The Eleventh Commandment

by Jeffrey Archer

Signed by the author with dedication, first printing, light wear to the sleeved dust jacket, pagee edges tanned. Shipped from the UK in recyclable card packaging.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Espionage, Adventure, Mystery Thriller

342 pages, Hardcover

First published June 3, 1998

About the author

Jeffrey is published in 114 countries and more than 47 languages, with more than 750,000 5* reviews with international sales passing 275 million copies.

He is the only author ever to have been a number one bestseller in fiction (nineteen times), short stories (four times) and non-fiction (The Prison Diaries).

Jeffrey has been married for 53 years to Dame Mary Archer DBE. They have two sons, William and James, three grandsons and two granddaughters, and divide their time between homes in London, Cambridge and Mallorca.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 2 out of 5]

A political story with betrayal, deceit and not a lot of fun. 4 of 10 stars

[Vanessa Wester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last night I finished The Eleventh Commandment by Jeffrey Archer.

In one word - wow! Have I missed this? How can this not have been made into a movie? Is it politically incorrect? Anyway, the whole book follows Connor Fitzgerald, a man I liken to James Bond in the loosest sense. Not a womaniser, a man we all aspire to have as a friend or soul mate. Yet, deadly as sin... Since he is an American agent. The story starts with an assassination and it takes one twist after another, whilst making you both like the characters and want to read on. I don't want to give a spoiler, since you should read this, but I cried at the end... And then, even though I guessed what was coming next (I always seem to...), it was great to end it like that! So, 5/5 for me! If you have not tried JA before - do.
I only recently started reading his books, and I will never look back.
Have a nice day, Vanessa :)

[Sidrah Anum · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a long time, I put my hands on a book that so consumes one's time, mind and thought..
Ahh it was fascinating spending time with such a tumultous plot !

[Justin Mahaffie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Jeffrey Archer. I really do. Kane & Abel was a good book. Paths of Glory was a good book. This one...I did not like it as much as I'd hoped. The story seemed thin...maybe that's not the proper term. It seems like the story is comprised of three or four major scenes, and that's it. Were it to be made into a 2 hour movie, it probably wouldn't have to sacrifice much in the transition. There's not really anything I object to, it just feels like he could have written this over the course of a weekend, or as he used the toilet throughout the week. That said, it's not a waste of time to read, by any means. At one point, I was rather engrossed, and wanting to see how it played out. And now I'm glad it's done and I can get back to The Grapes of Wrath.

[Abdul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Empty calories!

I compare this book to drinking a can of coke. While you may enjoy it not sure your body gets any value from it.

If you are bored reading books of substance, watching tv or want to relax while exercising your mind this is a thriller you might enjoy.

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 3 out of 5]

As they say, love is sometimes blind, but rarely stupid. Mr. Archer is one of my favorites (in fact, he and John Grisham will make Top5, even Top3... for the rest of my life) but this novel is just not good enough.
The plot is too twisted and sometimes illogical, there are no characters to emphasize , some of them are quite pathetic (Serghei, the young Romanov) the Russians are far too stupid, even the style is similar to works of Fredrick Forsyth or Ken Follet, and not to their best ones.
So, sorry to say, but three stars are quite enough.

[Aisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can I say? Archer delivers as expected.
The book catches on pace around 150-170 pages in. The slow introduction building up to the events is a classic Archer touch. But once the pace is set, flipping pages is a joy.

If you have never read an Archer book before I wouldn't suggest this as the first pick. It is not his best work. But if you are familiar with the kind of world he creates and writes about then you will find yourself comfortably flipping pages and enjoying his storytelling.

[Ananya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although my exams were a couple of days ahead, I couldn't stop reading this engaging book. Talking about engagement, I must have been found day and night sticking to The Eleventh Commandment much to the annoyance of my family members and peers. Other than that, what a read! Out of habit, I'd read exactly the last line of the story, WHICH I WON'T REPEAT, STRICTLY SPEAKING as I regretted it. Though it kept me anticipating a happy ending, I would have definitely been shocked at the moments, I was expected to be so had I not read the last line. What a book! I've hardly any words to describe how involved I was in Conner's life, how much sorrow and horror I carried in my heart throughout the read at the dark human mentality and respect and appreciation at the goodness of it. This was my first Jeffrey Archer book and now I believe he's earned his love of fans.

Accurately, it has been described as "a rollercoaster of a book" and that Archer "scoops his readers up in the first paragraph, and doesn't let them go until the last. The pace, the ingenuity, the twists, intertwined with a moving love story, show Britain's bestselling author at the peak of his page-turning powers."

[Dem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to follow

[Paul Lyons · Rating 2 out of 5]

Engaging yet fundamentally flawed political thriller by Jeffery Archer. There were times where I was bored with both Archer's prose and his story...and other times where I was enthralled with the twists and turns Archer had to offer. Yet in the end, the story does not pay off as it should...and Archer drops the ball where he should have played it through.

