The Boston Globe

  “Great fun!”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  The Fourth Estate

  “Telling…Triumphant…Proceeds in bursts of energy, like automatic fire.”

  —London Times

  “Well-crafted and accomplished.”

  —The Spectator

  A Quiver Full of Arrows

  “Exciting…Archer offers versatility, laughter, inventive plotting and a gift for characterization…A Quiver Full of Arrows is everything a reader could want.”

  —Baltimore Sun

  “Amusing…Poignant.”

  —The New York Times

  TO JANET AND MICHAEL

  Contents

  Part I: “When in the Course of Human Events…”

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Part II: “Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British Brethren.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Part III: “…We Mutually Pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  In Congress, July 4, 1776.

  Part I

  “When in the Course of Human Events…”

  Chapter One

  NEW YORK

  FEBRUARY 15, 1993

  Antonio Cavalli stared intently at the Arab, who he considered looked far too young to be a Deputy Ambassador.

  “One hundred million dollars,” Cavalli said, pronouncing each word slowly and deliberately, giving them almost reverential respect.

  Hamid Al Obaydi flicked a worry bead across the top of his well-manicured thumb, making a click that was beginning to irritate Cavalli.

  “One hundred million is quite acceptable,” the Deputy Ambassador replied in a clipped English accent.

  Cavalli nodded. The only thing that worried him about the deal was that Al Obaydi had made no attempt to bargain, especially since the figure the American had proposed was double that which h