SIGHT UNSEEN - Robert Goddard

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This was my first by Robert Goddard. And this mystery thriller took me by a fine surprise. The prologue itself has such a huge impact that you want to read the whole book!

It's a summer’s day in 1981. The protagonist, David Umber, sees a two-year-old girl being abducted during a picnic and her older sister knocked down and killed by the abductor’s van. That leaves the nanny and the girls' brother standing there. The story starts over 20 years later. Umber has had married the nanny who, however, was never able to get over the incident and committed apparent suicide. A retired detective, CI Sharp, originally on the case, seeks Umber out in Prague and convinces him to assist in investigating the truth of the incident, even though there was already a confessor in jail. Soon after, he is murdered too. As their efforts proceed, many new things come into the picture and a theory arises that David's wife also was murdered. In the process of the two men solving the mystery, old wounds are opened, witnesses complicate matters and it soon becomes evident that the danger that surrounded that day in 1981 is still prominent. 

I liked Goddard's style. He weaves a pretty complicated tale. And the mystery doesn't get solved right until the last page. It is a nicely written novel about events that are out of our control, and how we can possibly go back in life afterward. It makes you think how all the characters would have turned up had the incident not occurred. It also makes one wonder how much of history is unprovable and based on memory.

The characters are bland, and you don't feel empathy for any of them. But, the plot more than makes up for it. It definitely makes the book un-putdownable. The ending is not that impressive. There do remain a lot of unsolved questions. And towards the end, even the book gets a little annoying. But all in all, it does makes an extremely satisfying read. Made me pick up more of Goddard!

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