In "The Eleventh Commandment," a political assassination in Columbia sparks a cover-up trail that ends with the Director of the CIA. The hired assassin is a veteran CIA agent/war hero/family man named Connor Fitzgerald. With the President of the United States on her back, the CIA Director hatches a complex plan to get rid of Fitzgerald...and remove any and all traces of the CIA's involvement with the assassination. Complications ensue...

The idea of "The Eleventh Commandment" isn't a bad one...and in fact a portion of the book is quite good. The problem is that too much of the book doesn't make sense. Is Connor Fitzgerald a cold-blooded assassin...or a hero? Archer goes out of his way to proclaim that he is both an assassin AND a hero...beloved by all. Towards the end of the book, Archer has characters preaching the gospel of Connor Fitzgerald without any explanation as to why he should deserve such an honor.

Then you have the idea of a female CIA Director who dislikes the President's politics so much that she is willing to stage political assassinations in order to get him off her back and destroy a disarmament bill the President had been pushing. Worse, she stages a second political assassination (in Russia) only as a ruse to trap and eliminate one of her own employees (Connor Fitzgerald)...and cover up the first assassination? And the Deputy Director of the CIA takes it upon himself to stage the murder of Connor Fitzgerald's longtime secretary...for fear that she had discovered the truth about what happened to her boss.

Even when you buy into Archer's premise...and allow the suspension of disbelief to guide you through the illogical pitfalls, you still have to suffer through where the author takes you in the end. This is where Archer really fumbles. He sets up an exciting climax in a football stadium, and sets the reader up for a big finish...which never happens. Instead, Archer only indicates what happens next...without actually showing it...eventually jumping to a predictably happy ending...which was far from satisfying.

[Dick Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this novel listed in a recent Sunday issue of the New York Times. Since I’ve read a number of works by Jeffrey Archer, this one aroused my interest. I thought it was a new issue but when I received it I learned that it had been published in 1998. The scenes mentioning airport security reminded me how life has changed since 9/11.
The central character is Connor Fitzgerald, a military hero in the Viet Nam war, a devoted family man, and a hit man for the CIA. His enemy is not a foreign dictator or a Middle East terrorist but the CIA’s director, Helen Dexter. We also have an American president who is easily manipulated by Dexter and a new Russian president.
This stew of characters and Archer’s penchant for complex plots makes for a tasty meal. However, there are some problems. Fitzgerald received the Medal of Honor for his heroism in Viet Nam as a lieutenant. The reader might infer his military service was either the army or marines but it’s never specified. An important point for THIS reader. I attribute the slip to Archer being British and unfamiliar with the American military. However, I do think he’s courageous in writing a book about the power structure in Washington.
A bigger problem is Fitzgerald’s cover story. Somehow he’s kept his real occupation a secret from his wife of many years. He claims to be an executive for an insurance company called Maryland Life. In preparation for his imminent retirement from the CIA, he lands a job interview with the chairman of another insurance company called Washington Provident. He convinces the chairman and other executives that he is actually an insurance company executive, a totally implausible situation.
You’ll have plenty of twists and turns before you reach the ending. It’s not great literature but enough for a beach read or a long flight.

[Karandeep Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

very amazing and captivating novel, but all i can think of is "WTF HAPPENED TO SERGEI ??"
My boi deserves a sequel of his own. C'mon !

[Vygandas Ostrauskis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kasmet perskaitau kelis trilerius (nesu šio žanro mylėtojas, nes retai pasitaiko tikrai jaudinantis, įtraukiantis į veiksmą, emocijas skatinantis). Dažniausiai ieškau psichologinių trilerių. Jei skaityčiau daugiau šio žanro kūrinių, be abejo, dažniau pataikyčiau į dešimtuką. Deja, ir šįkart – pro šalį...
Pasirinkau politinį trilerį, tikėdamasis ne tik veiksmo intrigos, bet ir įdomių politinių užkulisių. Yra ir vieno, ir kito, bet pritrūko – ir labai akivaizdžiai – įtikinamumo. Suprantu, kad iš trilerio negalima reikalauti klasikinio realizmo, bet šįkart pernelyg daug fantastikos, atitrūkimo nuo tikrovės, logikos stokos; per daug net trileriui. Personažai apgailėtini, schematiški, o jei ieškoti psichologinio pagrindimo, tai autorius net nebando pagrįsti, kodėl svarbiausias veikėjas (geruolis) dirba samdomu žudiku. Skaitytojui belieka atsidusti: ko tik gyvenime nebūna...

