Long Time Coming

Good story construction; the use of flashbacks is a tricky one, but Goddard does it well. The flashbacks are logical in their placement and relate to what one person decides to tell another. Noticeable differences in the way charactes spoke which is a rarity these days. Chapters appear to be divided by time (1940 v. 1976) and are a bit cliff-hangerish for my taste, but the story was interesting enough so that I didn't mind the device. Lots of intrigue, shady characters, revenge and betrayal are hard to resist. A bit less comeuppance than I would have liked for some characters, but then I'm bloodthirsty that way.

Stephen Swan is surprised when his uncle Eldritch, whom he had thought was dead, is released from an Irish prison after 36 years. Eldritch refuses to tell anyone why he was imprisoned or why he's been unexpectedly released. It's not long before other people are trying to find Eldritch and soon Stephen finds himself drawn into a mystery that began in 1940.

We discover that just before WWII Eldritch returned to England from Belgium, where he worked for a Jewish diamond merchant and art collector. Soon we are following a trail of events through an intricate plot concerning fake Picasso's and Irish politics. The story alternates between 1940 and 1976 and takes us to Antwerp, London and Dublin. Bit by bit we learn about Eldritch as a young show more man and what led to his eventual imprisonment. Another element to the story is the neutrality of Ireland at the beginning of WWII. Real life characters like Eamon de Valera, a hero of the 1916 Easter Uprising and current Tsoiseach (president) of the Irish Republic are key figures who interact with the fictional ones.

As the plot thickens we can never be sure who is controlling events. It's an excellent book that combines real events with a fictional thriller, and enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing, but not too many as to be unbelievable. show less

A very clever interweaving of fact and fiction set in 1940 Dublin and 1976 England. Goddard takes the fact of Malcolm MacDonald's 1940 attempt to persuade Eamon De Valera to abandon Irish neutrality in WW2 and join the war on the side of the allies, then builds a convincing story around it, set partly in 1940 and partly in 1976. Stephen Swan returns home to England having given up his US job to find his uncle he thought was dead living with his mother and wanting him to help unravel a 36 year mystery. As always the real locations add to the authenticity of the plot and you ask yourself if perhaps it isn't a true story! Highly recommended.

[Long Time Coming] by Robert Goddard
4.5 stars

From The Book:
Stephen Swan is amazed when he hears that the uncle he thought had been killed in the Blitz is actually alive. For nearly four decades, Eldritch Swan has been locked away in an Irish prison and now, at last, has been released. Shocked and suspicious, Stephen listens to the old man’s story and is caught up in a tale that begins at the dawn of World War II, when Eldritch worked for an Antwerp diamond dealer with a trove of Picassos—highly valuable paintings that later disappeared. Stephen, who finds his uncle by turns devious, charming, and brazen, then meets Rachel Banner, a beautiful American who may have inherited the Picassos—and is determined to see justice done for her show more family. But in this tale of revenge and redemption, justice is the ultimate illusion. Eldritch, Stephen, and the woman Stephen has fallen in love with soon find themselves fighting for their lives—against sinister forces still guarding a secret that must never be revealed.

My Thoughts:
A stolen trove of Picasso paintings and a bit of Irish history... that in a nutshell is what Robert Goddard's standalone novel [A Long Time Coming] is comprised of.

It's 1976. Eldrich Swan has been released from a Irish prison after 36 years imprisonment. He returns to England and is recruited to recover the Picasso's which is currently the property of an American tycoon and on exhibition at the Royal Academy of London. His nephew Stephen and the granddaughter of a Jewish diamond merchant... his former employer and owner of the art... help in the recovery. The paintings had been stolen from a vault of a London art dealer in the early days of World War II.

Like most of Goddard's novels, there is yet another story at the heart of this one also. It's the dawn of World War II and the neutrality of Ireland featuring some real-life characters. Eamon de Valera...a hero of the Easter Uprising of 1916... is Tsoiseach of the Irish Republic having served as early President of the Irish Free State. It's June , 1940 and Malcolm MacDonald of the British Legation is in Dublin to try and persuade Eamon de Valera and Ireland to join the war effort. Also in Dublin is the fictional Eldrich Swan searching for a master forger named Desmond Quilligan.

Goddard takes the reader back-and-forth from 1940 Dublin to 1976... and then to Belgium where the matter of the stolen art is finally resolved. It was another truly fascinating Robert Goddard adventure. show less

What do you say? Robert Goddard is the master story teller, he paints a picture and takes you there, unravelling the story one layer at a time rather like the layers of an onion. He is one of my favourite authors and has never let me down, and this is one of his best stories. This book is filled with intrigue, betrayal, espionage, political machinations and a mystery element that is not revealed until the end. What more could you want? What are you waiting for? Read this book! You will not be disappointed. ❤️

I want to start out by saying this is my first Robert Goddard read and I was totally blown away by this book. The setting switches between 1940 and 1976 in Europe, primarily in London, Belgium, and Ireland. I like to look up facts about places and events mentioned and this book is loaded with those.

The story begins with an old man named Eldritch Swan being released from a prison in Ireland after 36 years. He shows up at the door of the only family he has left, his nephew Stephen and his sister-in-law, Stephen's mother. Stephen Swan had been told his whole life his uncle was killed by the Germans in a London air raid in 1940. So when he shows up alive he wonders what is going on??

Stephen soon finds out he is not going to get many answers show more from his uncle. As his uncle claims it was part of his prison release that he never disclose why he was imprisoned all those years. Naturally Stephen is leery of his long lost (dead?) Uncle Eldritch.

So through many twists and turns the story goes...trying to find out what really happened to Uncle Eldritch all those years ago and why it still has to be such a secret now. The author did a great job of drawing you in right off the bat and wanting you to keep reading. This was a hard book to put down at night. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone who loves a good mystery mixed with some historical fiction. show less

Shady characters and historical atmosphere abound in a twisty tale of art forgery, dubious business deals, and political intrigue. Intelligent and stylish, this fast-paced novel of suspense kept me happily turning pages right up to its satisfying conclusion. I read Goddard's In Pale Battalions years and years ago and remember liking it as well; I will certainly be delving into his backlist more in the future.