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Into the Blue is classic Goddard culminating in an unforgettable ending. “Harry Barnett lives the life of an Englishman on permanent vacation in Greece, house-sitting a villa in Lindos, Rhodes for a powerful friend and hiding from a past disgrace. That is, until a guest at the villa, Heather Mallender, disappears on a walking tour of Profitis Ilias and Harry is the number one suspect.”As mentioned in my review of Harry Barnett #2 I have cast Killing Eve’s David Haig as Barnett and can’t you just...
Long, tiresome and unending. I wanted to shake Harry and tell him to make up his mind. The problem was he was totally manipulate from the beginning and we could see it but he couldn't. What a waste of time.
The mysterious disappearance of a young Englishwoman on a hillside on the island of Rhodes points the blame to her recent companion, a chain-smoking man in his fifties who enjoys drinking, but Harry Barnett is the innocent party. He has a soft spot for Heather, who has been recovering from a breakdown, but he has no idea how or why she has disappeared, and he needs to find out what has happened. Despite the reaction of the British gutter press, the Greek police lose interest in him so he begins
31/2 stars rounded up to 4. I may not have enjoyed this as much as the previous books by Robert Goddard I have read, but I did enjoy this book and am planning on reading the sequel.
Okayish. This book had a really great opening – a man is standing alone on a footpath near some cliffs in Rhodes waiting for a woman to return from her hike. He waits and waits and waits. It gets dark. She doesn’t return. He reports her disappearance to the police and gets put in jail because everyone is convinced he has murdered her. Her body is never found, he is convinced she is still alive, so once he is released from jail, he sets off to find her, following a series of photographs she took
18 hours 15 mins, read (brilliantly) by Paul Shelley. Description: Harry Barnett is a middle-aged failure, leading a shabby existence in the shadow of a past disgrace, reduced to caretaking a friend's villa on the island of Rhodes and working in a bar to earn his keep. Then a guest at the villa - a young woman he had instantly and innocently warmed to - disappears on a mountain peak. Under suspicion of her murder, Harry stumbles on a set of photographs taken by Heather Mallender in the weeks bef...
Another of Goddard's puzzling mysteries--on Rhodes the failed Harry becomes friends with a young woman, Heather. One day, as they are on an excursion, she leaves him waiting for her at the bottom of a small mountain, Profitis Elias. She climbs it, saying she'll be back shortly and for him to wait for her. She disappears leaving behind a scarf; at first Harry is accused of murder but when exonerated, he wants to solve the mystery. Is she dead? Is she alive and if so, where has she gone? Harry com...
I took the time sheltering in the library from a cold rainstorm to read this prize winner. This was a very complex scheme of betrayals, heightened by important public figure in Great Britain involving blackmail and other threats, but now that I know how this author sends you down various roads, misleading along the way, I was able to read enough of it to call it done so I would not have to carry the large and heavy book back home. I would not mind the length if it was ebook, but not the case wit...
Well, he did it again! Robert Goddard, that is. I am working my way through his books in chronological order, and this is the fourth one I've read so far. In every book, he sucks me into the plot in short order, and I have to finish the book. Goddard is a master of the plot twist (each book seems to have a surprise at the end which I, at least, didn't predict). In this book (and perhaps in all of those I've read so far), the identity of the 'bad guy' (the who) is less important than the why, and...
I bought this book entirely because I want to go on holiday and it's not happening. So a novel set in Rhodes seemed a good choice. I've not read any Robert Goddard before. But I suspect I will read more after this. I'm really enjoying it. Good story. Shame the character has returned to the UK winter at the moment, but I'm hopeful of his return to the sunshine.More later. But a good one so far.******Excellent read! I really enjoyed this book. I had no idea about what was really going to be the ou...