Jei tai būtų filmas, ko gero, būtų įdomus, nes knygos struktūra beveik kinematografinė, lengvai ekranizuotųsi. Filme turbūt nesijaustų ištęstumo, o skaitant šią knygą, – priešingai nei gerus trilerius, kurie taip įtraukia į skaitymą taip, kad neleidžia atsipūsti, – šįkart norisi tiesiog peršokti kelis puslapius, o tokių vietų skaitant vis daugėja ir daugėja... Tad nė kiek nenustebau, kai perskaitęs pasidomėjau, kaip vertinamas originalas (anglakalbių skaitytojų) – labai daug vertinančių 1-3 žvaigždutėmis. Prisijungiu prie jų: mano vertinimas 5 balai iš 10.

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was SO disappointed by this book (sorry!) I read several of his books as a teenager and remember being absolutely captivated. Sadly this book didn't anywhere near match their magic and I found the storytelling somewhat lacking. I'm afraid I got a little lost in the middle of the book, probably because it utterly failed to absorb me. It was a bit of struggle to bother to finish the book, although it's got to be REALLY bad for me not to finish one, and after all that the ending was pretty predictable anyway. In fairness, this is not my usual genre of book but I'd hoped for better

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

i'm a big archer fan and when i'm in the mood for a book with a good story and twist, i grab one of his books.

i was going to give this 4 stars, but i predicted the end, so i will have to give it 3 stars. i can never guess the ending of his books, but this one was way too predictable. i still enjoyed it though. :)

[W · Rating 2 out of 5]

The CIA's most deadly assassin fighting his own boss,sounds intriguing,but it isn't.Bored me.

[Margaret Wakeling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping. Connor Fitzgerald is a Vietnam veteran and a hero and now works for the CIA - he appears to be respected by all those in the service - but the CIA director has her own agenda and sets a trap for him, she wants him erased. It is tense, fast moving. Connor is the good guy but he was an assassin! Difficult to get one’s head around. The main characters are well drawn but I wasn’t totally convinced by his wife, daughter and potential son-in-law which is why I gave it four not five stars.

[Marianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Kiran · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has been disappointing to read two books back-to-back by one of my all-time favourite authors, Jeffrey Archer, that have not come even half-way close to his remarkable storytelling skills. (The first one was 'False Impressions')

The Eleventh Commandment is the story of Connor Fitzgerald, a CIA operative, fresh from a mission in Columbia where he has, at the behest of the Director of CIA, Helen Dexter, assassinated a presidential hopeful. Wanting nothing more than to retire from the CIA, where he has been forced to lead a double life, unable to disclose the covert assignments he is a master of to even his loving wife Maggie or their daughter, Connor is looking for alternate employment. However, Dexter has a different plan in store for him. As a scapegoat, to be fed to the US President, who is looking for an opportunity to cut Dexter's wings. As Dexter convinces Connor that his last assignment, the assassination of yet another presidential hopeful, this time in Russia, Victor Zerimski, has the direct sanction of the US President, Connor begins his last mission.

The story had promise no doubt. Who doesn't like the story of a megalomaniac boss, who threatens even the authority of the US President, sending the quintessential American hero into battle only to see him succumb to her machinations. The cast of characters had promise as well. The ultra-right wing Zerimski; a puppet of a Deputy Director of the CIA, Nick Guttenberg; a former CIA man, Colonel Jackson, who is indebted to Connor; a young, Russian vagrant, Sergei who is Jackson's eyes and ears. But all these are rustled up to dish out a very expected concoction.

Some of the most bizarre resolutions seem to take place because it is the most convenient solution for the writer. These could turn out to be spoilers and hence am refraining from noting a few of these, but the fact is, Jeffrey Archer was not the sort who would give in to an easy solution.

In summary, for me this book was a page turner just because I wanted to get done with it, so that this is does not end up as one unread-Archer. Period.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

What you need to know is that this book will hold your interest and keep you involved to the back cover.

Connor Fitzgerald has been married to Meg for many years; their daughter is weeks away from graduation from the Stanford med school. Connor, a lifelong CIA operative, has just a few jobs left to do before he can retire. In his world, the eleventh commandment is “never get caught.”

Connor has quietly carried out assassinations for the United States for years, and he successfully concludes one in Columbia as this book opens. But Congress and others are turning up the heat on the CIA, and there are rumors that one of its operatives is responsible for the assassination in Columbia. The director, recognizing that this could destroy her career if a link can be successfully made to her agency, determines that Connor Fitzgerald must die so that such a link never materializes.

To that end, she sends him to Russia to carry out a killing there, but he doesn’t realize that it is he whom she wants dead. This, then, ultimately is the story of his private deadly war with a lifelong employer.

[Ayush · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phenomenal ending to this Jason Bourne like story. The second half was full of twists and turns but the first half was sluggish and the pace was unbearable at times. The story deserves a 4 star in my opinion but the unnecessary long and slow first half brought my review down to 3 stars. If you have time to read an average first half, you will be rewarded at the end with a thrilling end.

