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Fault Line
It could be your average suicide. A man found dead in his car, engine running, parked at the end of a lonely track, a tube feeding deadly fumes from the exhaust through the window. Except for the seven-year-old boy still breathing in the boot...
For Jonathan Kellaway, the past is somewhere he chooses not to go. Dead friends, lost lovers and a family dynasty hell-bent on self- destruction lie buried there.
But if he is to uncover the truth, he must confront all the secrets which have consumed his life, and which may yet consume him...
508 pages, Paperback
First published March 29, 2012
112 people are currently reading
842 people want to read
About the author
Robert Goddard
159 books863 followersIn a writing career spanning more than twenty years, Robert Goddard's novels have been described in many different ways - mystery, thriller, crime, even historical romance. He is the master of the plot twist, a compelling and engrossing storyteller and one of the best known advocates for the traditional virtues of pace, plot and narrative drive.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 225 reviews
February 22, 2022
This seems to be a typical example of Goddard's successful mysteries, involving as it does most of the features that wikipedia describes as characterising his works:
The 'usually have a historical element and settings in provincial English towns and cities, and many plot twists. They usually involve the lead character gradually uncovering a secret or conspiracy which has long been kept secret, by means of historical documents such as diaries or by means of word-of-mouth accounts that have been handed down from one person to another.'
In this case the search involves the lead character drawing on his own past and his relationship with the family at the centre of the mystery. It's as much a family saga as anything else, but a family in which many people die, as well as other inconvenient people who stand in the way of the ultimate villain.
Oddly enough, despite the many deaths, it didn't feel like a violent book. Perhaps because the murder methods weren't dwelt on, and many of them happened offstage or in the past.
The setting shifts between Cornwall and Capri; idyllic on the surface but dirty underneath.
Goddad is such a proficient story teller that the plot didn't need to be believable. A satisfying adventure story.
The 'usually have a historical element and settings in provincial English towns and cities, and many plot twists. They usually involve the lead character gradually uncovering a secret or conspiracy which has long been kept secret, by means of historical documents such as diaries or by means of word-of-mouth accounts that have been handed down from one person to another.'
In this case the search involves the lead character drawing on his own past and his relationship with the family at the centre of the mystery. It's as much a family saga as anything else, but a family in which many people die, as well as other inconvenient people who stand in the way of the ultimate villain.
Oddly enough, despite the many deaths, it didn't feel like a violent book. Perhaps because the murder methods weren't dwelt on, and many of them happened offstage or in the past.
The setting shifts between Cornwall and Capri; idyllic on the surface but dirty underneath.
Goddad is such a proficient story teller that the plot didn't need to be believable. A satisfying adventure story.
August 4, 2012
A good story well told.
I suppose one could say much the same about most of Robert Goddard's books. He has written more than twenty novels in the same genre, and with very few exceptions each one is as good as the last. And the exceptions are generally those where Goddard breaks from the formula, which he seems to have perfected - a mystery in the past which affects characters in the present.
The story is about a family firm, Walter Wren & Co., that mines china clay in St Austell, Cornwall. It is merged with a bigger firm, and after several more mergers has become part of a large international conclomerate. The former CEO of the company, Greville Lashley, who is still the majority shareholder, commissions a historian to write the history of the company, but she finds that several crucial files are missing, and Jonathan Kellaway, who had worked at Wren's as a student, before it was absorbed, is asked to help locate the missing files.
Back in the 1960s, when Jonathan was a student doing a vac job, he had become friendly with two of the children of the Wren family, Oliver and Vivien Foster, and Oliver is convinced that there was a mystery hidden in the company records, a mystery that had led to his father's death. Oliver got Jonathan to help him with some of his investigations, but never revealed exactly what he was looking for, and now, more than forty years later, Jonathan is asked to find the missing files, which may solve Oliver's mystery, and others that have plagued the Wren family ever since.
