Stephen Swan is visiting his mother, when a surprise guest
shocks him, making lie of the stories that have been told
to him throughout his life. Stephen's uncle, Eldritch Swan,
shows up -- and Stephen has always been told by his father
that Eldritch died. Instead, he finds this slightly odd man
very much alive and just released from an Irish prison. His
mother offers Eldritch a place to stay while he gets back
on his feet, but Stephen is suspicious of his uncle's
behavior.
Despite his concerns, Stephen is drawn into Eldritch's tale
about the work he did for a diamond dealer at the beginning
of WWII. The dealer owned Picasso paintings, which
disappeared. Although Eldritch admitted that he helped
someone else steal the paintings, he claimed innocence for
his "crimes against the state" that sent him to prison for
over three decades.
Eldritch asks for Stephens help in proving that the
Picassos rightfully belong to the diamond merchant's heirs,
one of whom is granddaughter Rachel Banner. As the two men
search out the truth and Stephen's feelings for Rachel
grow, it becomes clear that multitudes of lies and
illusions seethe around the Picasso theft.
Goddard's novels are gifted with dark depths, although LONG
TIME COMING felt different than his previous works.
Different, but just as good. His deft talent with drawing
the reader along really shines in movement between 1976 and
WWII. That's often a tough thing to achieve without making
the reader pull out of the book. This compelling story
leaves the reader anxious to find out where Eldritch's
schemes are leading and if there can possibly be a happy
ending. With Goddard, one never knows what that ending
might be.
Stephen Swan is amazed when he hears that the uncle he
thought had been killed in the Blitz is actually alive. For
nearly four decades, Eldritch Swan has been locked away in
an Irish prison and now, at last, has been released.
Shocked and suspicious, Stephen listens to the old man’s
story and is caught up in a tale that begins at the dawn of
World War II, when Eldritch worked for an Antwerp diamond
dealer with a trove of Picassos — highly valuable paintings
that later disappeared. Stephen, who finds his uncle by
turns devious, charming, and brazen, then meets Rachel
Banner, a beautiful American who may have inherited the
Picassos—and is determined to see justice done for her
family. But in this tale of revenge and redemption, justice
is the ultimate illusion. Eldritch, Stephen, and the woman
Stephen has fallen in love with soon find themselves
fighting for their lives — against sinister forces still
guarding a secret that must never be revealed.
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