Fault Line

I've now read all 23 of Robert Goddard's books and enjoyed them all. It's true he's lost his sharp edge since the days of Caught in the Light and Set in Stone, with fewer convoluted plot twists and emotional roller coaster rides. In fact, in Fault Line there don't seem to be any twists at all, and it's all rather predictable - which, as someone who enjoys a good plot twist, leaves me feeling rather short changed (hence only 4 stars). That said, with Goddard's unmistakeable philosophical style and the rather glamorous setting on Capri, it still makes for a highly entertaining page-turner. A word of warning though: if you're searching for Robert Goddard's books under name of author, check carefully you've got the right Robert Goddard; there are two authors with the same name.

Sorry about the title; I'm not a wine enthusisast but the fancy terminology seemed just right!Robert Goddard's first novel was published in 1986, and 'Fault Line' is his twenty-third book; all of these are stand-alone novels, but three of them - 'Into the Blue'(1990), 'Out of the Sun'(1996) and 'Never Go Back'(2006) - form a series insofar as they feature the same lead character, Harry Barnett. There's a quintessential Britishness about Goddard's work, which (at least in my view) raises it above the formulaic, American-influenced offerings of most other British writers in the crime-thriller genre. Over the years, Goddard has become renowned as a master of complex, twisted plotting, though some reviewers feel that his more recent output does not reflect the quality of his earlier work.The lead character in 'Fault Line' is Jonathan Kellaway; we first meet him in 2010, as he is about to undertake his last job as troubleshooter for Intercontinental Kaolins. He is despatched from Augusta, Georgia, to St. Austell, Cornwall, the town where he grew up. Greville Lashley, the nonagenarian controlling shareholder of IK, has commissioned a British academic to write a detailed company history, starting with the small constituent companies which, by merger or acquisition, came together to form Cornish China Clays, the acorn from which the whole global enterprise developed. It transpires that a suspicious gap has been found in the archives at St. Austell; a twelve-year run of documents relating to Walter Wren & Co., covering the period ending with the acquisition of that company by Cornish China Clays in late 1968, has mysteriously disappeared. And Greville Lashley was effectively running Walter Wren & Co. for most of that period.The narrative moves back to 1968, when Jonathan had just left St. Austell Grammar School and was waiting to take up a place at the London School of Economics. During the long Summer holiday he became friendly with Oliver Foster, Lashley's 16-year-old stepson, and, through him, with his slightly older sister, Vivienne, with whom Jonathan immediately falls in largely unrequited love, though their lives do subsequently become entangled. I can't go further without spoiling the pleasure of prospective readers, but the narrative later moves on to 1968 and then to 1984, each such episode being intercut by a brief return to 2010, the last and lengthiest of these taking the story to its conclusion.Goddard writes extremely well; his words flow smoothly and seductively, insidiously enfolding the reader in the detail of the story. He doesn't rely on cliff-hangers; his narrative style is just so addictive that putting the book aside demands an iron will. I thoroughly enjoyed the story (I read the book in two sittings) and was impressed by the wealth of accurate detail which made the historical episodes come alive. Nothing struck me as being inherently incredibe, and until the last few pages I was thinking in terms of five stars at least. So why am I awarding only three?In short, the ending is a serious disappointment. One reviewer describes it as a damp squib, and that pretty much sums it up. There IS a solution - it isn't one of those irritatingly unspecific conclusions - but it's just not good enough for what has gone before. In the title of my review, I refer to the aftertaste, and in my view that's an even bigger problem. As you avidly work your way through the book, you are focused upon WHAT is happening. Once you have discovered the solution, there's a temptation to consider WHY various things happened, and in too many instances a convincing reason is hard to find. And, disconcertingly, it ultimately becomes clear that the whole adventure was unnecessary; the desired result could easily have been reached by a much simpler route.So why as many as three stars? Well, I could be superficial and say thet I simply averaged out a five-star story with a one-star ending, but it goes deeper than that. Until I had read well beyond 90% of the book, I thought it was one of the best, if not THE best of its kind that had come my way for a year or more, and that means a lot. Prospective readers need not fear; foreknowledge of a problem with the ending should not spoil your pleasure, and at the current Amazon price (£8.83 for the hardback in June 2012) you will not regret your purchase. Even a miserable whinger like myself doesn't feel cheated!

I have enjoyed most of the Robert Goddard's novels and like any prolific author some are better than others. Fault Line is one of the better ones, but not in the top rank. As usual the writing is very good but I didn't find it such a page-turner as some of his earlier books. He has done quite a bit of research into the china clay industry, not an obvious choice for a thriller writer. This isn't a thriller but more a carefully crafted book with several story-lines told in retrospect back to the 60s, 80s and the present day. The main character, Jonathon, tells the stories in the first person, which works well and switching among the multiple time periods isn't too confusing. In his quest to find missing company documents he gets embroiled in suspicious deaths and travels extensively trying to unravel the truth and find out whether these events are linked. Despite his eventful life he remains a two-dimensional character. I didn't find any of the characters engaging enough to make me care about the final revelations which made the denouement a damp squibb.Worth reading but not wonderful likePainting The Darkness which is so unforgetable i can't read it again because I vividly remember the ending, which is the climax of the many twists and turns.

I have a weakness for Robert Goddard's novels which are notable for their highly convoluted intrigues and often original themes based on some historical or topical issue, in this case the china clay industry, in decline around St Austell in Cornwall but apparently expanding in South America, which the author manages to link with dastardly deeds in Naples and the beautiful island of Capri which he of course makes you want to visit.Although I understand why some reviewers feel that his novels produced annually have become pot boilers in danger of burning dry, it seems to me that, following on the heels of "Blood Count", "Fault Line" confirms a return to form as regards plot, although I wish that Goddard would make the effort to edit some of the triteness out of his prose.In Jonathan Kellaway we have a likeable and convincing character who displays integrity and presence of mind, the very qualities which encourage more devious people to make use of him, asking favours which ensnare him in precarious and even dangerous sitations in the process. The plot is quite well-structured and deftly revealed. I agree that some aspects of the denouement are implausible, but isn't that often the case with this type of thriller? With a main plot perhaps a little less extraordinary than is often the case with Goddard, I worked out fairly early on what the explanation must be, but was not left disappointed at the end since there was a thought-provoking final twist I had not foreseen.This is a page turner and an enjoyable read, relying on suspense and tension rather than sex or violence.