I found the story particularly interesting because I had just finished reading another book of the same genre, The Absolutist by John Boyne which was almost painfully badly written, with glaring anachonisms on every other page. As a result, I think I read Fault Line rather more critically than usual, and enjoyed the contrast: it was as well written as the other was badly written. I was on the lookout for anachronisms, more than usual, and spotted only possible one -- that there was no Metro Station at the Spanish Steps in Rome in 1969. According to Wikipedia, that station only opened in 1980. Perhaps if I were a publisher's fiction editor, I might have spotted more errors, but if there were others, I didn't notice them. The anachronisms in The Absolutist didn't just stick out like sore thumbs, they stuck out like undressed amputated limb stumps.
When Robart Goddard describes the 1960s, it feels authentic. OK, he no doubt lived through the period, as did I, so he would have a better feeling for it than John Boyne would have for the period of the First World War, but still... Reading some of the scenes in Fault Line brought snatches of songs from the sixties to mind:
and
We passed that summer lost in love beneath the lemon tree
the music of her laughter hid my father's words from me
Lemon tree very pretty
and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon
is impossible to eat[2]
Another thing that made the book interesting to me is that I am interested in family history, and this is something of a family saga, a telling of the story of the family by someone outside, who knew nevertheless knew some members of the family well. Also, one branch of my own family came from Cornwall, and some of them were china clay labourers in and around St Austell in the 1870s and 1880s, so the descriptions of the china clar mining industry and its place in the town are quite interesting too.
___
Notes
[1] "Cecelia", sung by Simon & Garfunkel
[2] "Lemon tree", sung by Peter, Paul & Mary
I suppose one could say much the same about most of Robert Goddard's books. He has written more than twenty novels in the same genre, and with very few exceptions each one is as good as the last. And the exceptions are generally those where Goddard breaks from the formula, which he seems to have perfected - a mystery in the past which affects characters in the present.
The story is about a family firm, Walter Wren & Co., that mines china clay in St Austell, Cornwall. It is merged with a bigger firm, and after several more mergers has become part of a large international conclomerate. The former CEO of the company, Greville Lashley, who is still the majority shareholder, commissions a historian to write the history of the company, but she finds that several crucial files are missing, and Jonathan Kellaway, who had worked at Wren's as a student, before it was absorbed, is asked to help locate the missing files.
Back in the 1960s, when Jonathan was a student doing a vac job, he had become friendly with two of the children of the Wren family, Oliver and Vivien Foster, and Oliver is convinced that there was a mystery hidden in the company records, a mystery that had led to his father's death. Oliver got Jonathan to help him with some of his investigations, but never revealed exactly what he was looking for, and now, more than forty years later, Jonathan is asked to find the missing files, which may solve Oliver's mystery, and others that have plagued the Wren family ever since.
I found the story particularly interesting because I had just finished reading another book of the same genre, The Absolutist by John Boyne which was almost painfully badly written, with glaring anachonisms on every other page. As a result, I think I read Fault Line rather more critically than usual, and enjoyed the contrast: it was as well written as the other was badly written. I was on the lookout for anachronisms, more than usual, and spotted only possible one -- that there was no Metro Station at the Spanish Steps in Rome in 1969. According to Wikipedia, that station only opened in 1980. Perhaps if I were a publisher's fiction editor, I might have spotted more errors, but if there were others, I didn't notice them. The anachronisms in The Absolutist didn't just stick out like sore thumbs, they stuck out like undressed amputated limb stumps.
When Robart Goddard describes the 1960s, it feels authentic. OK, he no doubt lived through the period, as did I, so he would have a better feeling for it than John Boyne would have for the period of the First World War, but still... Reading some of the scenes in Fault Line brought snatches of songs from the sixties to mind:
... making love in the afternoon
with Cecelia up in my bedroom[1]
and
We passed that summer lost in love beneath the lemon tree
the music of her laughter hid my father's words from me
Lemon tree very pretty
and the lemon flower is sweet
but the fruit of the poor lemon
is impossible to eat[2]
Another thing that made the book interesting to me is that I am interested in family history, and this is something of a family saga, a telling of the story of the family by someone outside, who knew nevertheless knew some members of the family well. Also, one branch of my own family came from Cornwall, and some of them were china clay labourers in and around St Austell in the 1870s and 1880s, so the descriptions of the china clar mining industry and its place in the town are quite interesting too.
