thebooktrail88's review against another edition
4.0
Just got this but I again had one of those mornings where I was up dead early to phone abroad and so I read this whilst waiting. It woke me up for sure! A house on a cliff in Cornwall with something akin to a panic room inside, maybe something in it, the owner unknown, the housesitter a bit of a character and a dubious estate agent.....
I normally read novels set in Cornwall that involve men on horses, romantic tales or historical reads so this was as refreshing!
And oh my...wait till you see inside the panic room....!!!
I normally read novels set in Cornwall that involve men on horses, romantic tales or historical reads so this was as refreshing!
And oh my...wait till you see inside the panic room....!!!
mrsruthiewebb's review against another edition
4.0
This book had me gripped. It wasn’t a dark psychological thriller as I’d first guessed but a mystery novel with some really gritty drama. Russian hitmen, a village witch, a lost person and a panic room that gave no clues to its contents.
At the end of each reading session, I looked forward to the next time I’d pick it up.
Whilst the storyline could get quite complicated at times, there were lots of characters, I managed to keep up. There were two personalities telling the story throughout and I enjoyed their different experiences. They were very different but both relatable.
Once we got some answers at the end, it really did make me ponder. It felt like a very relevant topic with recent events across the world.
The panic room is central to the story and yet not at all. I really liked this contrast. A very good read!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
At the end of each reading session, I looked forward to the next time I’d pick it up.
Whilst the storyline could get quite complicated at times, there were lots of characters, I managed to keep up. There were two personalities telling the story throughout and I enjoyed their different experiences. They were very different but both relatable.
Once we got some answers at the end, it really did make me ponder. It felt like a very relevant topic with recent events across the world.
The panic room is central to the story and yet not at all. I really liked this contrast. A very good read!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
ciska's review against another edition
3.0
Slow but steady was the first thing that came to my mind when I started writing this review. It is clear Goddard knows how to capture his audience and keep it close.
The story is very interesting. You have to know what that panic room is about and why everybody is after it. And that everybody is a bit of a problem with this book.
There are a lot of people involved. The (maybe or maybe not) rich owner of the house, Blake the house sitter, Don the estate agent, the family of the missing girl, a witch from town, some Italian guy and a few mobsters. All get their story line and it is a lot. It could have done with half the people involved and be just as interesting.
Then there is the switching narrative. It makes it interesting to see the story from different points of view but both the narratives are troubled making it hard to connect to either one of them. Moving between two stressed out people does help with setting the atmosphere but did not give me time to breath. In the end that might not even be so bad.
The story is very interesting. You have to know what that panic room is about and why everybody is after it. And that everybody is a bit of a problem with this book.
There are a lot of people involved. The (maybe or maybe not) rich owner of the house, Blake the house sitter, Don the estate agent, the family of the missing girl, a witch from town, some Italian guy and a few mobsters. All get their story line and it is a lot. It could have done with half the people involved and be just as interesting.
Then there is the switching narrative. It makes it interesting to see the story from different points of view but both the narratives are troubled making it hard to connect to either one of them. Moving between two stressed out people does help with setting the atmosphere but did not give me time to breath. In the end that might not even be so bad.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
3.0
‘I feel safe here. That’s really what it comes down to.’
Fasten your seatbelt. Suspend your disbelief and go with the story. I expect that some conspiracy theorists would find this novel confirming many of their worst fears...
Her lawyer, Fran Revell, contacts her ex-husband Don Challenor, an estate agent currently unemployed, and offers him a well-paid assignment. The owner of a vast mansion in Cornwall wants to put it on the market as part of a divorce settlement. All Don must do is travel to the mansion, take some measurements, collate the details for a quick sale, and dismiss the housekeeper. Easy money. Simple. Except that it isn’t.
Don discovers that the house has a cleverly concealed panic room. The panic room seems to be locked from the inside: who (or what) does it contain? Blake, the mysterious young female housekeeper, knows nothing about the panic room. And Blake has some concerns of her own, starting with the fact that she’ll be homeless once dismissed.
And then some people arrive, looking for information they believe that Jack Harkness, the owner, has hidden there. Harkness, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur, is fighting extradition to the USA, where he is wanted bribery, embezzlement, and fraud.
