Decent read. I enjoyed the fast-paced chapters, but found it took me around 150 pages to get into this one. I was debating DNFing it. Would recommend to thriller lovers who don't mind a predictable ending.

Slow but steady was the first thing that came to my mind when I started writing this review. It is clear Goddard knows how to capture his audience and keep it close.
The story is very interesting. You have to know what that panic room is about and why everybody is after it. And that everybody is a bit of a problem with this book.
There are a lot of people involved. The (maybe or maybe not) rich owner of the house, Blake the house sitter, Don the estate agent, the family of the missing girl, a witch from town, some Italian guy and a few mobsters. All get their story line and it is a lot. It could have done with half the people involved and be just as interesting.
Then there is the switching narrative. It makes it interesting to see the story from different points of view but both the narratives are troubled making it hard to connect to either one of them. Moving between two stressed out people does help with setting the atmosphere but did not give me time to breath. In the end that might not even be so bad.

‘Panic Room’ by Robert Goddard starts in the voice of someone unnamed, someone who feels safe in a beautiful, calm place, who wants to stay there forever but who knows that is unrealistic. It made me ask so many questions: who is the speaker, where is this safe place and why isn’t it forever?
It’s a while before we learn the identity of the first speaker. We are next introduced to Don Challenor, an ordinary middle-aged bloke, an estate agent who has been sacked, who is given a temporary job by his ex- wife Fran. To prepare for sale a multi-million property, Wortalleth West in Cornwall, for a client of Fran’s. Don jumps in his vintage MG to drive west, not realising how his life will change.
In the house he sets about his job, taking photos and measurements in order to prepare the sales brochure. Except the dimensions of one room don’t make sense. There is a mystery void. A steel door which cannot be opened. Is it a panic room? Why is it there? What’s in it? Is it dangerous? Could someone be inside, watching? Or are they trapped? Why not simply ask the owner of the house? Of course, nothing is that straightforward. And so the search to solve the riddle begins.
This is a cracking thriller which starts slowly and winds up and winds up as all the disparate threads of story begin to fall into place. It is an old-fashioned thriller with a conflicted but strong heroine, a disillusioned male hero who rediscovers his strength and guile, an arch villain who cannot be fathomed because he seems too nice and reasonable, and a couple of thugs who don’t worry about the trail they leave. Add in a Cornish witch, a kidnapping and a disappearing teenager, and you begin to wonder how on earth it will all make sense.
Goddard draws a beautiful picture of the Cornish coastline, it will make you want to go there… just not to Wortalleth West. You don’t have to work hard, just sit back and let this master thriller writer take you on a journey of family lies and disappearance, manipulation and fraud, big finance, global warming and cutting edge science. It will not be what you expected.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

Didn’t quite live up to its promise……..

Don Challenor is an out-of-work estate agent. In fact, he was fired from his last job so is kicking his heels when his ex-wife, Fran Revell, offers him a couple of grand to pop down to Cornwall to prepare the particulars of a house owned by Jack Harkness, a pharmaceutical king. (Actually, we never do find out who owns the house). It should be easy money. He meets the young housekeeper, Blake, and a few unsavoury characters who are looking for Jack, who apparently owes a very substantial sum of money to his partners.

Mr Goddard has a large following and has won quite a few literary prizes so my expectations on picking up my kindle were high. One way I judge whether I am enjoying the latest tome is how long it takes me to read through to the end. In this case, it was about three weeks. I just had little enthusiasm for his latest novel. So, why was this?

I found the format very off-putting. Blake’s chapters or paragraphs were written in the first person but the rest of the book was written in the third person. The change from one to the other was abrupt and confusing and I never became used to it.

The minor characters were very two-dimensional. In fact, some of the more major characters also suffered the same fate. I also very heavily questioned the motivation of Don. When he is fired from this project he continues to investigate despite there being no credible reason why he should do so.

Without giving away any spoilers I also have to comment on one character who is sought by Don and Blake. We never get to understand whether they actually find her or, if they did, why she took the particular path she did many years ago. I am aware that this comment sounds nonsensical but you will understand if you read the book – just bear it in mind.

It can be gathered by now that the plot and the writing style, as well as the numerous loose ends, did not endear themselves to me. Another irritation was the use of a countdown from 10 to zero as chapters. However, the nucleus of the story is a good one and the writing itself is crisp and accurate. Many will disagree with me but it has the feeling of a potboiler. It didn’t grab my imagination although it’s obvious why it will appeal to aficionados.

mr zorg

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

A great story, with a thrilling plot. Have read many by Robert Goddard and this one is up their with his best!