___
Notes
[1] "Cecelia", sung by Simon & Garfunkel
[2] "Lemon tree", sung by Peter, Paul & Mary
September 13, 2016
Another excellent mystery by Robert Goddard with plenty of twists and turns.
July 27, 2013
Goddard is a true master of plotting, character, suspense, and surprise by whom I’ve enjoyed nearly 20 other books, after first discovering him in a 2008 Paste magazine feature with Stephen King, who made an unqualified endorsement of Goddard’s books. Fault Line is one of Goddard's best books.
Goddard’s books are usually set in rural Britain with plots that also take his characters to such Mediterranean locales as Capri and Rhodes. Like Ross MacDonald’s Lew Archer novels, such as The Zebra Striped Hearse, which invariably chronicle multiple generations of a family and secrets that have been long buried and are excavated by private detective Archer, Goddard’s books explore the complicated histories of families that have been on the land sometimes for hundreds of years, though his books don’t feature a private detective or policeman. Instead, there’s a male narrator or protagonist who, as King says, “are decent fellows out of their league who mostly—but not always—find a way to muddle through.” In Fault Line, narrator Jonathan Kellaway is a long-time employee of a ceramics manufacturer whose corporate history is being written by an academic historian. (Like Balzac’s Lost Illusions, in which we learn about paper, ink, and printing technology in 19th century France, here we learn that Cornwall is ideal for the production of household ceramics owing to the local soil that is so rich in clay.) Kellaway’s elderly CEO details him to help the historian in her work and undertake a search for company records from a vital period of its history that have unaccountably gone missing. I’d agree the fate of a ceramics company doesn’t sound exciting, but from ordinary saplings mighty narrative oaks may grow.
I think of Goddard as a latter-day John Fowles, the notable British novelist who produced such masterworks as The Magus and The French Lieutenant’s Woman.
Here's my full blog post on Goddard's books and other writers, from a #FridayReads post I published yesterday: http://bit.ly/14h9DIU
Goddard’s books are usually set in rural Britain with plots that also take his characters to such Mediterranean locales as Capri and Rhodes. Like Ross MacDonald’s Lew Archer novels, such as The Zebra Striped Hearse, which invariably chronicle multiple generations of a family and secrets that have been long buried and are excavated by private detective Archer, Goddard’s books explore the complicated histories of families that have been on the land sometimes for hundreds of years, though his books don’t feature a private detective or policeman. Instead, there’s a male narrator or protagonist who, as King says, “are decent fellows out of their league who mostly—but not always—find a way to muddle through.” In Fault Line, narrator Jonathan Kellaway is a long-time employee of a ceramics manufacturer whose corporate history is being written by an academic historian. (Like Balzac’s Lost Illusions, in which we learn about paper, ink, and printing technology in 19th century France, here we learn that Cornwall is ideal for the production of household ceramics owing to the local soil that is so rich in clay.) Kellaway’s elderly CEO details him to help the historian in her work and undertake a search for company records from a vital period of its history that have unaccountably gone missing. I’d agree the fate of a ceramics company doesn’t sound exciting, but from ordinary saplings mighty narrative oaks may grow.
I think of Goddard as a latter-day John Fowles, the notable British novelist who produced such masterworks as The Magus and The French Lieutenant’s Woman.
Here's my full blog post on Goddard's books and other writers, from a #FridayReads post I published yesterday: http://bit.ly/14h9DIU
July 28, 2021
“La vendetta è il suicidio.” Revenge is suicide.’
Goddard’s novels always have a relevant historical background with well-researched educational material. (However, I must admit that this one delves into far more detail that I ever needed to know about the Cornish clay mining industry). To balance this, the storyline leads into more interesting places and times, with the author’s usual vividly atmospheric depictions. The aspect of his novels I really enjoy, reading them many years after they were written, is that they often recall the wonderful world of the Sixties, when I was young - and the West was free.
Goddard’s novels always have a relevant historical background with well-researched educational material. (However, I must admit that this one delves into far more detail that I ever needed to know about the Cornish clay mining industry). To balance this, the storyline leads into more interesting places and times, with the author’s usual vividly atmospheric depictions. The aspect of his novels I really enjoy, reading them many years after they were written, is that they often recall the wonderful world of the Sixties, when I was young - and the West was free.
