Long time coming

by Robert Goddard

Paperback, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

823.914

Genres

Collections

weg gegeben, Gelesen 2012

Publication

London : Corgi Books, 2010. Paperback, 522 S.

Description

Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML: A classic thriller with Goddard's trademark plot twists. In Antwerp in 1939, a Jewish diamond trader flees Nazi Europe, leaving his priceless collection of Picasso paintings and diamonds with a friend who takes them to London. The boat he flees on sinks, leaving no survivors. Fast forward to 1976 when his penniless family tries to track down the missing paintings. A classic thriller with Goddard's trademark plot twists. From the Trade Paperback edition..

Media reviews

New York Times

Robert Goddard is a consummate storyteller who constructs a narrative with the sleight-of-hand skills of a pickpocket. That special talent for manipulation is itself the theme of LONG TIME COMING, a titillating portrait of a charming con man who is outmaneuvered in one historical period and gets

his revenge, nearly four decades later, by working that old black magic on his own nephew.

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User reviews

LibraryThing member booksinthebelfry

Shady characters and historical atmosphere abound in a twisty tale of art forgery, dubious business deals, and political intrigue. Intelligent and stylish, this fast-paced novel of suspense kept me happily turning pages right up to its satisfying conclusion. I read Goddard's In Pale Battalions

years and years ago and remember liking it as well; I will certainly be delving into his backlist more in the future.

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12 more

LibraryThing member Bookmarque

Good story construction; the use of flashbacks is a tricky one, but Goddard does it well. The flashbacks are logical in their placement and relate to what one person decides to tell another. Noticeable differences in the way charactes spoke which is a rarity these days. Chapters appear to be

divided by time (1940 v. 1976) and are a bit cliff-hangerish for my taste, but the story was interesting enough so that I didn't mind the device. Lots of intrigue, shady characters, revenge and betrayal are hard to resist. A bit less comeuppance than I would have liked for some characters, but then I'm bloodthirsty that way.

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LibraryThing member stumpworks

Long Time Coming could be a PBS Mystery script. The story set in two eras is delivered in capable narrative. Goddard's characters are well developed. The despicable players are easy to despise. The victims deserve sympathy. Unfairness is generously dispensed to good girls and bad guys.

Readable,

enjoyable and well paced. I am pleased I tried Goddard and will return for more.

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LibraryThing member smik

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this story. Once again it is a book that combines a number of time frames - Dublin in 1942, England in 1976, and then later 2008. It asks the reader to understand a little of IRA history particularly during the war years.

The narrator is Eldritch Swan's nephew

Stephen who had always been told his uncle was dead. The uncle will not reveal why he has spent 36 years in an Irish prison, but shortly after his mysterious release he is contacted by a lawyer whose client wants Eldritch to find proof that the a collection of Picassos were fake. The search brings Eldritch and his nephew into touch with people who were involved in the painting swindle, as well as a very influential ex-public servant who knows exactly why Eldritch has spent 36 years in prison.

Robert Goddard's books nearly always combine the present with the past and I always seem to find them enjoyable, so much so that they are almost comfort reading. Most of them are stand-alones ans so can be picked up at any time in any order.

David Rintoul does an excellent job of the narration.

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LibraryThing member cathymoore

I hadn't read any Goddard in a good year or two when I read this. It felt good to be back on familiar territory. Although all Goddard's books have different, characters, time periods and settings there is a sense of sameness about them. If they are read one after another this can make them little

boring but keeping a long gap between each read means it is like putting on an old pair of comfortable shoes.

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LibraryThing member edwardsgt

A very clever interweaving of fact and fiction set in 1940 Dublin and 1976 England. Goddard takes the fact of Malcolm MacDonald's 1940 attempt to persuade Eamon De Valera to abandon Irish neutrality in WW2 and join the war on the side of the allies, then builds a convincing story around it, set

partly in 1940 and partly in 1976. Stephen Swan returns home to England having given up his US job to find his uncle he thought was dead living with his mother and wanting him to help unravel a 36 year mystery. As always the real locations add to the authenticity of the plot and you ask yourself if perhaps it isn't a true story! Highly recommended.

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LibraryThing member bhabeck

Stephen Swan's uncle Eldritch has suddenly shown up after 36 years in prison in Ireland. No one knows for sure why Eldritch was imprisoned and Eldritch isn't saying.

Then, one day a lawyer shows up on the doorstep with an offer for Eldritch - one he can't ignore. Suddenly Stephen finds himself in

the middle of political intrigue, art theft and diamond smuggling...with a few murders thrown in.

