This is my first book by this English author. It is an interesting plot about a murder/kidnapping that happened 23 years before the current time of the book, one that was witnessed by David Umber who was doing research at the time for his Ph.D. in history. It was a 3-yo girl that was kidnapped and presumably killed, and her 7-yo sister that was killed when she stepped in front of the kidnap getaway van. A 10-yo brother survived the tragedies. Umber then became involved with the children’s nanny, Sally, and they eventually married. But, there is happiness everywhere as the result of this incident. The parents of the children divorce, and Umber’s marriage also falls apart. Then these grizzly scenes are revisited when Sally is found dead in her bathtub, presumably due to a suicide. The story of Umber’s historical research into an 18th century English writer Junius, which he has abandoned to lead the life of an uninspired and quasi-teacher, is woven into the story, so we have 21st and 18th century mysteries working simultaneously. In the current day story, Umber is involved with all of the people who were originally involved in the murder/kidnap case, the parents and stepparents, the Detective Chief Inspector George Sharp, etc. To say more would give away too much of the plot. At times, the story became much too complex, but then Goddard saved the story through the artful use of his characters and their relationships with each other. It was a good book, not a great one, and I have another Goddard Book on my Kindle, so I’ll give him another chance.
West Coast Don
No comments:
Post a Comment