Closed Circle: A Novel [Hardcover]

Robert Goddard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1994

When two con men, traveling to England in 1931 aboard a transatlantic liner, decide to fleece a wealthy heiress, they become enmeshed in a deep and dangerous mystery involving betrayal, deceit, and intricate political machinations. 20,000 first printing. $17,500 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Goddard's seventh novel (after A Debt of Dishonor ) about two dapper English con men in the 1930s, gets off to a droll and snappy beginning. Aboard ship after narrowly escaping prosecution for a financial scam in America, Guy Horton and Max Wingate meet a beautiful heiress, who they think is ripe for their particular brand of seduce-and-extort scheme. But their plans go awry when Max falls in love with Diana Charnwood and enlists Guy's help in an elopement that will ultimately leave her financier father dead, and Max accused of his murder. When Guy supplants Max as the main object of Diana's affections, a jealous brawl results in a second death--Max's. With this event, Goddard's lightly cynical buddy story becomes a political mystery. While halfheartedly attempting to prove Max's innocence--and pursuing Charnwood's disappeared millions as well as his deceitful daughter--Guy is drawn into an international conspiracy involving murder, money and war. Although Goddard is adept at intricate plotting, there is one major misstep; Max and Guy make an appealing duo but Guy alone isn't a strong enough character to carry the story solo, and thus Closed Circle fails to fulfill early promises of immense readability.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Guy Horton and Max Wingate, both disaffected veterans of World War I, have roamed the world as partners in various confidence games. Amid Depression-era gloom they court English heiress Diana Charnwood with hopes of quick financial gain. Their callow scheme leads, however, to murder and a harsh moral education as Guy's investigation of the homicides unexpectedly uncovers those responsible for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The author of Hand in Glove (Poseidon, 1993) begins his new novel with hijinks reminiscent of P.G. Wodehouse but soon establishes moral quandaries worthy of Graham Greene. Carefully plotted and elegantly phrased, this is at once a suspenseful mystery and a thoughtful examination of the lingering effects of evil.
- Albert E. Wilhelm, Tennessee Technological Univ., Cookeville
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 331 pages
• Publisher: Poseidon Pr (January 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671750720
• ISBN-13: 978-0671750725
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,036,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE MOVING FINGER WRITES, AND HAVING WRIT MOVES ON.., March 18, 2007

By 

Red Rock Bookworm (St. George Utah) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Closed Circle (Paperback)

If you are a fan of Agatha Christie or Daphne DuMaurier's early works, you will enjoy this "period piece" by Goddard. Although published in 1993 it possesses the atomospheric and evocative flavor of the 1930's (the era in which it is set).

We are pulled into the lives of two con-men, Guy and Max, friends since their college days, as a chance meeting results in a set of circumstances that threatens not only their friendship but their very lives.

A conspiracy cover-up, love, murder, avarice and betrayal are all wrapped up in this tantalizing little tale.

Goddard takes advantage of his personal knowledge of history (he taught at Cambridge)in developing a story that is credible and ingenious.(Maybe things really did happen as he imagines.)

Once again, he has delivered an entertaining tome that will keep you spellbound.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Watching a Hitchcock Movie, May 22, 2000

By 

C. Kuschel-Toerber "Christian Kuschel" (Frankfurt, Hessen) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Closed Circle (Paperback)

Robert Goddard's books are all pretty much alike - and they're all pretty good: Crimes committed in the past coming back to haunt the protagonists later on.

Written in beautiful prose, the likeable and believable characters in Mr. Goddard's novels stumble through twists and turns, uncovering truths that turn out to be lies in the end.

A lot of research and a great feel for the times that the story takes place in (the 1930's in this case) are another trademark of Mr. Goddard's skills.

Reading any Robert Goddard novel is like watching a Hitchcock movie, and "Closed Circle" is one of the best.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love, murders, lies and more..., November 14, 2004

By 

book women "Book women" (Asia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Closed Circle (Paperback)

This novel starts as a naive story with two crooks trying to find an easy way to make money - the only way they know. but slowly the plot becomes complicated and opens a Pandora box which free secrets one after the other...

I couldn't put the book down until I finish it all - till the surprising epilogue...