Hand in Glove

More of a 3.5. Not quite as good as the other Goddard I've read, In Pale Battalions, but I feel it's still a notch or two above contemporary mysteries. The story begins with the cold-blooded murder of the sister, Beatrix, of a famous poet, Tristram Abberley. At first it is thought Beatrix has been killed for robbery but there's a darker motive. The antique dealer Colin Fairfax, is framed for the crime. The locales stretch from Wales to southern England to France to Spain. Letters from Tristram to Beatrix during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s and memories of some of the former combatants connect with the action decades later. A mystery surrounds the authorship of the poems, especially the posthumous poems in a collection: Spanish show more Lines. What big secret is hidden in the letters besides Tristram's possible motive for writing them? The brother of the accused, Derek, tries desperately to prove Colin's innocence. Derek joins forces with Charlotte, goddaughter of the murder victim. Bequeathed Beatrix's cottage, Charlotte begins to discover secrets and lies of her extended family. Derek and Charlotte are drawn into a maelstrom of lies upon lies, duplicity, terror, and a kidnapping.

This novel was very well plotted and written. Just when you think you know what's coming, something completely unexpected happens. This occurs over and over. The novel was exciting all through; I felt nothing was boring. The showdown with the kidnappers of Charlotte's niece in Spain was chilling. The novel was as much a thriller as a mystery. It was absolutely gripping reading. show less

It pains me to have to warn you off Hand in Glove if you’ve never read one of Goddard's books. If you make this your first one you might not come back for more and that would be a shame since he’s written much stronger, more cohesive books. From a set-up perspective, this one falls much like his others, the protagonists are drawn into a situation with far-reaching repercussions and they basically have to go it alone with very little help from police. There’s a long-buried mystery and flashes to the past, but unfortunately this time that mystery was too obscure and even long-lost letters and literary fraud couldn’t save it. There’s too much back and forth, too many characters and I didn’t find any of those characters to be show more particularly interesting. Oh well, every book can’t be perfect and I’m glad this one was a library sale fifty-center. show less

A typically Goddard thriller, this time delving into history with an English poet who died in the 1930s and the connections with his sister murdered 50 years later. As always nothing is quite what it seems and Goddard keeps you guessing right to the end.

Found this one to be a bit generic--below Goddard's usual standards. None of the characters is particularly compelling, and compelling and well-drawn (though not always likeable) protagonists are Goddard's real strength IMO.

It's a couple of years since I last read a Goddard and this book is one of his classics. All his books seem to flit across several locations, mainly rural UK ones, and have a wide variety of characters (albeit that many are predictable and cliche-ridden). His research is immaculate and in this book the Spanish Civil War is a big part of the story. The book inspired me to fill in the few Goddard gaps in my library.

Robert Goddard is a master of the mystery genre. Beware - if you read one of his books, you'll probably want to read them all 13 or 14 off the reel.

This one, like many of RG's books, is set mainly in southern England, but the elaborate plot also moves the action to New York, paris and wartime Spain

Robert Goddard is a master of the mystery genre. Beware - if you read one of his books, you'll probably want to read them all 13 or 14 off the reel.

This one, like many of RG's books, is set mainly in southern England, but the elaborate plot also moves the action to New York, paris and wartime Spain.