[Tobias · Rating 1 out of 5]

Laughable. Easily the worst book I've read since The Da Vinci Code - and when you consider I've also read Sally Rooney's Normal People that should give you some indication of quite how poor this is. We all know that Jeffrey Archer was convicted of perjury and perverting the course of justice; his real crime, however, was this book.

Utterly, ridiculously, childishly amateurish in its delivery, there is nothing to recommend this book at all. If it were the screenplay for a Hollywood action romp (with perhaps Jason Statham or Dwayne Johnson in the lead role) you'd forgive it for its stupidity, removing your brain before settling down for 90 minutes of guns and explosions - but it's not, and it sells itself as a 'serious' thriller, with 'serious' attributes. It's neither, it's just a pathetic version of what Jeffrey, aged 11, thought a thriller might look like. The research is terrible, the character development is terrible, the stereotypes and tropes are terrible, and the plot is below pathetic.

Given how bad it is you might reasonably ask why I persisted with it. Morbid curiosity, is the answer, and a desire to be proved right about the 'plot twist', that even Stevie Wonder would see coming. To make matters worse, I listened to an audiobook version, with the narrator's various 'accents' clearly designed to cause as much aural offence as possible, without actually using thrash metal in their stead.

This has nothing to recommend it, unless you have an IQ below 100 and struggle with anything more complicated than Janet and John.

[Nguyễn Thanh Hằng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Một quyển sách hấp dẫn của nhà văn Anh Jeffrey Archer, kết hợp đủ liều lượng giữa điệp viên, chính trị, và tình cảm gia đình. Vừa dễ đọc vừa dễ cảm nhận vì cách miêu tả rõ ràng, các diễn biến nhanh-chậm của hành động và suy xét chiến lược đều được điều phối tốt.

Truyện kể về Connor, một nhân viên CIA làm việc trong lực lượng không chính thức, đã nhận được lệnh từ Tổng thống Mỹ đi ám sát các chính khách chính trị ở Colombia và Nga. Nhưng lệnh ấy là giả, và Connor phải đối mặt với sự thủ tiêu từ chính người sếp lớn của mình để loại bỏ nhân chứng và dấu vết. Anh đã trung thành với nguyên tắc và công việc của mình đến phút cuối, sau những tù tội và thoả thuận với Mafia Nga can thiệp vào bàn cờ chính trị.

Cái kết bất ngờ nhưng khá dễ đoán. Tuy vậy, nó vẫn tình cảm và được mong đợi.
Có 1 lá thư mà nhân vật chính để lại cho vợ, được lặp đi lặp lại nhiều lần trong truyện, nhưng đến hết truyện vẫn chưa được mở ra, mình không biết có phải dụng ý của tác giả hay đây là chi tiết bị quên xử lý trong quá trình sáng tác (vẫn thường xảy ra với cả những nhà văn giỏi và nổi tiếng)!? 😁

Một quyển sách hấp dẫn cho những ai quan tâm thể loại điệp viên, và yêu thích nhà văn Jeffrey Archer. Đây cũng được xem là 1 trong những tác phẩm thành công nhất của nhà văn này.

[Antara Sarkar · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a page turner. I found this book on my shelf and I dont even remember buying it or borrowing it but I am glad I decided to read it. It is a quick read and the author is known for his flair for writing and keeping you engrossed in his stories.

However entertaining it is, it does have its flaws. Firstly what irked me most was that the characters seemed one-dimensional. Either they were good or bad. Secondly, some of the twists weren't that unexpected as the author would have you believe. One could see them coming from afar. And thirdly, the climax bummed me out, especially the quick resolution to the conflict.I probably wanted the protagonist to face more challenges to show he is worthy of the adulation that the books suggests.

Despite my concerns with the book, it was thoroughly entertaining and gripping. It could be made into a limited series or a movie even.

[Cara Fontaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book immediately grabs your attention and does not lose pace. The story was exciting from the first page to the last. There were some details that were left out and questions I wish had been answered but overall I was very happy with the book. The characters could have been more developed, but overall they were interesting and you would definitely find yourself routing for certain ones.

[Ana Loera · Rating 1 out of 5]

No me atrapo

[Maddielucy(Patti) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Jeffrey Archer and this doesn't disappoint!! Its no Kane & Abel, but its a fast-paced, spy thriller that was a fun and escape!!

[Dan Halpert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun vacation book.

[Gerardo González · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al más puro estilo de las producciones estadounidenses modo Hollywood. Trama bien tejida, típico final previsible. En general buena novela.

[Esther Turnbull · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always Jeffrey Archer writes a darn good story. Really enjoyed this one.