Customer Reviews

Into the Blue

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4 star:		(8)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

It is a credit to Robert Goddard's writerly abilities that he manages to lead and keep our interest alive in this complex story. We travel from Greece to the British Isles (a map of the UK would be a nice adjunct). The cast of characters in another author's hands would be cumbersome. A tribute to Goddard that even the minor characters are crisply delineated, and not once was I confused as to who was who.

Harry Bennett, a professional failure, has to be one of the more depressing heroes of all time. He has no confidence, few social skills, and not one yearning desire to better himself. He glumly concludes he is not worthy of success. His stylistic sense is so poor; his rumpled appearance causes comment in even an average restaurant. The late Carroll O'Connor could play the part to perfection. On Harry's watch, the young and fragile Heather Mallender disappears while they are hiking up sinister Profitis Ilias Mountain in the Greek Isles. Predictably, Harry has petered out slightly below the summit and elects to wait for Heather to complete the climb. And that is the last he sees of Heather.

The rest of the novel recounts Harry's painstaking search for Heather. Harry is nothing if not persistent, and even his wrong turns forward his search. Nothing is quite as it seems, even Harry. Mr. Goddard has given us a story laced with irony. As in a previous Goddard novel "Caught in the Light," I had a good idea "who" was the main villain; I just had no idea "why." This is a finely crafted novel, and the characterizations are delightful. A very satisfying read.

For intelligent, intricately plotted thrillers, no one beats Robert Goddard. I first discovered his work on trip to Australia. "Caught in the Light" made the 14 hour flight home go by in a blink. "Into the Blue" is the best work from one of the best popular fiction writers working today. Well-conceived believable characters, a plot so intricate you sometimes feel you need a map yet it all falls perfectly into place at the end, and a prose style that pulls you in.
Read "Into the Blue" and you'll find yourself ordering all Goddard's books - he's that good and that addictive.

Goddard does it again! In this novel we meet Harry Barnett, a fiftish failure with a past. Harry's life is immersed in failure; its only positive aspect being Harrys unlikely friendship with Alan Dysart, an Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Defense. While house sitting at Alan's villa in Greece, Harry is drawn into a perplexing and bizarre puzzle involving the disappearance of a beautiful, young houseguest.

These are only two of the several plot threads that textures this story and weaves it into compelling whole cloth. Goddard's writing invites you to walk in Harrys shoes as he attempts to utilize the one clue in his possession to solve a mystery whose pieces are scattered from Greece to England to Switzerland.

You may think you have the solution.....but don't be too sure!!

It's gratifying to see Goddard, a best-selling author in Europe and Australia, get printed stateside - if you're not familiar with him, Into the Blue is a damn good place to start.

Known for his layered, circular plotting that always twists and turns down corners you never expected, Goddard is one of the masters of the genre. The atmosphere in Into the Blue is tense and creeping, as the past weaves into the present with fascinating consequences (something he does in many of his novels). The story has so many elements it's difficult to remember them all - jealousy, corruption, blackmail, deception, and betrayal all collide as Harry Barnett struggles to learn the truth, finding out there is much more behind Heather Mallender's disappearance than he could have ever suspected. I'll leave it at that, for fear of ruining any surprises.

I've always preferred mystery novels where the protagonist is not a policeman solving a case, but rather someone with a personal matter at stake, something he needs is desperately driving him forward. This tends to be the case with Goddard's novels, be it obsessed photographer Ian Jarrett from Caught in the Light, family man William Trenchard from Painting the Darkness (also a must-read, along with "In Pale Battalions"), or tough barfly Harry Barnett from this one. In some respects, Goddard shares some similarities to Hitchcock.

Into the Blue's pace may be a bit slower than your standard airport mass-market thriller, and yet it never bores you, sucking you into a fascinating mystery....and by the time you're halfway through, it just flies ahead full throttle as the puzzle's pattern begins to show. And yet, just when you think you've figured it all out, a few more revelations hit you out of nowhere...it ends with tremendously satisfying surprises!

This was the first novel by Robert Goddard I read. After that, I was completely hooked. I rate Goddard as the best suspense novelist I've ever read. His plot twists are incredible; as a long-time reader, I'm used to being able to predict endings. It's depressing, really, how few can surprise me. Well, Goddard can! And his are true plot twists, all the information is planted early in the novel, but you can never quite see which little nugget of information will end up being the crucial one! Delightful! As for _Into the Blue_, I felt like I had visited Greece along with Harry. And Harry rates as one of the most likable characters in suspense fiction, too. Not all Goddard novels will hold the same interest, but they are all very well-plotted.

I just "discovered this author, though he's been around a while, when I picked up a copy of Borrowed Time that I found in paperback. After reading that book, which I couldn't put down, I am reading a few more of his titles. I really enjoyed this one. The hero is very human, not the glib and smart detective you find in so many mysteries. The characters are well-drawn and the plot had plenty of twists and turns. He has a beautiful way with words and the telling of a story. None of his books have disappointed me so far. I would recommend this author for anyone who likes a mystery-suspense.

Into the Blue was the first book written by Goddard that I read. It is not the best of his novels but one of the best. Goddard fully develops characters and the plot is clear ,although takes many twists. Goddard makes the characters come to life, they are not the one dimensional characters that some authors develop. Goddard is one of my top 5 authors ranking 1 or 2. This book will hold your full attention to the end. After you read this book go and get Past Caring his best (hard to find). Most public libraries should have this book .

You'll like Harry Barnett. He is in Greece, on the sunny sunny island of Rhodes, house-sitting there for a rich British member of parliament. Harry smokes, he drinks, he likes food, he likes women, especially the attractive young woman named Heather, who befriended him a few days ago. Heather is much younger than Harry's overweight middle-aged self.

Heather persuades Harry to take her on the half-hour drive up a nearby mountain for the view. They stop, get out of the car, and climb for a while. Heather decides to continue walking up to the summit. Somewhat winded, Harry says he'll sit and rest for a little. Harry waits and waits and waits, and no Heather. Heather does not return. Where is she? Where did she go? Was she waylaid? What happened? He finds her scarf, and loses it.

Harry goes to the police, who question him, begin their own meticulous search of the summit, dutifully find the scarf, but quickly begin to suspect himself, that he may have murdered her and done away with the body. She has disappeared Into the Blue.

The book involves Harry's search for the young woman and what happened to her. A most engrossing and vivid read. This is Goddard at his best. A few months ago, local bookstores did not have any of his novels; he wasn't even listed in Books in Print. Amazon did not have him. You had to go to Amazon.co.uk. Goddard writes wonderfully. We must all be pleased that his excellent novels are now easily available.

This was another excellent book by Robert Goddard with the usual twists and turns that make it a page-turner. Perhaps it is old age on my part but I thought there were too many characters in this one that didn't need to be there. But, one cannot put this one down until it is over.

This was the first of several Goddard books I read and the one I liked the best. Goddard's expert use of plot twists and turns make this a difficult book to put down. A co-worker recently went out and bought 2 Goddard books after borrowing this one and reading it within 2 days. Don't miss it