Painting the Darkness

When a man presents himself at the home of William Trenchard and his wife Catherine, claiming to be Sir James Davenall, the long-thought dead fiancee of Catherine, it proved to be the first link in a long and convoluted chain of events. James had supposedly drowned himself upon discovering that he had inherited syphillis from his father. After the disappearance, his father refused to believe him dead and, even after the obligatory 7 years absence, would not have him declared legally dead. After the father dies, James's younger brother Hugo becomes baronet in his place and is therefore horrified to learn of the challenge to his new found wealth and position. Richard Davenall, sousin to James and Hugo and also the family solicitor, is put in the invidious position of having to deny the claims of the recently reappearing James or of helping him to prove his rightful place in the family. I found this to be a terrific read, full of twists, turns and with red herrings galore!

I discovered Robert Goddard by accident when I took a random choice book (Caught in the Light by Robert Goddard)off the shelf in my local library about three months ago. Since then, I have devoured everything I can find that he has written. He takes a fairly simple story and weaves events and characters into his tale which keep the reader fascinated until the very last page.It turns out that one has read, in fact, a wonderful mystery story in the true sense of the word. Why is there not more publicity about the author? Do his books have large sales? A new reader only has to read his/her first Goddard novel and they are hooked forever. A modern Trollope whom the world should know more about.

I couldn't put this book down, dying to know the truth about whether this man was the one who supposedly killed himself years earlier or an imposter. What really made this book was that the chapters alternated between a first person point-of-view and a third person point-of-view. I previously thought it was impossible to pull off shifting point-of-views in a novel but this one proved to be the total exception. It was an experiment that was an unqualified success. All writers should also read this book to explore the outter reaches of creative possibilites open to them.

This book was recommended to me by my mother. She always gives good advice. After I read this book I went on to read all the other titles as soon as Goddard publishes them.The plot is superb, a real gripper. Is he or isn't he James? You make up your own mind throughout, but you never really know until the conclusion. It is beautifully, intricately unravelled - it's just got to be read!

Good as all Goddard books always are. Brilliant scene setiing both in Enlgand and abroad. Any goddard fans please write to e-mail above.