Thanks Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and netgalley for this ARC.

Robert Goddard is a master at any genre he so pleases. I loved his historical mystery series, but this novel is a masterpiece of suspense, edgy, and contemporary. Let's hope he can't predict the future.

This is my first encounter with Robert Goddard, and he has written a wonderfully tense and suspenseful ecological techno thriller, set primarily in Cornwall, although there is a fair degree of action in London and Switzerland. Estate agent Don Challenor has just been let go at work, and unexpectedly his ex-wife, lawyer Fran, has a temporary well paid assignment that she offers him. Her client, Mona Jackson, wants to sell a huge uninhabited luxury home in Cornwall, part of her divorce settlement, and it's Don's job to measure and collate details for a quick sale. It seems to be a straightforward job for easy money, it turns out to be anything but as Don finds himself engulfed in life threatening dangers. Blake is the housekeeper at the house with nowhere else to go, she has been living there and is now facing homelessness

Mona Jackson's husband, Jack Harkness, CEO and pharmaceutical entrepreneur, is fighting extradiction to the US where he is wanted for fraud, bribery and embezzlement. There are unscrupulous and menacing characters, such as Amos French and Gennady Zlenko, who want to get their hands on the money that Jack has taken. Don is threatened with dire consequences unless he can secure information that leads to the missing billions. Measurements of the house reveal the existence of a secretive and strange panic room, but it is impossible to gain access to it. A local witch, Wynsom Fry, a scary and disturbing character is convinced that a 14 year old Patrick Harkness murdered her young son, Jory, and is putting the squeeze on Don to find evidence that supports her point of view. Blake's ex-employer's daughter, Jane, went missing years ago, and a friend of hers, MS sufferer, Holly Walsh, has an anonymous donor providing financial support for Harkness products that have eased her life considerably. Is it possible that the missing daughter is the donor? Don and Blake work together to connect the different threads and solve the mystery of the panic room, trying to dodge bullets as the bodies begin to pile up, unaware of the scale of horrors they face.

I found this an enjoyable fast paced thriller with characters that I came to care about. I thought the first half of the story was superior to the second half, but nevertheless remained enthralled and horrified at the the global implications and repercussions revealed in the ending. Goddard is obviously a skilled thriller writer as can be observed from the twists and the good plotting that have gone into the book. The character of Don feels more authentic and compelling than Blake, her backstory and personality did not seem to gel so well together, although I have to admit that this did not bother me so much. This is an entertaining thrill ride of a novel which I found both engrossing and absorbing. Many thanks to Random House Transworld for an ARC.

I have read a great number of Robert Goddard books over the years and enjoyed many of them. I personally feel his earlier books were the best with the stories being less solid & enthralling with the later books. This book had all the making of an excellent read which I enjoyed very much. However, I really wasn't happy with the ending. I felt that it tailed off into the extremely unlikely & unbelieveable which didn't fit with the rest of the book - such a shame.

Millionaire businessman Jack Harkness is in London on bail with a tag. His "soon to be ex" wife is quietly trying to sell off a Cornish property which seems to have slipped through the creditor's net. Don is sent down to value it and meets up with the housekeeper, Blake. Throw into the mix some violent henchmen, Don's ex-wife Fran, a missing daughter and you have a recipe for an excellent book.

I really did enjoy the bulk of this book. Blake & Don get caught up in something which is way above their heads. They finally set off to discover the whereabouts of a young woman who disappeared years ago & this leads to some answers. There are some great characters & some interesting intertwined threads. I wasn't convinced about the need for Wynsum the witch but that thread did give us some insights into the character of Jack Harkness. This was heading for a solid 4 1/2 to 5 stars when the ending arrived.

What went wrong with the ending? It just didn't fit with the rest of the book. The character of Jack Harkness didn't suit the ending. It was all very out of character. People cropped up to help facilitate the ending but them cropping up then & there was quite unbelievable. Some of the threads were left unfinished which was exasperating. In all it was very unlikely and disappointing.

I have still given this book four stars as the majority of it was a good read. It is possible that others may feel differently about the ending and find this up to the same standard of his earlier books. As for me - almost an excellent read.

