Robert Goddard: Closed Circle (UK 2011)

From the Publisher:
1931. The new, luxurious transatlantic liner Empress of Britain is on her eastward passage. Among the first-class passengers on board are two English confidence tricksters, making a discreet exit from a scam they have left behind them in the United States. A chance meeting on deck brings them a tempting new target in the shape of the beautiful and wealthy heiress, Diana Charnwood.

It's a trick they've pulled before, with some success. Charm the daughter into an engagement to marry, then get the father to buy you off. So confident are they of success, in fact, that they make a pact: whichever of them wins Diana Charnwood's love will share his fortune with the other.

But a violent death is to interrupt their neat little scheme. And they find themselves stumbling into something much darker than either had suspected...

Robert Goddard: Closed Circle. Corgi Books, ISBN: 9780552164917 (October, 2011), 425 p., £7.99.

Robert Goddard: Closed Circle (USA 1996)

From the Publisher:
Robert Goddard's deft, atmospheric novels have been acclaimed as absolutely first-class entertainment, on a par with P.D. James and Daphne DuMaurier. In CLOSED CIRCLE he delivers a spellbinding tale of love, murder, and betrayal in the fascinating, labyrinthine back corridors of Europe between the wars.

The year is 1931 and two Englishmen, Guy Horton and Max Wingate ar steaming home in search of safer pastures for their next scam. Aboard ship, opportunity presents itself in the form of Diana Charnwood, beautiful daughter of a fabulously wealthy munitions dealer. Lady Luck has been goot to Guy and Max, and they see no reason she should fail them as they dance into a trick they've performed before: charm the daughter into an engagement to marry, then get her father to buy you off. But as the Empress of Britain churns toward a homeland racked by memories of the Great War, Max's world is turned upside down by love, and Guy is left to salvage what he can from their bargain. Max's determination to marry Diana is but the first twist in a dark road leading to murder.

From London to Venice to the Orient Express, the mysteries mount, and Guy unwittingly uncovers a conspiracy so massive that it tore a continent apart -- and a streak of heroism within himself that he never knew he possessed...

Robert Goddard: Closed Circle. Washington Square Press, ISBN: 0671890921 (January, 1996), 352 p., $12.00.

Robert Goddard: Closed Circle (UK 1994)

From the Publisher:
The year is 1931. The new and luxurious transatlantic liner Empress of Britain is on her eastward passage. Among the first-class passengers on board are two English confidence tricksters, making a discreet exit from a little awkwardness they have left behind them in the United States. A chance meeting on deck brings them a tempting new target in the shape of Miss Charnwood and her niece, the beautiful Diana, only child of the immensely wealthy Fabian Charnwood.

It's a trick they've pulled before, with some success. Charm the daughter into an engagement to marry, then get the father to buy you off. So confident are they of success, in fact, that they make a pact: whichever of them wins Diana Charnwood's love will share his fortune with the other. Who would imagine that these smooth operators would let their hearts rule their heads? Or that violent death would find its way into their neat little scheme? Or that they would stumble into something much darker and deeper than either had suspected?

Robert Goddard: Closed Circle. Corgi Books, ISBN: 0552138401 (December, 1994), 352 p., £5.99.

Robert Goddard: Closed Circle (USA 1993)

From the Publisher:
Once again Robert Goddard has delivered an absolutely first-class entertainment. Closed Circle weaves a spellbinding tale of love, murder, and betrayal in a sordid world of money and deceit.

The year is 1931. Guy Horton and Max Wingate are two confidence men on their way from America to England in search of their next scam. On board the Empress of Britain, they discover that they need not wait till they arrive; their next victim is one of the passengers, and one of the most beautiful women they've ever laid eyes on.

Her name is Diana Charnwood, the daughter of the wealthy munitions dealer Fabian Charnwood, a legendary, somewhat reclusive millionaire. There's a trick they've performed before: Charm the daughter into an engagement to marry, then get her father to buy you off. Guy and Max make a pact: Whichever one wins Diana Charnwood's love will share his fortune with the other. But life is seldom so predictable. Who would imagine that Max would truly fall in love with Diana? And who would murder Fabian Charnwood the night Max and Diana plan to elope? When Max doesn't arrive at their designated meeting place, Guy goes looking for him, and finds Max running from the dead body of Fabian Charnwood. Did Max kill Charnwood in a fit of anger? Guy is convinced his friend is innocent, but can he prove it? Or has he stumbled into something far darker and deeper than he ever expected?

From Britain to Venice to the Orient Express, the plot thickens and turns, then thickens and turns again. As Guy tracks down a conspiracy that reaches all the way back to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, he uncovers a scheme so massive in its duplicity, destructiveness, and bloodless hunger for profits that he finds within himself an integrity he never imagined he possessed.

Closed Circle is a page-turner of devious twists with a labyrinthine plot that will keep you up all night, unable to sleep until the villains are unmasked and the hero is vindicated. Not since the masterpieces by Daphne du Maurier has suspense been written with the grace, erudition, and enormous control displayed in the novels of Robert Goddard.

Robert Goddard: Closed Circle. A Novel. Poseidon Press, ISBN: 0671750720 (January, 1994), 331 p., $22.00.

Robert Goddard: Closed Circle (UK 1993)

From the Publisher:
The year is 1931. The new and luxurious transatlantic liner Empress of Britain is on her eastward passage. Among the first-class passengers on board are two English confidence tricksters, making a discreet exit from a little awkwardness they have left behind them in the United States. A chance meeting on deck brings them a tempting new target in the shape of Miss Charnwood and her niece, the beautiful Diana, only child of the immensely wealthy Fabian Charnwood.

It's a trick they've pulled before, with some success. Charm the daughter into an engagement to marry, then get the father to buy you off. So confident are they of success, in fact, that they make a pact: whichever of them wins Diana Charnwood's love will share his fortune with the other. Who would imagine that these smooth operators would let their hearts rule their heads? Or that violent death would find its way into their neat little scheme? Or that they would stumble into something much darker and deeper than either had suspected?

Readers will find some strange echoes of more recent times in Robert Goddard's latest unputdownable story, in which once again he demonstrates his inimitable power to tease and baffle and deceive.

Robert Goddard: Closed Circle. Bantam Books, ISBN: 0593024923 (November, 1993), 330 p., £14.99.