This was the first novel by Robert Goddard I read. After that, I was completely hooked. I rate Goddard as the best suspense novelist I've ever read. His plot twists are incredible; as a long-time reader, I'm used to being able to predict endings. It's depressing, really, how few can surprise me. Well, Goddard can! And his are true plot twists, all the information is planted early in the novel, but you can never quite see which little nugget of information will end up being the crucial one! Delig...
This is the first book I've read by Robert Goddard. I had been meaning to get round to reading some of his books for many many many years. A friend of mine has always praised his books and would buy every new release immediately and now I see why.The plot and characters really drag you in. This is one of a missing woman, presumed murdered and the efforts of the suspect to find out what really happened. Twists and turns with red herrings that actually end up tying into the plot. I'll be honest, I...
Picked up for £1 at a charity shop. What a find. A 500+ page-turner staring with the intriguing premise of a young woman, Heather Mallender, disappearing “into the blue” from the peak of a desolate hill on Rhodes. Her companion, a middle aged schlubby type, suspected by the local police and the British press of being responsible, sets out to find her aided by a set of photographs Heather had failed to retrieve from the developers. I do like this type of mystery where a trail has to be followed a...
When we first meet Harry Barnett, a middle-aged, overweight, alcoholic Englishman, he's working as a caretaker at the Greek villa of distinguished Member of Parliament Allan Dysart. When young and attractive Heather Mallender arrives, as a guest of Dysart, she and Harry become friends, despite the age difference. While walking in the hills, Heather vanishes. Harry is with her at the time and becomes a suspect in her disappearance. In an effort to clear his name, Harry begins his own investigatio...
This lengthy mystery/thriller takes a long time to get going (about 150 pages in the mass-market paperback), but once it does, it's almost as riveting as Goddard's other books. This was his fourth novel and the first to be set in the present day (the others were historical mysteries/thrillers). Like all of Goddard's fiction, the mystery unravels over the entire course of the book, so you're always waiting for the next revelation . . . which will probably complicate or contradict what you've alre...
I have such mixed feelings about Into the Blue. Looking back on it, it had a few surprises that caught me off guard. At the same time, I felt very removed from the characters, and I also guessed the main "bad guy" about a 6th of the way through. It was also a very slow read for me (possibly because of the lack of feeling for the characters). I felt the ending was predictable, though poetic. I think there was also a lack of drive for me. What was propelling the main character onward? Fear for him...
Goddard does it again! In this novel we meet Harry Barnett, a fiftish failure with a past. Harry's life is immersed in failure; its only positive aspect being Harrys unlikely friendship with Alan Dysart, an Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Defense. While house sitting at Alan's villa in Greece, Harry is drawn into a perplexing and bizarre puzzle involving the disappearance of a beautiful, young houseguest. These are only two of the several plot threads that textures this story and weav...
Quite a good novel about a hapless, sodden Englishman who is compelled to find out what happened to a young woman who disappears while in his company; resembles Ian McEwen. Nothing is as it seems as the themes are betrayal and deception. Harry turns out to be a dogged, skillful investigator but he’s unaware of how he’s being manipulated. As in other recent mysteries, adoption is the key although I’m not sure that the revelation that precipitates all the events is quite that damning. The ending i...
Into the Blue by Robert GoddardBook Description:Harry Barnett lives the life of an Englishman on permanent vacation in Greece, house-sitting for a powerful friend and hiding from a past disgrace. That is, until a guest at the villa disappears on a walking tour, and Harry is the number one suspect. While a Greek detective tries to trap him, and the British tabloids pillory him at home, Harry’s conscience is his worst enemy of all. What happened to young, beautiful Heather Mallender? Who took her—...
Actually, I listened to the audio version of this book. It was very well read (Paul Shelley) and quite enjoyable. Surprisingly, it really held my interest. I suggest surprisingly, because the protagonist, Harry, is a kind of bumbler and ne'er-do-well who gets caught up in the disappearance of a young woman. They were climbing a small mountain on the Greek island of Rhodes. He gives out before reaching the top, she continues, and disappears. Harry is left a suspect and with nothing more than some...