Fault Line

This was a definite 5 stars.
How on earth anyone can make 'accounts and book keeping' a good subject for great fiction is a wonder. Goddard has really done it with Fault Line.
Philip Franks reads so well that the story courses along without distraction.

This would be one of the worst audible purchases for me. This book is supposed to be a mystery, but after the first part I completely lost interest in the story. I don't leave books unfinished - so dragged myself through to the end and found it disappointing. Don't get this if you are looking for edge-of-the-seat thriller or a gripping mystery.

I really liked this book and the performance was first rate. I have read several other Goddard books and this one is one of my favorites now. The author used some of the same devices as in the others but added some. As in the others, there is a young man drawn into a mystery not of his choosing but compelled to discover the truth. In this book the young man is introduced at the twilight of his business career and the book immediately flashes back to the beginning. Goddard fans will find all the romantic tension and historical spice they have come to expect.

Okay, there's nothing technically wrong with the author's writing style or story-telling ability, so, I'll give it that.

I just didn't enjoy this story. The main character seemed toadying and priggish. The values in the book didn't jibe with recent events like the economic meltdown and Occupy Wall Street. Getting to the top of a company by being in good with the boss just turned me off.

I also did not enjoy the dysfunctional family which is most of the story of the book. It's a 1% family with 99% dysfunctional behavior. I could not sympathize with them. I'm tired of reading, hearing, or seeing families who hate each other or who seem to have no social skills, especially rich ones, with all kinds of deviant, antisocial behaviors, or mental illness issues.

This story was too negative for me. I work as an elementary school teacher in an area that used to be middle class, but is now a devastated, low socio-ecomic area. Everyday, I deal with cruel poverty, broken homes, stressed out desperate families and all the consequences it brings on a community.

So, when I want to listen to something, I need an uplifting or thought provoking story, not the depraved antics of a dysfunctional, selfish, clueless rich family.

This was one of my favorites of Goddard. Every book he writes uses great narration, a big help. His books have that right combination of plot, complexity, character development and pace that I wish all of the books I listened to had. I am on my way to listening to every Goddard book available, this one only encouraging me along the way. A great use of a credit.

I wouldn't call this book a mystery, but it is a fairly solid story. You wouldn't think that something about missing documents would be interesting, but the documents are only a tiny sliver of the story.

The characters are interesting, but the plot leaves something to be desired.