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley

Great action thriller from Goddard. Having not read one of his books for many years it was wonderful to be reminded what a superb author he is.
The storyline centres around two main characters, Blake and Don. Blake, a young housekeeper and woman of mystery and Don, an out of work estate a middle aged lack lustre man, seem an unlikely duo to pair up. Will they be the ones to solve the mystery of the panic room, or will someone else, with less moral intentions, get there first?
Thank you to NetGalley for a free Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The race is on – who will be the first to open the panic room and what will they find inside?
The characters are numerous, the plot twisted and the chapters count down to zero. The suspense builds up layer by layer but lost my attention mid-way through. Maybe the book could have been a little shorter and the ending less abrupt but all round not the authors worst but not his best either.

Very promising from the blurb but just lacked something to make it thrilling for me. The characters were quite engaging but the ending was too dramatic.

Panic Room is the first book I have read by Robert Goddard and the cover and blurb intrigued me. A panic room that should be open, but is closed and no one knows what's inside, together with a mystery woman who is hiding out at the house. I just knew I had to read the book.

Panic Room is a book that not really lived up to my expectations, sure it's an interesting book, with a great mystery, but I found myself not really engrossed in the story and one thing that really disappointed me was that Blake turned out to be such a let-down. I had hoped for a more thrilling background, but the more I learned about the less interesting she became. I mean I still don't see what special relationship she had with the house owner and her past was, well nothing special, nothing that I felt made her interesting. I did find Don Challenor, the estate agent who more and less just happened to get mixed in the whole mess, to be more interesting. I mean, who doesn't like a character who by mistake get caught up in something? Don's presence made the book better.

As for the ending, you know what, oh it was so disappointing! Sorry, I just thought that the ending was too "Hollywood", too safe, not daring enough. Sure, it may seem wrong to wish for a different ending, but that would have truly shocked me. In this case, it just felt lackluster because one knew how it would end. There is just no thrill to reading a book that fails to shock the reader.

All and all is Panic Room an interesting book that ultimately failed to live up to my expectations. I found myself wanting to know the truth, but the pace of the book and the lack of suspense was a drawback. If the ending had been a bit more unexpected would it definitely have made the book better!

A new book from Robert Goddard is always a treat and this book certainly doesn't disappoint.

The story opens with Don Challenor being given the task of going to Cornwall to produce a set of particulars for a house to be sold, this is where the simplicity ends as Don is drawn into a whole lot of problems none of which are of his own making. The Panic Room of the title exists in the house in Cornwall and its contents are a mystery in fact it is not until the end of the novel that we find out the truth of what lies inside - no spoilers here but its best for everyone if the door stays shut. This book is a fast paced caper style novel with discoveries leading the narrative on, the characters are broadly drawn but believable enough to fit in. The most notable character is Jack Harkness, previous owner of the Cornish house, who is head of a pharmaceutical company and now being pursued for fraud and embezzlement, he always seems to be one step ahead but is he too clever for his own good? The chapters also form a countdown to the end, this is a most satisfying device and drive you on to want to read more. There are mysteries aplenty in this book and these combine to form a great standalone thriller. This is a book to be recommended.

