Robert Gold

Ben Harper is back, once again confronted with a bizarre mystery arising from what would normally appear to be the very quiet West London suburb of Haddley. This time the crime is an abduction, and the victim is Madeliene, Ben’s boss and editor of a leading online news site. As it happens, Ben had been with Madeleine immediately before her abduction, having joined with her and her father to celebrate the latter’s birthday. She is whisked off in her car, unaware that her regular driver has himself been attacked, and replaced by the kidnapper.

Ben and Madeleine’s father then find themselves racing around the country, struggling to pick up clues to her whereabouts. It soon transpires that her abduction is related to a story that she had covered years ago, and which led to the conviction and imprisonment of a young man who had committed a gruesome murder in Haddley.

Robert Gold writes in a fluid style that sucks the reader in. Ben is a very engaging character: he has had more than his share of traumatic experiences himself, and these have made him empathetic. Other characters are very plausible too, not least Dani Cash, a Detective Sergeant based in the local police station, and her colleagues on the Force.

This is a quirky and light-hearted series, but no less rewarding for that.… (más)

This picks up more or less immediately after the end of Gold’s previous novel, Twelve Secrets, and once again focuses on Ben Harper as he tries to unravel a new set of mysteries. The novel opens with him walking back to his home in the riverside suburb of Haddley, when he notices a fire in the old community centre in the grounds of the local parish church.

Ever the reporter, he rushes to investigate, and realises that someone is trapped in the building. He manages to release them, but before he can check that they are unhurt they rush off into the night. This sets in motion a bizarre investigation that will involve the police, and rake over events from long in the past.

Robert Gold catches the atmosphere of the small, close-knit community in which several people have dark and old secrets very adeptly. The story switches between first person narrative from Ben, and third person accounts following a variety of protagonists. This is a well-plotted and entertaining novel.… (más)

More than twenty years ago, Ben Harper’s life was ripped apart when his fourteen year old brother was one of two schoolboys brutally murdered by two girls of the same age. The girls had shown no remorse throughout their trial, and had been convicted and imprisoned. Just over ten years ago they had been released with new identities, and under strict injunctions never to revisit the small town in the close hinterland of London in which they had grown up, and where the killings had taken place.

Ben still lives in what had been the family home, and commutes into London when necessary for his work. He is now an investigative journalist working for a leading news website, and is asked by his editor if he will consider writing a piece about what had happened as another anniversary linked to the crime approaches. Initially (and understandably) reluctant, Ben is gradually convinced, especially in the light of a related news story suddenly breaking.

The plot is a bit of a whirlwind ride, with new twists constantly arising, and the field of suspects frequently shifting. Robert Gold catches the feel (almost claustrophobic at times) of a small town very capably, and his characters are all finely drawn. I was initially reluctant to embark on this book, being wary about the hype it seemed to have provoked, but I think that all the plaudits are definitely deserved.… (más)

This features journalist Ben, who is pressured by his editor to write a story about the tenth anniversary of his mother's supposed suicide, which in turn occurred ten years after his brother and a friend were brutally murdered by two teenage girls.

This was an unpleasant book - most of the women were being exploited/groomed/raped/controlled by the men in their lives. It was also quite complicated and confusing since every single person in it seemed to have been at school with or given up for adoption by or played rugby with every other character. Madeline for example was linked to absolutely everything and every one. I never understood why the girls didn't just reveal the involvement of the third party at their trial. I didn't really warm to Ben, and Dani was possibly the least realistic fictional police officer I have encountered for a while.… (más)