Heads You Win
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4.2 • 23 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
From the master storyteller Jeffrey Archer, Heads You Win is the incredible and thrilling novel from the author of the Clifton Chronicles and Kane and Abel.
Leningrad, Russia, 1968.
Alexander Karpenko is no ordinary child, and from an early age, it is clear he is destined to lead his countrymen. But when his father is assassinated by the KGB for defying the state, he and his mother will have to escape from Russia if they hope to survive. At the docks, they are confronted with an irreversible choice: should they board a container ship bound for America, or Great Britain? Alexander leaves that choice to the toss of a coin...
In a single moment, a double twist decides Alexander's future. During an epic tale of fate and fortune, spanning two continents and thirty years, we follow his triumphs and defeats as he struggles as an immigrant to conquer his new world. As this unique story unfolds, Alexander comes to realize where his destiny lies, and accepts that he must face the past he left behind in Russia.
With a final twist that will shock even his most ardent fans, this is international number one bestseller Jeffrey Archer's most ambitious and creative work since Kane and Abel.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
It’s no surprise that politician-turned-novelist Jeffrey Archer is a master at weaving grand themes into his best-selling books. The Kane and Abel author’s new thriller is a gripping story of loyalty, ambition and the choices that define us. Opening in late-1960s Russia, the story centres on Alexander, who was destined for greatness until the KGB assassinated his father, forcing him to flee the country. Filled with plot twists, unforeseen deceptions and fascinating politics, Heads You Win is a unique and totally gripping historical novel that raises questions about fate and destiny.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Archer's clever novel, a Sliding Doors-ish bildungsroman, fate hinges on the toss of a coin. After his father is assassinated by the KGB in 1968, young Alexander Karpenko says goodbye to his friend Vladimir and flees Russia with his mother. At the docks, they flip a coin to see if they will emigrate to London or New York. In one version of the story, Sasha and his mother journey to London, where he grows up to attend Cambridge, stands for Labour MP, marries well, and becomes involved in political hugger-mugger. In the other version of the story, Karpenko, here referred to as Alex, and his mother move to New York, where he grows up to be a hustler/entrepreneur, marries well, is named the chairman of a bank, and becomes involved in financial- and art-world chicanery. After 30 years, both Sasha and Alex return to Russia to find that their fates are now inextricably linked with the future of their post-Communist homeland. Archer cannibalizes his greatest hits (including Kane and Abel and First Among Equals) even as he emulates the '60s bestsellers of Harold Robbins and Jacqueline Susann to tell his twinned stories of immigrant striving, romance, and dirty dealing, with a surprise last-sentence kicker that points to the present political moment. The result is a fun, fast-paced novel. 300,000-copy announced first printing.
