Name To A Face (original 2007; edition 2010)

"when Tim Harding agrees to do a favour for a tax-exile friend by representing him at an auction in Penzance, he is unaware of the secrets that tie the ring he is sent to buy to three widely sperated events: the loss of the HMS Association with all hands off Silly in 1707; an unsolved murder in Penzance thirty years later; and the seemingly accidental drowning of a journalist diving at the Association wreck site in 1999. Very soon he discovers that by taking on this apparently simly task he had allowed himself to be drawen into a web of conspiracies."

when one of the characters is a twin, and Tim harding is sleeping with the friends wife you sort of realise what this book is. its an action suspence though not one that kept me guessing. it was still however a good read ( )

Usually a Goddard fan, I found the people on the pages struggling to fit into a plot that had to tear and stretch to fit what the story needed. I gave up. ( )

Someone once said to me that the essence of good fiction is, believable characters in fantastic situations. If, like me, you agree with that sentiment, then you'll love the works of Robert Goddard: not for him the square jawed super hero punching and shooting his way through an intrepid adventure, but rather, a chap a bit like you or me, who would rather not be in the mess that surrounds him, but is willing to see it through to its conclusion.

Mr Goddard's tangled plots are a little far fetched, but the plot moves at such a pace that they appear logical as one reads. This book is 470 pages long and tantalisingly dangles the solution, just out of reach, from page 1 to 470. I thought that I knew the secret on several occasions, only to be proved wrong by the denouement.

This book mingles a little true history into the plot - the story of King Edward II and that of HMS Association, a ship that sank off the coast of Cornwall in the early eighteenth century. Naturally, anything happening in that part of the world soon had its very own myth and this performs a crucial role in this tale. I shall not say more, partially to avoid spoiling it for a future reader and also because, with so many twists, my review would probably stretch to 570 pages!

This is one of those no messing, straight forward pleasure reads, that everyone needs occasionally. If you feel the need for same now, I thoroughly recommend this book. ( )

Based on true historic events, the sinking of HMS Association off the Scilly Isles, this is a twisting, turning mystery packed with family secrets, murders and intrigue. Having read many of Goddard's books I was looking forward to seeing how well he could keep me guessing with his twists and sub-plots. I'm sad to say on this occasion I really struggled. I feel there were just too many characters in this book. I found myself having to flick back through the pages to remind myself of who people were and where they fitted into a plot that might have gone a couple of twists too far. However, I won't let this put me off reading more Goddard in the future as his previous efforts are far superior to this. ( )

In 1707, the HMS Association was lost off the Isles of Scilly with no survivors. Thirty years later, an admiralty clerk is tasked with a secret mission.
And 200 years after that in 1996, a dive on the wreck results in a fatal accident. Ten years later Tim Harding agrees to return to Cornwall, to go to an auction, to bid on a low value lot, as a favour for his employer and friend Barney Tozer. Seemingly disconnected events come together to form a trail of deceit, murder and greed, activated when the auction lot is stolen.

The plot of NAME TO A FACE comes close to stretching the bounds of credibility. I usually enjoy Robert Goddard's books, and I really did enjoy this one, but there felt as if there was at least one plot element too many. It almost felt as if Goddard had painted himself into a corner, and had to pull another rabbit out of the hat in order to bind the plot together coherently. Part of the problem was the multiple time frames already described in the synopsis. But then Goddard introduced another, a legend from the 12th century, and I really felt he was clutching at straws. What I normally enjoy in Goddard novels, the juxtaposition of the past with the present, just felt overdone.

It took a long time to finally tie everything off, and even then a murderer goes free, and another escapes retribution. I was ready for it finish well before it did.

NAME TO A FACE is Robert Goddard's 19th novel, in a career that began in 1986. ( )