The blurb:

'Robert Goddard is the master of the convoluted plot, of maintaining suspense throughout his tales'
The Lady

Harry Barnett is a middle-aged failure, leading a shabby existence in the shadow of a past disgrace, reduced to caretaking a friend's villa on the island of Rhodes and working in a bar to earn his keep. Then a young woman guest at the villa - a young woman he had instantly and inncently warmed to - disappears on a mountain peak.

Under suspicion of her murder, Harry stumbles on a set of photographs taken by Heather Mallender in the weeks before her disappearance. Desperately, obsessed by the mystery that has changed his life, he begins to trace back the movements and encounters that led to the moment when she vanished into the blue. The trail leads him back to England, to a world he thought he had left for ever, and at every step of the way a new and baffling light is shed on all the assumptions that have made Harry what he is.

In INTO THE BLUE Robert Goddard once again reveals his supreme gift as a storyteller, compelling the reader from first page to last to follow Harry's journey to the heart of a dark mystery and to the re-discovery of his own strength and courage.

'Goddard, the prince of plotters, has done it again, and shown that he can be as intriguing in modern dress as in costume'
Peter Corris, author of The Gulliver Fortune

'Takes the reader on a journey from which he knows he will not deviate until the final destination is reached'
Evening Standard'

This is a paperback copy from Corgi, published 1991, reprinted 1992. The book was originally published in 1990.

I won't be reading this book myself, I'm not a Goddard fan ... I've read one book by him and it was OK but not really my thing. I bought this book for RubyBlueLady in England because we did a trade a while back where she sent me three books (thank you, again! :-) and I sent her a Goddard book, which she mistakenly thought she hadn't read. But then she discovered that she had, unfortunately ... so I felt a little bad about that and decided to keep my eyes open for another book that she hadn't read. I found this one, months ago, and am now finally getting around to registering it. It's still on her wishlist and not on her shelf so hopefully it will be new to her. :-) I may possibly lend it to Findabair here in Oslo before sending it as I know she had enjoyed several of Goddard's books in the past ... but I will try getting it in the mail to Wiltshire soon. :-)

I bought this book at a flea market at Korsvoll elementary school in Oslo on Saturday, April 14th, 2007.

RELEASE NOTES:

Lent to Findabair so she can read it before it travels on to England. :-)

I quite like Robert Goddard - thanks for letting me read this, Leisha =)

As in other books by Goddard, I really like the British-ness of the story. The book has some very good descriptions of England, of both working-class and upper-class characters, of how the various characters live, of life as a student in Oxford in the middle of the 20th century, etc.

The characters are quirky, entertaining and believable, while the plot kept me guessing all the way up until the very surprising end. However, I have one objection to the plot: as Harry begins to trace Heather's movements in England, things just go way too easy for him, he is able to find both the right people and the right places based only on the photographs she took.

Even so, this was an entertaining read all in all.

Got this back from Findabair at meetup today. It will be travelling to England pretty soon. :-)

RELEASE NOTES:

Alas! No trip to England in this book's immediate future. RubyBlueLady had got hold of the book from someone else, it turned out, but had been a little slow to update her wishlist. :-) I'll have to think of something else for her now. This book will be going with me to meetup today - if nobody takes it with them it will be left on the shelf.

Har ofte blitt skuffet av Goddard, selv om plotene hans som regel høres interessante ut. Jeg prøver allikevel denne, trur eg.

Var jo endel finurlig her, men Goddard synes å ha en "greie" på urettferdig behandlede outsidere, og det ser ut som om det går igjen fra bok til bok. Derfor ble det også lett å gjette seg til endel. Vil nok slippe ut i det fri igjen på Kaffe & Krem, nokså snart.

RELEASE NOTES:

I picked this up at OBCZ Kaffe&Krem Vika, Oslo at the BC meeting this evening.

A good read. Goddard is a good storyteller. All in all I agree with findabair.

As this book was supposed to travel to England but was cheated out of the trip, I will make that good and take the book with me to release in London early next month.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I will leave the book at the railway station some time around noon. I havn't been to Oxshott for 40 years, but I suppose there is still a bench there to leave it on.

Sorry!! Forgot to change date!! It should be May 31!!

Half way through reading. Quite gripping but improbable.

My neighbour found it in Surrey, passed it on to me.

I will release it in Edinburgh soon.