The Fine Art of Invisible Detection: The thrilling BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick

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Missing people, murders, Sarin gas, military establishments, a private detective agency in a story set in England, Iceland and Japan. However, the product of this was a meandering story with stretched reality where people engage in criminal activity or try to hide/run away and yet no active police investigations along with a finale that was lame. Overall though, it’s a good, intelligent thriller with plenty of meat on the bones of the plot. I’ve read a lot of books by Robert Goddard over the years and enjoyed them and this is no exception. Wada appears to be a meek & mild character, wouldn't say boo to a goose & this unobtrusive air works in her favour - but underestimate her at your peril - she can certainly channel her inner ninja when needed! She's such an endearing character you're willing her on all the way (even if, admittedly, some of her escapades may be a little if a stretch!)

There is something in the way that, what I shall call a 'good' ( for want of a better adjective) author starts to write a story. It doesnt have to be dramatic but it draws you in and makes you feel welcome and you just know that you are going to enjoy the experience.Two such characters feature here. First, there’s Umiko Wada, 40-ish, a secretary from Tokyo who works for a private investigator. You’d think that would be exciting but most of the cases taken on by her boss, Kodaka-san, involve fairly minor issues. Marital infidelity, insurance fraud, maybe a bit of rivalry between companies. However, he has been building up a big file on a shady businessman called Nishizaki, who isn’t quite yakuza but who does use unfair methods – including violence – to drive his competitors out of business. For good. Already impersonating another in the course of her investigation, Umiko finds it necessary to trespass into an English flat and engage in commercial espionage. Then to save her life, she has to perform sleight of hand with some cuffs, sneak into a Japanese tour group, and conduct a sensitive hostage negotiation with a criminal. Umiko Wada lives in Tokyo, she wants to live an unassuming life, she doesn’t want excitement she just wants to get through the day without any hassle. She works for a private detective and as exciting as this may sound her days are anything but. However all this changes one day when a client comes in to the office, their case needs someone to go to London, someone who wont ring alarm bells and that someone is Wada.

From the latest Scandinavian serial killer to Golden Age detective stories, we love our crime novels! I dont know if Goddard has changed publisher but the cover of this one is of a different mould completely. Why this one should tempt me when none of the previous ones have, I dont know. However, I am very pleased that it did. Umiko Wada, PA detektif Kodaka. Suaminya mati selepas 12 tahun koma dek serangan gas sarin di Tokyo. Menerima tugas bahaya, Wada terima panggilan bosnya mati dilanggar lari. Dia segera terbang London untuk mencari jawapan, atau melarikan diri? Siapa kawan, siapa lawan?the plot unwinds with a deceptively light touch that does not falter ... genuinely entertaining [with an] explosive finale Evening Standard In the smartest of prose and with a stunningly fast-moving plot, Goddard brings us the heroine we've been waiting for. Umiko Wada is an unexpected joy: unassuming and tenacious, inventive and brave. If The Fine Art of Invisible Detection isn't the first in a series, then it jolly well should be!' Lesley Kara, bestselling author of The Rumour Another thrilling adventure by one of my favourite writers. This one is set in Tokyo, Reykjavik, Cambridge and London and introduces the marvellous Umiko Wada, assistant to a Tokyo based private detective, who becomes embroiled in a complex mystery which she has to sort out when her boss is tragically killed.