Rating: 4 stars

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LibraryThing member Carol420

[Long Time Coming] by Robert Goddard
4.5 stars

From The Book:
Stephen Swan is amazed when he hears that the uncle he thought had been killed in the Blitz is actually alive. For nearly four decades, Eldritch Swan has been locked away in an Irish prison and now, at last, has been released. Shocked and

suspicious, Stephen listens to the old man’s story and is caught up in a tale that begins at the dawn of World War II, when Eldritch worked for an Antwerp diamond dealer with a trove of Picassos—highly valuable paintings that later disappeared. Stephen, who finds his uncle by turns devious, charming, and brazen, then meets Rachel Banner, a beautiful American who may have inherited the Picassos—and is determined to see justice done for her family. But in this tale of revenge and redemption, justice is the ultimate illusion. Eldritch, Stephen, and the woman Stephen has fallen in love with soon find themselves fighting for their lives—against sinister forces still guarding a secret that must never be revealed.

My Thoughts:
A stolen trove of Picasso paintings and a bit of Irish history... that in a nutshell is what Robert Goddard's standalone novel [A Long Time Coming] is comprised of.

It's 1976. Eldrich Swan has been released from a Irish prison after 36 years imprisonment. He returns to England and is recruited to recover the Picasso's which is currently the property of an American tycoon and on exhibition at the Royal Academy of London. His nephew Stephen and the granddaughter of a Jewish diamond merchant... his former employer and owner of the art... help in the recovery. The paintings had been stolen from a vault of a London art dealer in the early days of World War II.

Like most of Goddard's novels, there is yet another story at the heart of this one also. It's the dawn of World War II and the neutrality of Ireland featuring some real-life characters. Eamon de Valera...a hero of the Easter Uprising of 1916... is Tsoiseach of the Irish Republic having served as early President of the Irish Free State. It's June , 1940 and Malcolm MacDonald of the British Legation is in Dublin to try and persuade Eamon de Valera and Ireland to join the war effort. Also in Dublin is the fictional Eldrich Swan searching for a master forger named Desmond Quilligan.

Goddard takes the reader back-and-forth from 1940 Dublin to 1976... and then to Belgium where the matter of the stolen art is finally resolved. It was another truly fascinating Robert Goddard adventure.

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LibraryThing member Olivermagnus

Stephen Swan is surprised when his uncle Eldritch, whom he had thought was dead, is released from an Irish prison after 36 years. Eldritch refuses to tell anyone why he was imprisoned or why he's been unexpectedly released. It's not long before other people are trying to find Eldritch and soon

Stephen finds himself drawn into a mystery that began in 1940.

We discover that just before WWII Eldritch returned to England from Belgium, where he worked for a Jewish diamond merchant and art collector. Soon we are following a trail of events through an intricate plot concerning fake Picasso's and Irish politics. The story alternates between 1940 and 1976 and takes us to Antwerp, London and Dublin. Bit by bit we learn about Eldritch as a young man and what led to his eventual imprisonment. Another element to the story is the neutrality of Ireland at the beginning of WWII. Real life characters like Eamon de Valera, a hero of the 1916 Easter Uprising and current Tsoiseach (president) of the Irish Republic are key figures who interact with the fictional ones.

As the plot thickens we can never be sure who is controlling events. It's an excellent book that combines real events with a fictional thriller, and enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing, but not too many as to be unbelievable.

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LibraryThing member otori

Too aptly named.

LibraryThing member Daftboy1

This book jumps between 1976 and 1940.
Mainly set in England and Ireland.
Eldritch Swan is released from an Irish prison were he spent 37 years.
Eldritch comes into his nephew Stephen's life and tells him a story about proving some Picasso paintings are fake.
Stephen reluctantly joins him their

adventure takes them to London and Antwerp.
Stephen falls in love with Rachel the grand daughter of the man Eldritch conned in the 1940s.
Rachel gets arrested Stephen gets her out, they had to trade the prove that the paintings were fake though.
OK book glad I read it.

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LibraryThing member Andrew-theQM

What do you say? Robert Goddard is the master story teller, he paints a picture and takes you there, unravelling the story one layer at a time rather like the layers of an onion. He is one of my favourite authors and has never let me down, and this is one of his best stories. This book is filled

with intrigue, betrayal, espionage, political machinations and a mystery element that is not revealed until the end. What more could you want? What are you waiting for? Read this book! You will not be disappointed. ❤️

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LibraryThing member scot2

Robert Goddard is one of my favourite authors. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book as normally books set in wartime don't hold my interest. However, this was a great story and actually the war did not intrude too much.

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