From Publishers Weekly
Stiff, archaic dialogue and an overreaching plot that snakes from contemporary England back to the Spanish Civil War makes this lengthy novel of psychological suspense by Goddard ( Debt of Dishonor ) slow going. The action begins with the murder of 85-year-old Beatrix Abberley, canny sister of England's poet-warrior Tristam Abberley, who died a hero in the Spanish Civil War. On Beatrix's death, four packets of letters revealing a predictable hoax, some depressing truths and a treasure buried since the 1930s are mailed to persons unknown. The dead woman's schoolmarmish niece Charlotte Ladram and bumbling Derek Fairfax, upright brother of an ex-con framed for the murder, set themselves to solving the puzzle of these events. With cardboard characters--a womanizing American biographer, mousy Charlotte and her brassy sister-in-law Ursula--and a string of handy coincidences, Goddard, who signals nearly every twist his story takes, delivers a mediocre effort. Paperback rights to Pocket.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Missing links play a most important role in this masterful tale about a murdered British woman whose famous-poet brother died in the Spanish Civil War. Circumstances throw the woman's goddaughter and the accused killer's brother together on a quest for 50-year-old family secrets that takes them back to Spain. Searching for a batch of legendary letters, they encounter the poet's charmingly deceptive biographer, a curmudgeonly compatriot long thought dead, and several nasty thugs. Goddard delivers complex adventure, emotional insight, and finely wrought prose. Highly recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