August 2, 2018
Robert Goddard has a magical gift...he can paint vivid pictures with the words he writes. He also uses his obvious love of history to produce another top notch novel. Switching between the early sixties and the present day (2010) he has created a convoluted plot that keeps you "reading just one more page" and then "just one more chapter"...until you find yourself caught up in this excellent mystery with loads of twists and turns. If you are a fan of Steve Berry or Brad Meltzer, you will love Robert Goddard.
February 24, 2020
Very readable, like most of Goddard's books. He has the knack of getting you to turn pages down pat.
The story is complex, and you have to keep your wits about you as it shifts back and forth between 2010 and 1968 and 1984. Whether in the end you'll believe the 'solution' to the mystery is another matter. It works, but there seems to be something missing, something that would make the pieces click more firmly into place. And it's not helped by a revelation or two that hasn't been heralded at an earlier stage in any way I could recall.
The story is complex, and you have to keep your wits about you as it shifts back and forth between 2010 and 1968 and 1984. Whether in the end you'll believe the 'solution' to the mystery is another matter. It works, but there seems to be something missing, something that would make the pieces click more firmly into place. And it's not helped by a revelation or two that hasn't been heralded at an earlier stage in any way I could recall.
August 12, 2023
Another one of Robert Godard’s enjoyable mystery/thriller’s with many twists & turns, well written & very descriptive of the places the story is set.
February 12, 2016
I have no idea why I obtained this book in the first place, having never read any of Goddard's books, even though he is a prolific author. Perhaps it's because his books are not widely available in the U.S. Nevertheless, I was glad I got my hands on this one. It is a well written, suspenseful, novel that caught me up to the point that I finished it in 3 days.
The story-line jumps between the late 1960s, 1984, and 2010 as the protagonist, Jonathan Kellaway narrates the history of his relationship with the Wren family and the overly ambitious Greville Lashley, his mentor and the step-father of the woman he loved. All is intertwined with Kellaway's career in the China Clays industry as he becomes Lashley's trouble shooter over the years.
Kellaway also becomes entangled in many family matters even though he's an outsider but he's also trusted by Lashley. Goddard does an excellent job of drawing the characters in the story though one or two of them are a little over the top. What Goddard also does is an excellent job of ratcheting up the suspense and keeping the reader guessing as to how it's all going to turn out. The ending is satisfying but both Kellaway and the reader are left with unanswered questions, questions that will never be answered. We are left to our own conclusions and I am fine with that.
I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it, especially if you like contemporary British novels.
The story-line jumps between the late 1960s, 1984, and 2010 as the protagonist, Jonathan Kellaway narrates the history of his relationship with the Wren family and the overly ambitious Greville Lashley, his mentor and the step-father of the woman he loved. All is intertwined with Kellaway's career in the China Clays industry as he becomes Lashley's trouble shooter over the years.
Kellaway also becomes entangled in many family matters even though he's an outsider but he's also trusted by Lashley. Goddard does an excellent job of drawing the characters in the story though one or two of them are a little over the top. What Goddard also does is an excellent job of ratcheting up the suspense and keeping the reader guessing as to how it's all going to turn out. The ending is satisfying but both Kellaway and the reader are left with unanswered questions, questions that will never be answered. We are left to our own conclusions and I am fine with that.
I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it, especially if you like contemporary British novels.
January 15, 2013
Goddard is back on target. A straight mystery thriller without the history lessons that have tended to bog down too many of his books.This one reads like a fast-paced movie and not once did I pick it up and think "O.M.G. I've gotta try to get back into this!"
May 15, 2012
This was much better than some of the authors recent books, enjoyed the twists and turns -but the ending was just a little weak.
September 1, 2012
A convoluted story with zero tension. I am bemused by the reviews on the back of the jacket; were they reading the same book?
