Synopses & Reviews
It is a golden evening of high summer in July 1990. Robin Timariot has set out that morning on what he has planned as a six-day tramp along part of Offa's Dyke. At the close of his first day's walk he encounters an elegant middle-aged woman who seems strangely out of place among the sheep and gorse of Hergest Ridge. They exchange only a few words of conversation, but their talk is enigmatic -- and unforgettable. A few days later, at the end of his walk, Timariot returns home to learn from the newspapers that, just a few hours after their meeting, the woman, whose name was Louise Paxton, was raped and then murdered, along with an artist, Oscar Bantock, who lived near by.
A man is swiftly charged and convicted of the crime, but a string of inexplicable events begins to convince Timariot -- and others -- that all is not what it seems. Timariot, fascinated by Louise Paxton's memory, is drawn irresistibly into the complex motives and relationships of her family and friends, searching against his better judgement for the secret of what really happened on 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 it may threaten many powerful people. So much so that anybody who uncovers it is unlikely to be allowed to live.
From the Paperback edition.
Review
"Fans of P. D. James will savor best-selling Brit Goddard's plentiful plot twists and crisp, polished prose." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"Goddard is one of those cunning storytellers who can twist a bundle of narrative threads into a hangman's noose....[H]is silken style can sweep aside even the strongest reader's resistance." Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"[P]reposterous....[T]he 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." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"A thriller in the classic storytelling sense...hugely enjoyable." The Times (London)
Review
"An atmosphere of taut menace...suspense is heightened by shadows of betrayal and revenge." Daily Telegraph (U.K.)
Synopsis
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 newpapers 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 judgemnt 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.
About the Author
Robert Goddard graduated from Cambridge University and worked as an educational administrator before becoming a full-time novelist. The author of sixteen bestselling novels, including Sight Unseen, Play to the End, In Pale Battalions, and Hand in Glove, which will be forthcoming from Delta, Goddard lives in England, where he is at work on his next novel.