And there’s more: a local woman is convinced Jack Harkness is guilty of murder; a mysterious donor pays for the provision of Harkness drugs to a local woman suffering from multiple sclerosis; the daughter of Blake’s former employer has been missing for years; and Blake has a past to confront. And Don? This is not the easiest job he has taken.
While the first two thirds of the book drew me in and held my attention, the last third had me shaking my head at times. The implications in the ending will be too far fetched for some, and proof positive of global conspiracy for others.
I’ve enjoyed other books by Mr Goddard more.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Fasten your seatbelt. Suspend your disbelief and go with the story. I expect that some conspiracy theorists would find this novel confirming many of their worst fears...
Her lawyer, Fran Revell, contacts her ex-husband Don Challenor, an estate agent currently unemployed, and offers him a well-paid assignment. The owner of a vast mansion in Cornwall wants to put it on the market as part of a divorce settlement. All Don must do is travel to the mansion, take some measurements, collate the details for a quick sale, and dismiss the housekeeper. Easy money. Simple. Except that it isn’t.
Don discovers that the house has a cleverly concealed panic room. The panic room seems to be locked from the inside: who (or what) does it contain? Blake, the mysterious young female housekeeper, knows nothing about the panic room. And Blake has some concerns of her own, starting with the fact that she’ll be homeless once dismissed.
And then some people arrive, looking for information they believe that Jack Harkness, the owner, has hidden there. Harkness, a pharmaceutical entrepreneur, is fighting extradition to the USA, where he is wanted bribery, embezzlement, and fraud.
And there’s more: a local woman is convinced Jack Harkness is guilty of murder; a mysterious donor pays for the provision of Harkness drugs to a local woman suffering from multiple sclerosis; the daughter of Blake’s former employer has been missing for years; and Blake has a past to confront. And Don? This is not the easiest job he has taken.
While the first two thirds of the book drew me in and held my attention, the last third had me shaking my head at times. The implications in the ending will be too far fetched for some, and proof positive of global conspiracy for others.
I’ve enjoyed other books by Mr Goddard more.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
ahinks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
enchantedbibliophile's review against another edition
2.0
“Sometimes the danger is on the inside.”
I don’t know what I was excepting when I start this book, but what I got wasn’t IT!
This felt like two very unlikely stories that was forcefully merged to make a proper novel. If this was just about finding what was in the Panic Room or just about finding out what happened to Jane. I could have gotten behind it. Or even if Jane was found inside the Panic Room with a touch of Stockholm syndrome it would have been for me.
But as is… no thank you.
I don’t know what I was excepting when I start this book, but what I got wasn’t IT!
This felt like two very unlikely stories that was forcefully merged to make a proper novel. If this was just about finding what was in the Panic Room or just about finding out what happened to Jane. I could have gotten behind it. Or even if Jane was found inside the Panic Room with a touch of Stockholm syndrome it would have been for me.
But as is… no thank you.
outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition
No rating as this is a DNF.
I was bored from the start but when the main male & female characters first meet & she is completely naked whilst he is fully dressed, I eyerolled out of there! I just don't have the patience for this at the moment.
I was bored from the start but when the main male & female characters first meet & she is completely naked whilst he is fully dressed, I eyerolled out of there! I just don't have the patience for this at the moment.
kvegan's review against another edition
4.0
A fast paced thriller with a hapless hero who shows his true brave colours by the end has always got to be a winner for me. Add in the wonderful location of the Lizard peninsula and Helston, an area of Cornwall I know well, a powerful eco message, a dream house to drool over, strong female leads, some great side characters and sub plots and you have thoroughly enjoyable good old fashioned story telling that is well worth the money of the cost of the book or an audio credit.
Current on trend writers who produce endless navel gazing, wallowing, misery fiction or badly written so called psychological fiction with over inflated ‘twists’ would do well to learn from this proper story well told with characters and situations the readers like, care about and identify with. Thanks to R Goddard and his publishers.
Current on trend writers who produce endless navel gazing, wallowing, misery fiction or badly written so called psychological fiction with over inflated ‘twists’ would do well to learn from this proper story well told with characters and situations the readers like, care about and identify with. Thanks to R Goddard and his publishers.
mrjwathen's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve been a fan of RG for over a decade and this is by far one of his best. The master of a twist in the tail returns to the present day with a bang. Strong central characters, a touch of intrigue concerning some of them, good pace to the narrative keep the pages turning. I couldn’t put it down!