January 9, 2024
3.5 stars. The usual fascinating, twisty, page-turning deceptively simple but engrossing prose from Mr Goddard. The action commences in 1968 as a bored St Austell school leaver, Jonathan Kellaway, takes a summer job at the local china clay company to get some cash before going to university in London. He is smitten by the seemingly unobtainable Vivien, step-daughter of observant company boss, Greville Lashley, who sees potential in the young man as evidenced by his energetic pursuit. Vivian’s brother, Oliver also takes to Jonathan but is engaged on a mysterious project of his own that help from Jonathan could be rewarded with something to his advantage - Vivien.
The action switches from drizzly St Austell to the beautiful isle of Capri where the family have a villa and Jonathan has a dream-like summer holiday before things start to go wrong - badly wrong and it’s going to take 42 years before the truth is finally revealed.
The action switches from drizzly St Austell to the beautiful isle of Capri where the family have a villa and Jonathan has a dream-like summer holiday before things start to go wrong - badly wrong and it’s going to take 42 years before the truth is finally revealed.
March 27, 2024
4,5 ⭐. J'enlève un tout petit demi-point tout simplement parce que j'ai trouvé la fin un peu trop simple. Légère déception sur une finale trop douce alors que l'intrigue était captivante tout au long du récit; j'avais de grandes attentes! La boucle ne semble pas tout à fait bouclée. Malgré la fin, j'ai adoré le parcours. J'ai beaucoup apprécié les changements d'époque et les descriptions des ambiances, personnages et environnements. J'ai apprécié particulièrement les événements qui se déroulaient en Italie, dans des villes où je pouvais parfaitement me repérer grâce aux précisions relevées, et qui laissaient alors une impression de voyager un petit peu ☺️
January 25, 2021
Superior thriller charging forty years of a pottery business set in Cornwall and Capri. A teenager gets swept into the families business in 1968 and plots jumps through the ensuing years until 2010. Lots of death, scheming and dodgy deals and a great read. Loved the settings, enjoyed the characters and the finale was met unexpected. A joy.
March 12, 2025
I mean it was good and beyond a point interesting. But towards the end with there no more suspects left/dead kinda weak ending to an otherwise engaging tale which literally took us all over the world
November 24, 2021
First novel that I have read by Goddard and it won't be my last. A good read that has a complex backstory. He goes from Cornwall (vividly describing the clay mounds) to Capri and luscious palacios.
November 22, 2021
Un livre qui retrace 60 ans de la vie d'une famille avec pour personnage principal, un ami qui a assisté à tous les moments clés. Une lecture plutôt prenante mais que j'aurais plus savourer si je n'avais pas deviné une partie de l'intrigue à la moitié du bouquin.
November 16, 2024
I don’t know what it is but I just relax into this author’s prose …
June 23, 2014
I found this book a thoroughly engrossing read. I took it with me when I was out of town for five days, thinking, given its 500-page length, that it would last me for the entire trip; however, it engaged me so much that I finished it in two days. The story begins when the president of a company that has a monopoly in the china clay industry calls on an employee who is nearing retirement to investigate a series of missing files. The employee is Jonathan Kellaway, who has a long history with the president’s family. From there, the story moves back and forth between the present and the late sixties when the hero first met Oliver Foster, the president’s teenage stepson who was trying to find the reason for his father’s death. As in all Goddard’s books, there are many twists and turns, but in spite of the complex trail that the hero has to follow, the plot unfolds seamlessly and credibly right to the end.
February 28, 2022
Now, this is *way* out of my reading style, but - I have to confess - I will listen to Philip Franks narrate ANYTHING, and this was a good audiobook to have on in the car whilst commuting. I couldn't possibly comment upon the content (murder! suicide! mafia! kidnapping! fraud!), since all I was interested in was (imho) the master of audiobook narration reading me something during car journeys. However, I now find myself having been introduced to the strange and wonderful world of China clay industries?!?! I find I can't rate this one - sorry!
April 7, 2013
A very satisfying mystery thriller. I enjoy Goddard's writing and would rate this as one of his best.
The central character, Jonathan Kellaway, is on the brink of retirement after a long career with a multi-national company. His final task is to locate some missing documents to assist a historian writing the company history. And so begins the story, which weaves between 1968 and 2010 and is set mainly in St Austell & Capri - knowledge of these areas might enhance your enjoyment.
