Robert Goddard´s books are not exactly musts for me, but when I need something light and entertaining, I may pick one of his many thrillers. I chose this one because the Danish title “The Dane” made me curious.
And this is indeed a Goddard of the usual kind. Richard Eusden, a middle-aged civil servant is persuaded to bring a mysterious, old bag to Brussels by his ex-wife and his old friend (who has also been married to the wife). Connoisseurs of Goddard will suspect that something fishy is going on, and voila, Richard is not met by old friend Marty in Brussels, but by Werner Straub who claims Marty asked him to fetch the bag.
What follows is a complicated conspiracy and a story about the daughter of the Russian tsar, Anastacia. A search that brings Richard and Marty to Denmark. Interesting to read these sections, but somehow Aarhus did not quite strike me as the same town as I studied in. One example is the old family farm. A successful sheep farm near Aarhus? Hardly.
But can quiet, sensible Richard be certain that happy-go-lucky Marty has told him the full truth? Read the novel and find the answer. If you are a Goddard fan, you will also like this one.
I borrowed the book at the library.
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8 kommentarer:
Ohh..that's a problem when writing settings. It just pulls the reader right out of the book if it's not *right*!
Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder
Dorte - Thanks for this fine review. I haven't read this one, but it does sound like a Robert Goddard : ). Funny you would mention the way Aarhus is described. When I read books about places I've been, I'm always quite sensitive to how accurate they are.
Thanks, Dorte, for pointing me toward an author that I otherwise might have overlooked. I shall give him a try, if you think he is worth it.
Postscript:
I just remembered my earlier encounter with Goddard; my review appears here at BookLoons.
Clearly, I have reached an age where memory is like a sieve, so I apologize for my earlier comment in which I claimed ignorance of the author; more properly I should have claimed something like senility and forgetfulness.
Elizabeth: if it had not been a town I know fairly well, I might not have noticed. The description of Aarhus is not bad, considering that it is written by a foreigner, just not 100 % convincing.
Margot: Goddard is true to his usual recipe. He does it quite well, but one should not read ten of them in a row.
R.T.: oh, early senility is something we know a lot about in this family :D
But if you have read one Goddard, you know exactly what type of thriller he writes. An entertaining tour around half the globe, but not exactly unforgetable.
I know what you mean about RG's books. However, the standard does vary. One or two I've read have been only okay, but Painting the Darkness was terrific.
This book sounds good! The setting issue wouldn't bother me since I've never been there.
Martin: you are right, but generally he sticks to his recipe and writes a good but not extraordinary thriller.
Kelly: oh, it wasn´t embarrasingly bad, it was just a bit amusing. Some details that did not seem quite convincing in an otherwise good thriller.
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