The Fine Art of Uncanny Prediction

By: Robert Goddard

Narrated by: Naoko Mori

Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Umiko Wada never set out to be a private detective, let alone become the one-woman operation behind the Kodaka Detective Agency. But so it has turned out, thanks to the death of her former boss, Kazuto Kodaka, in mysterious circumstances.

Keen to avoid a similar fate, Wada chooses the cases she takes very carefully. A businessman who wants her to track down his estranged son offers what appears to be a straightforward assignment. But she should have known that the simplest cases are never really simple at all. Soon she finds herself pulled into a labyrinthine conspiracy with links to a twenty-seven-year-old investigation by her late employer and to the chaos and trauma of the dying days of the Second World War.

As Wada uncovers a dizzying web of connections between then and now, it becomes clear that someone has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep the past buried. And the deeper Wada digs, the more danger she finds herself in. Soon those she loves most will be sucked into the orbit of one of the most powerful men in Tokyo. And he will do whatever it takes to hold on to his power...

The Fine Art of Uncanny Prediction is another tour de force from the cunning mind of master storyteller Robert Goddard. Spanning seventy years, it takes the reader on a head-spinning journey of twist and counter-twist which keep you guessing until the final pages.

©2023 Robert Goddard (P)2023 Penguin Audio

A Quiet Woman....

I love this series and hope to see many more books in the future. The main character is quiet, unassuming, and a pleasure to watch as she carefully picks through the tangled strands of the story to find the truth. I enjoy the past/present stories.

Intricate, Compelling, Exceptional

The Fine Art of Uncanny Prediction is an astonishingly good book but not necessarily best as an audiobook for all listeners. This is a book with a huge number of characters and two (occasionally more) timelines. Changing timelines every chapter is tricky and not every character is in both and recalling where each of them slots in to each timeline is essential. That being said, Goddard has masterfully woven these timelines together into a traditional mystery plot that is unlike its predecessors. The main character is such an unusual choice and yet a perfect vessel for Goddard’s rich yet dry voice. Two books in this series are not enough. Highly, highly recommended.

More, please!

I'm a big fan of Goddard and believe I have read (earlier titles) or listened (later ones) to every one available in US market. If you are like me, you will find this new series (2 books and counting, PLEASE) both refreshingly new and yet true to his unique style. I'm grateful for the "cast of characters" forward and made copious notes and check marks as I listened along. I reluctantly give the performance 4 stars, but I hope Naoko Mori doesn't take offense. I wish her producer had found a way to make her articulation of the many Japanese characters' names just a little easier to distinguish and follow in this multi-generational and complex mystery. At times I found myself wondering if the real mystery was exactly who was speaking.