I find that Goddard's central characters are always very similar, not that this is a problem, as I find all the characters in the novel very believable. The book is very easy to read yet has quite a complex plot. The ending nicely wraps up all the details revealed throughout the story to a most logical conclusion - but I didn't guess it in advance.
The central character, Jonathan Kellaway, is on the brink of retirement after a long career with a multi-national company. His final task is to locate some missing documents to assist a historian writing the company history. And so begins the story, which weaves between 1968 and 2010 and is set mainly in St Austell & Capri - knowledge of these areas might enhance your enjoyment.
I find that Goddard's central characters are always very similar, not that this is a problem, as I find all the characters in the novel very believable. The book is very easy to read yet has quite a complex plot. The ending nicely wraps up all the details revealed throughout the story to a most logical conclusion - but I didn't guess it in advance.
January 24, 2013
With the completion of this book, I have now read every Robert Goddard novel and apart from the odd disappointing exception, they have all been reliable page turners. Many I've read are solid 4 stars, most of the rest 3.5s and so I would definitely recommend him to those who enjoy thrillers - my favourites have been those with a historical slant. He is definitely the master of the twist and turn. I need him to write another one soon!
'Faultline' features the typical Goddard hero ie. an ordinary man who unwittingly becomes mixed up in extraordinary events. In this novel, he's Jonathan Kellaway who as a teenager becomes entangled in the murky secrets of a dysfunctional family - entanglements from which he still hasn't escaped 40 years later.
'Faultline' features the typical Goddard hero ie. an ordinary man who unwittingly becomes mixed up in extraordinary events. In this novel, he's Jonathan Kellaway who as a teenager becomes entangled in the murky secrets of a dysfunctional family - entanglements from which he still hasn't escaped 40 years later.
January 18, 2015
It seems like a simple assignment with unlikely success, but the request to try and find several years worth of missing documents for his employer takes Johathan Kellaway into a past that he’d prefer not to re-visit. Forced to confront deaths, lost loves, and other tragedies that occurred during those years, he reluctantly finds himself picking up the threads to mysteries he’s not sure he wants to solve. As he comes closer to finding the papers and unraveling the stories, he realizes his own life is in jeopardy, but can’t let go. The documents and the secrets must be unearthed or he will never find peace. This irresistible thriller is spun by a master storyteller.
September 30, 2012
have never read any of Robert Goddards books before, sno not sure of what to expect. It is probably what you would class as a mystery, but it was really a tale of powere struggles between a family run cornish clay company and large american based company take over - I think, frankly I got very confused and had to keep backtracking to try and follow it. The story meandered between 1969 and 2010 which didn't help, and I had no empathy with any of the characters and franky by the end couldn't have really cared less about any of them
November 29, 2012
Not much on the plot to “fault” in terms of action. Lots of action.
But the why of story was very thin.
If there was a greater theme, I missed it.
He writes entertaining thriller mystery types with a good protagonist vs a very evil villain.
can’t recommend this one, though, unless you are stuck with it some place, like a plane or jail and that is all there is to read…
But the why of story was very thin.
If there was a greater theme, I missed it.
He writes entertaining thriller mystery types with a good protagonist vs a very evil villain.
can’t recommend this one, though, unless you are stuck with it some place, like a plane or jail and that is all there is to read…
July 10, 2020
Was lent this book by a neighbour and I’m really surprised about the reviews this has received and that it was a Richard & Judy book club novel... I found it dull as dishwater! Less of a thriller and more of a family drama spanning over 40 years. Not my cuppa tea I’m afraid and so I won’t be reading any more titles by this author.
June 14, 2012
Ho-hum. Young man stumbles into family mystery in the 60s, falls in love with girl, goes to work for her stepfather, has to revisit family mystery at the end of his career, when All Is Revealed. Just not very interesting.
October 22, 2012
My first Robert Goddard book and it gets three and a half stars. The plot was very interesting and complex at times in the way it was weaved. Good characterisation and a decent little twist at the end means I will definitely try another of his books.
October 22, 2018
I've never quite 'got' Goddard. This was kind of a cozy - full of atmosphere, but too long winded in the end. The book was a gift, and I struggled through it. Better than just ok - but not my favourite.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 225 reviews