This book started well but as the murders end, the pace is killed too. Shame. ( )

As a lover of crime fiction, it’s perfectly believable that an amateur finds herself knee deep in intrigue. In some mysteries, it’s uncanny (and unrealistic) how suddenly an amateur gets embroiled in yet another murder investigation. But, one argues, some crime must be discovered by amateurs. In real life, how would this work?

A friend found a slow beginning in NEVER GO BACK by Robert Goddard ©2006. Not I. I loved this story. Piece by piece the author lays down a snippet, another small tale. Men have died, some long ago. Not too surprisingly, another one does. It takes a long time to know if a death is just a death, or a crime.

In 1955 fifteen soldiers took part in a military operation at a Scottish castle commandeered by the Royal Air Force. In the modern day, some plan a reunion at the same castle. Harry Bennett, our protagonist, accidentally discovers the reunion and is swept along with the crowd to Scotland.

The story takes place in the present, but we see flashes of the past as Harry uncovers fragments of his memories. These lead him to question his fellow soldiers and their families. He doesn’t understand what he’s discovering, and he can’t quite believe it. The police don’t believe him either.

It’s a leisurely journey of many tales, seemingly unrelated, but every small diversion matters.

What a fabulous story!

http://www.reviewsbytdev.com/content/NEVER-GO-BACK-Robert-Goddard

If you’re one of those people who like a Cast of Characters, you’ll find an easily downloadable one of NEVER GO BACK by Robert Goddard on the review page on my website. Or write to me and I’ll email it to you. In case you’ve never heard why I think ALL authors should add a Cast of Characters EVERY time, here’s my reasons: http://www.reviewsbytdev.com/content/open-letter-authors ( )

The rear cover has all the usual best seller buzz words, 'gripping', 'page turner', 'twists', 'unputdownable', etc......but it was a bit of a let down. I didn't really feel for any of the characters. In fact, the only characters I wanted to read about were the few that were only briefly mentioned, the key characters were only mildly interesting.

I kept going because the whole book was hinting that what they thought they remembered from the experiment in 1955 wasn't acutally as it appeared and I wanted to know why. What happened to them en-route was just page filler.

The trail that leads to the truth is littered with too many lucky breaks for the hero and seemingly 'being in the right place, at the right time' moments.

It's not the worst book I've read, but it's far from the best so while I'm glad I've read it, it's not one I'd go back to. ( )

I read this at the recommendation of a friend. It wasn't as twisty as advertised. Not terribly memorable. A group of RAF guys reunited after 50 years find that they may have forgotten what really happened. ( )

The 3 Harry Barnett books are my first taste of Robert Goddard. I enjoyed the Harry's adventures and will read more of Goddard in the future. ( )