#PanicRoomBook #NetGalley

I am not sure what drew me to this author many years ago when I first discovered him and devoured his back catalogue. But I am glad for whatever that something was as I have never been disappointed.
He has a way about him. Not only the stories he tells but the way he tells them just brings the whole book to life for me. Even given the sheer quantity of books I read, I'm pretty sure that if I made a best top ten ever reads list at least one, probably two of his books would feature. (Past Caring being the dead cert if you are interested).
This book really does have it all and it keeps giving right up until the end, and beyond if you're like me and it stays with you. Don Challenor is a an estate agent. One who has just been fired from his firm. He is given an opportunity to work in a freelance basis by of all people, his ex-wife, a lawyer who has been tasked to facilitate the quick sale of an uninhabited mansion house in deepest, darkest Cornwall. She needs pics and blurb and sends Don off to get the details. Once there, Don discovers that Blake, the part time, non-live in housekeeper, is very much full time and live in, but there is something about her that prevents him just telling her to go. Especially when his amazing spacial awareness leads him to discover that there is a void which he attributes to the possibility of a panic room installed within the house. But it is locked from the inside with no apparent way of opening it.
His interest is further piqued by the news that the owner of the house is connected to one Jack Harkness, a man who is in rather a big spot of bother himself, mainly with the US government and previous partners, something about a lot of missing money and a bit of fraud thrown in.
Things hot up when Don is contacted by some rather unsavoury characters who are acting on behalf of some people believed to have been wronged by Jack. And thus begins a rather intriguing and a little scary story containing not only the missing money, but what exactly lies behind the panic room door, and how does it all fit in with the disappearance of a young woman, many years ago. And the death of a child even longer ago. Flitting between Cornwall and London and farther away, can Don cut through the noise and even a bit of witchcraft and get to the truth? And what happens when he finds it?
Boy oh boy. This book was so hard to put down. I really needed to know what was behind the door. So much so that at one point I was a little afraid to do so in case it didn't live up to both my high expectations and the way the author built it all up. We had such a ride getting there with so many offshoots and sub stories so cleverly interweaved around and about that I was scared that it would fall flat at the end. But, I know this author, I trust this author and I have never been let down before so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at the rather shocking and indeed, very scary ending that he so deliciously delivered.
Characterisation is second to none as usual too. I can't say too much here as the majority of the main players are all a bit dubious and have secrets of their own to hide and discover at the right time in the story for it to hold its intrigue, so I think you'll just have to take my word for it as I don't want to spoil anything for anyone.
Pacing is perfectly aligned to the plot too. There are some quite action packed parts which fade back to some quieter moments as more lies are uncovered, exposing some quite shocking truths. Throughout the whole book, there is an underlying claustrophobic feeling that made me aware of something just around the corner coming up. This is helped in part by the Cornish setting which almost became a character in its own right as it, along with its locals, became an integral part of the plot.
The ending was chilling. I have no idea of the credibility of what was alleged to be possible but, to me, it felt real in the way it was spun by the author and that was enough to scare me. Even now I am debating googling some stuff but, on second thoughts, I think I'd really rather remain in ignorance and not know.
All in all, another brilliant addition to what is already an amazing back catalogue. Really can't wait to see what he serves up next time.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Just got this but I again had one of those mornings where I was up dead early to phone abroad and so I read this whilst waiting. It woke me up for sure! A house on a cliff in Cornwall with something akin to a panic room inside, maybe something in it, the owner unknown, the housesitter a bit of a character and a dubious estate agent.....

I normally read novels set in Cornwall that involve men on horses, romantic tales or historical reads so this was as refreshing as those waters crashing off the Cornish rocks. I confess to having a good old look on Google maps to see if I could see this house ...it felt so real and menacing! Brrrr Robert Goddard you write a mean thriller. There is a certain degree of suspending your disbelief but if you realise that then it's a unique premise although the witchy character I found strange...

There's a lot to enjoy here, shades of that Jodie foster movie of the same name but when it's in Cornwall, normally somewhere known for sandy beaches and ice creams, then it's even more panic enducing...

And I've never read a novel for a long time where the main character is so elusive but the one with the biggest presence...

Panic over Mr Goddard. But I'm still having palpitations of ever visiting your part of Cornwall!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for a review copy of Panic Room, a stand alone thriller set mostly in Cornwall.

Don Challenor is asked to go to Cornwall and assess millionaire Jack Harkness's home with a view to selling it. There he meets the house sitter, Blake, who is upset to learn that the house is to be sold. While measuring up Don discovers what he assumes to be a hidden panic room except the door is locked. When Don and Blake are threatened by men looking for Harkness's missing money and the local witch they decide to look for answers.

I thoroughly enjoyed Panic Room which is an intriguing read. I read many of Mr Goddard's novels in the 90s but not many of his more recent offerings so I had forgotten what a consummate storyteller he is. Panic Room does not disappoint with its mixture of tension, excitement and danger. It is hard to believe that Don goes from a simple evaluation job to risking his life but somehow Mr Goddard makes it work and mostly seem possible (I exclude the witch from this last comment although she is necessary as a plot device). I was desperate to know throughout the book what is in the panic room and I have to say you have to read it to believe it. It's scary and way too plausible to be ignored.

The characterisation is not overly developed as suits a thriller but the mostly unseen Jack Harkness dominates the novel. As the head of a pharmaceutical company he is wanted by the US authorities on charges of embezzlement, fraud and various other offences but he's saying nothing. He is a Machiavellian character who always seems one step ahead and casts a shadow over the entire novel. I was fascinated to learn his plans and motivations.

Panic Room is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.