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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, if a bit long-winded,
By
This review is from: Borrowed Time (Paperback)
...There are three types of mystery novels. The best of them grab you by the throat and pull you along. You give up eating and sleeping to get through them in one sitting. The worst of them can be encapsulized in a page and a half, you've figured out who the killer is in three sentences, and you can safely consign them to the fire without enduring the rest of the writing therein. The third type sits between the two. It's well-written enough, and fine while you're reading it, but you don't feel that compulsion to continue when something else beckons; you don't resent the phone ringing when you hear it. These are the good mysteries (as opposed to the great ones). Robert Goddard writes good mysteries. This is his eighth, the story of how a man on a hike's chance encounter with a beautiful woman gets him (and some members of his family) tangled up in her family's odd twists and turns. It's well plotted, moves along at a steady if not brisk pace, and there are enough satisfying twists and turns to keep the reader occupied. But it doesn't beg to be picked up every time it's put down. Perhaps the problem lies in Goddard's writing style, which is a bit on the thick side; perhaps it's just his characters, who always seem to be teetering on the brink of two-dimensionality without ever actually getting there (that, of course, is a charge that can be laid against many mysteries, including some of the best; Spillane's female characters, e.g., had all the depth of a lasagna noodle). Or perhaps, Borrowed Time just doesn't read as fast as some of its contemporaries. It's certainly not a bad novel, and mystery fans who have grown tired of reading the same authors over and over again might do well to refresh themselves with a dip in Goddard's pool. Just don't be expecting another Lehane, Parker, or Highsmith. ** 1/2
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Borrowed Time,
By
This review is from: Borrowed Time (Paperback)
An excellent read! I discovered this author and his books only recently, and I've read almost all of them since. His writing reminds me of the fine writer of novels set in England, Elizabeth George. His characters are well developed and the story keeps you in suspense until the end. I highly recommend this book and other books by Robert Goddard.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
terrific amateur sleuth,
This review is from: Borrowed Time (Paperback)
In the summer of 1990, five weeks after his oldest sibling Hugh died of a heart attack at forty-nine years old, thirty-seven years old Robin Timariot needs time to decide his future so he plans to hike for six days along the Offa's Dyke ridge in the Welsh Borders. Though he enjoyed his work with the European Commission in Brussels, since Hugh died he finds it oppressive and ponders if he should come home to join the family business since his uncle, mom and the other relatives insist they need him.
On the ridge at a heavenly view, he meets a lovely middle-aged woman whose nearby parked Mercedes seems to put her in the wrong place. They amiably chat about truly changing things before they part. A week later, Robin reads in the Daily Telegraph the shocking article of artist Oscar Bantock raping and murdering Louise Paxton, the woman who impressed him for that short interlude chat on the trail. He tells the truth about their encounter, but finds the reactions of Louise's loved ones odd. Counseling himself to mind his business, Robin still makes some simple inquiries that turn out to be extremely complex and dangerous to anyone who learns the truth. This is a terrific amateur sleuth tale that overcomes the inherent credibility flaw that hurts much of the sub-genre as the audience readily can see Robin (or themselves) making simple testimony, condolences and curious minor inquiries that twist and turn into something beyond the protagonist's control. It is the plausibility that this could happen to anyone that makes BORROWED TIME a fabulous thriller that fans will devour in one sitting and seek other works by Robert Goddard (see INTO THE BLUE). Harriet Klausner
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