Product Description

A novel by the author of "Closed Circle". While out walking Robin Timariot encounters a woman, with whom he has an unforgettable conversation. On his return home, Timariot discovers the woman was raped and murdered and he becomes obsessed with the search for the truth.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38715 in Books
• Published on: 1995-12-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
Suave Goddard, who's been absent from American bookstores since Caught in the Light (1999), returns with a preposterous tale of murderous intrigue, first published in the U.K. in 1995. Pressed to resign his position with the European Commission and take his late brother Hugh's place as a director of the family firm, which manufactures cricket bats, Robin Timariot sets off on a week's walking tour to think things over. One evening he encounters a lovely stranger on a deserted West Mercian ridge. They exchange a few pleasantries; he declines her offer of a ride to a nearby village; they go their separate ways; and that's the last believable incident for the next three years. Returning to his family after a week virtually incommunicado, Robin learns that shortly after they parted, the stranger, Lady Louise Paxton, was raped and strangled at the home of well-known painter Oscar Bantock, who was strangled as well. The police announce that they've made an arrest, but Robin can't resist responding to their search for possible witnesses. His testimony, and the details he unwisely shares with the Bantock and Paxton families, pull him slowly but irresistibly into the center of the case. Goddard's plotting is as sleekly malevolent as ever; before the seventh corpse falls to the ground, nearly every cast member, from Hugh's widow Bella to Louise's widower Sir Keith Paxton to Shaun Naylor, the police suspect, has revealed layer upon layer of treachery and deceit. Yet the plot ends by swallowing up the characters, especially Robin, who seems at every point to choose exactly the course of action best calculated to land him in deep trouble for no better reason than that the tale requires it. Connoisseurs of wheels within wheels won't be disappointed. For the rest, the inveterately self-serving pettiness of everyone in Robin's circle is the most realistic touch here. (Kirkus Reviews)

From the Publisher
The new novel by the most compulsive storyteller of them all.

From the Back Cover
It is a golden evening of high summer. Walking a ridge on the Welsh Borders, Robin Timariot meets by chance an elegant middle-aged woman who seems strangely out of place. They exchange only a few words, but those words prove to be unforgettable. A few days later Timariot learns from the newspapers that, just hours after their meeting, the woman was raped and murdered.

A man is swiftly charged and convicted of the crime, but a string of inexplicable events begins to convince Timariot that all is not what it seems. Fascinated by the dead woman's memory, he is sucked into the complex motives and tortured relationships of her family and friends, searching against his better judgement for the secret of what really happened the day she died.

The closer he gets to the truth, the more hideous and uncertain it seems to be. And far too late he realizes that anybody who uncovers it is unlikely to be allowed to live.

Customer Reviews

Good, but not his best by any means
I've been a fan of Robert Goddard's books for some years now, and had somehow missed this one. Having finally caught up with it, I was a little disappointed. I found that it took a very long time - at least half the book - before it got particularly involving or interesting; unusual for one of RG's books. Once it got going, it was as slick, fast-paced, and complex as his best ones, but even the ending left me feeling a little unsatisfied.
Still, I was totally wrong about who the baddie would turn out to be, and I did end up reading the second half in about three intense sittings, so maybe I'm being a little harsh
I recommend Robert Goddard to anyone who will listen, and do so again here....but this may not be the best of his books for a new reader to start their experience. My first was "Into the blue", and I was hooked from then onwards.

As good as ever
Robin Timariot has a chance encounter with a captivating women when out walking, when he returns home he finds out that the women he met was raped and murdered. Timariot becomes fascinated by the dead women and is sucked into the complex world of her family and friends.

As ever Goddard creates a very enjoyable and gripping story with many twists and turns. I have read several of his books and this for me is one of the best. It is a shame that Goddard does not get as much praise and attention as other authors. Well worth reading his central character is always just a normal person which i love.

A Moment In Time
If I had to describe this book in a few words, I would find it almost impossible. It works on so many levels. It begins with a brief, chance meeting which changes the narrator's life.
What happens to a family when the mother is murdered? How does a man feel when a beautiful woman is murdered just a couple of hours after a chance meeting with her? It is about coming to terms with the death of a sibling who you have betrayed. It is about family loyalties. I could go on. At the heart of the story is the murder of Louise Paxton.
Robin Timariot narrates the story of his meeting with Louise, her subsequent murder and his dealings with her family. It took several readings before it dawned on me that Robin is selfish, self-centred and not a particularly nice man. Yet, as with many of Goddard's characters, he is a well rounded character and ultimately he does put someone before himself.
This story is so cleverly crafted and the characterization is wonderful.
It has also been brought to life with an excellent narration by the actor Nicholas Farrell.