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I couldn't put this down! Perfect pace for me, filled with interesting places and historical bits and pieces. Great plotting too.
Bettie's Books
This started off well, with a 1981 abduction and a murder in Avebury witnessed by a historian, and as the plot thickened it drew me in and made for an enjoyable read. Somewhere around the mid-point however, all the plot twists and conspiracies started to become a little difficult to swallow, and there was a whiff of Dan Brown in there (albeit Goddard is a better writer than Brown) with heroic derring-do and solving of mysteries of entitlement via clues in ancient documents. It all felt a bit con...
On a beautiful July afternoon in 1981 David Umber witnesses the kidnapping of a young girl. At the same time the child's sister is struck and killed by the kidnapper's van. In the ensuing confusion the kidnappers escape and are never heard from again. No ransom demand is ever presented for the child and she (or her body) is never located. Several years later a convicted sex offender confesses to the crime and is jailed, but there is some doubt that he was the kidnapper.The events of that July da...
Am not a huge fan of crime/thrillers, but am regularly drawn back to Goddard's work. Known as "the master of the clever twist", I must say that I agree with this statement. Having been slightly disappointed with the last few novels of his I had read, I am glad I retained my faith, and read another. This was a very good read-and I had no idea-yes, "no idea", as to how the plot would pan out.An abduction and death some 20 years previously are intersposed with the academic research of one of the pr...
This mystery thriller took me by surprise... A chance buy at a second-hand stall, I was attracted by the unsolved crime/mystery element, but the novel began with a tale of a mystery figure in the history of politics called "Junius". I'm not usually enthralled by the history genre, but the novel quickly turned its attention to an unresolved crime which certainly added an exciting element to the book early on and hooked me. It wasn't until the epilogue that I realised Junius wasn't fictional, but
I picked this up on a whim, 2nd hand, because of the Avebury connection, a place I've visited twice in lovely Somerset. I was expecting, hoping for a mistery that would stick close to these surroundings but that wasn't to be.Instead I read a mistery that proved annoying at times but remained unputdownable.Annoying because of the bland characters, unanswered yet obvious questions at certain stages, the protagonist hopping on one train and plane after another without the accounting resources. Like...
I enjoyed this a lot, it kept me guessing right to the end. Unfortunately the end is the worst part. The unveiling of the plot was very clever and unexpected but I have a couple of gripes.I didn't like the way that Sharp just disappeared from the story. Once he was out of jail I was waiting for him to come back into the story, but he never did. Neither did I like the fact that the villains went free and unpunished, though I suppose that it's feasible given the way the plot evolved. But what real...
Entertaining with many twists and turns. Robert Goddard at his best.
This had a somewhat far-fetched plot that lost its momentum toward the end, so it was a disappointment. But all in all it wasn't a bad mystery. It involved a decades old kidnapping that resurfaces following the death of a person who was affected by the original crime. It also involves the mystery of authorship of the letters of Junius, a political commentator of the 18th century. That one has a kind of pat ending.
TOO BORING, DIDNT FINISH
Goddard remains one of my favourite authors, and an author I often judge other writers against - especially in the mystery and thriller genres. Most of the Goddard novels I've read I've found to be amazing, and Sight Unseen is full of the twists, expert plotting, well managed pacing, and intriguing characters that I find in most of his works. I also admire Goddard's use of language and tone. There is something gentle with his approach, even in scenes that are tense or lethal.Bringing in the hist...
Convincing denouements are such important things aren’t they, for our enjoyment of a crime or mystery novel? In crime novels, the denouements, are of course, the revelation of the identity of the murderer, maybe also the how and the why if they have not been revealed already.In Goddard’s novels the why is all important, even I would say, above the identity of the perpetrator/perpetrators. The scene is set for mystery, intrigue, murder, disappearances and conspiracies. The past is all important b...
Its a quirky detective story with a historical thread running through it. It starts off with a student witnessing a kidnapping and a tragic hit and run accident whilst having a quiet drink in a country pub; an event that changes the lives of everyone who was present that day. Fast forward and the one time PhD History student, now widowed and estranged from his family, is reduced to conducting guided tours of Prague for the "Jolly Brolly" company when the detective from the kidnapping case catche...
It's a summer’s day in 1981. The main character sees a two-year-old girl abducted during a picnic and her older sister knocked down and killed by the abductor’s van. Their nanny never gets over it and ends up committing suicide. 23 years later a witness of the event is trying to unravel who the abductor was. It's classic Goddard and certainly keeps the pages turning. I read it on a train and hardly noticed the other passengers.
A wonderfully circular novel about events that are out of our control, and how we can possibly take our lives back afterward, or if we can, or should we.Yes, it's a British sort-of whodunnit told from 20 years after the Big Event, which is the abduction of a toddler, and the death of her sister when she is hit by the getaway car. There were only a few witnesses, one of whom is the main character in this book: David Umber. Take note of the name; it's carefully chosen. He later married the nanny f...
Eén keer gelezen, maar dat is te lang geleden voor een goede recensie. Dus, eerst nog een keer lezen, dan horen jullie wat ik ervan vind.Intend to release this one at the meeting on Terschelling, so will read this in the course of next week. After a considerable time I re-read this book. This time, liked it a lot better than the first, when I compared it too much with Verboden te lezen, a book by the same author. Now that I did not read them one after the other, I am able to talk about this book...
Loved it, complicated and impossible to narrate to another person, but beautiful story, some points seem a bit weak, but otherwise an amazing book!
Involving and breathless adventure with complicated and believable characters. Two days before Charles and Di got hitched, David Umber is idly waiting outside the pub in Avebury. He’s a history student and been promised a look at some important manuscripts from a mysterious source. While he’s enjoying a pint he witnesses the dramatic kidnapping of a young girl and a tragic accident which sets in train a life changing emotional upheaval. The enormity affects significant others including the victi...
My first book by Mr Goddard. He's a very good storyteller for sure. Kept my interest up throughout with twists and turns aplenty. A different feel to it than Michael Connolly, Jeffrey Deaver and the type of book I have devoured so far. There's an historical element to this that helps drive it and plenty of who?, what?, where? situations to keep you guessing.I like it a lot. Robert Goddard is now on my list of authors to look out for.