Book review: Name to a Face - Robert Goddard

Title: Name to a Face

Author: Robert Goddard

FICTION

Genre: Thriller

Ranking: 7,5 out of 10.0

Buy: Maybe

Borrow: Yes

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003ARUTTW/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Summary:  When Tim Harding agrees to do a friend a favour by bidding for an antique ring at an auction on his behalf, he is unaware of the secrets that date back three hundred years.

But the ring is stolen before the auction, and a murder follows. Harding is quickly thrown into a series of conspiracies surrounding the ring. As he draws closer to the heart of the mystery, he meets a young woman he is certain he recognizes, even though they have never met. 

As he searches for her identity, things begin to unravel. A dangerous truth awaits him, together with a realization: those who uncover that truth cannot be allowed to live.

Main review: 

In 1707, the HMS Association was lost off the Isles of Scilly with no survivors. Nearly 200 years in 1996, a dive on the wreck results in a fatal accident. Ten years on Tim Harding agrees to return to Cornwall, to go to an auction, to bid on a low value lot, as a favour for his employer and friend Barney Tozer. Seemingly disconnected events come together to form a trail of deceit, murder and greed, initiated when the auction lot is stolen.

The plot of NAME TO A FACE comes close to stretching the bounds of credibility. I enjoyed this book, but felt there were too many sub-plots. Part of the problem was the multiple time frames already described in the summary. But then Goddard introduced another towards the end, a legend from the 12th century, that almost confused me. 

It took a long time to finally tie everything up, and even then a murderer goes free, and another escapes retribution.