I enjoy Robert Goddard's novels but this one didn't gel for me. He doesn't normally write detectives and the police side of the story lacks the pace and realism you find in police procedurals. Taleb is more like an old-fashioned TV detective, with the older male/younger female trope, and their focus on wandering around town interviewing people. The fact that the story was split between two narrative strands, both pursuing the same objective, also made for a lot of repetition. And there didn't seem to be that many plot twists and turns, which is very unusual for a Goddard novel!

On the plus side, the novel offers interesting insights into the Algerian war of independence, and Algeria's recent history. And it won't stop me reading more by Robert Goddard.
*
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.

Algeria has a troubled history and Taleb who is nearing retirement finds himself unravelling history as he works with Agent Hidouchi to recapture a former agent.

Great characters and plot lines.we uncover some of Algeria’s past, good and bad. Fast paced and loads of action, enjoy.

This is Robert Goddard at his best! One of my favourite, go-to, authors. Delivering good solid reads, often - as in this case - weaving fact into fiction seamlessly.
Here we feature on Algeria and its little known (to me anyway) bloody history. Following Superintendent Taleb as he teams us with Security Service agent Hidouchi when one of their previous prisoners absconds. Opening the path up to a history which leads back to Paris some 50 odd years since. We also follow Stephen Gray who is still trying to find out the truth of what happened to his sister, in Paris, at the same time...
The rest of the plot, as you would expect from the author, is rather convoluted as it builds up, slowly initially, and then starts to deliver shock after secret as all threads, and there are a few, interweave and meander around each other, finally culminating in a rather explosive ending... I say convoluted but not in the slightest confusing. Yes, there's a few things to hold on to for a while whilst other things happen or are explained but that's par for the course for this genre book so nothing unexpected there. Pacing, although slow initially as the layers of intrigue build up, matches the narrative all the way through, speeding up for the final showdown...
Characters are well crafted and all act well within their remits. And the writing itself is tight and the plot well executed, with the author's dry humour and wit shining through on occasion. The historical elements, well, I can't vouch for their accuracy but I can vouch for the author's attention to detail and research so I would imagine likewise here.
All in all, another winner from an author firmly cemented on my watch list - roll on next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The mix of fact and fiction in this book is brilliant, I loved every minute of this book, a well written thriller that made a fantastic read

This is a really exciting political thriller based in Paris and the Algiers and follows Superintendent Taleb, Agent Hidouchi, where they have to investigate a historical event. I wont rehash the story, but it was a highly entertaining, plot grabbing book. I really didn't know any Algerian history before this book, but feel I've learnt more about their history and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press and Netgalley for the invitation to review this book. having read one Robert Goddard before "The fine art of invisible detection, I hoped this book would meet my high expectations and it really did. A super thriller from the master of crime. I hope to read many more in the future, particularly if they are as good as these two.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, for the ARC.

This is a really good, complex story - so you really have to concentrate! A mixture of fact and fiction is woven around the Algerian War of Independence during the 1990s. Admittedly I knew very little about the historical facts, so this was very interesting. Now, there are a lot of main characters and chapters/sections of the narrative reflect different points of view - sometimes it was awkward to keep the timelines straight. However, perhaps I can help with that:

Two main things occur simultaneously in the present - in Algeria Superintendent Taleb, a self-deprecating policeman beyond retirement age, is forced to work with a female intelligence officer, Agent Hidouchi, to investigate the disappearance of Wassim Zarbi from his villa - he'd been on parole from a 20yr prison sentence for embezzlement from the national oil company. His "partner-in-crime" had been Nadir Laloul, but he'd escaped the country with millions in funds, leaving Zarbi behind. If they could find Zarbi they might also locate Laloul.

-In Hampshire, England, Stephen Gray is working on his father's cottage when he is visited by Suzzette Fontaine (Darby, when Stephen had met her 30yrs ago in Algiers). A Swiss Lawyer, on behalf of a Mr Saidi, had sent her typed pages of a confessional document purportedly written by her deceased father, Nigel. They wanted to know if it was genuine and were offering money in return. She asks for Stephen's opinion on them.

The story unfolds through Nigel Dalby's document detailing his past which, in particular goes back to his time in Paris in 1961 where (a) he witnesses a massacre of Algerians, and (b) when he meets Harriet Gray, Stephen's sister, and started a relationship. Nigel meets Zarbi as a young man and becomes embroiled in a murder. Harriet disappears from Paris and Stephen has spent his life trying to find out what happened to her.

In the present, Stephen isn't telling Suzette the whole truth - he's something to hide - literally - because he realises he could be in danger, and Taleb and Hidouchi start trawling files and CCTV to get on the trail of Zarbi.
Gradually the past brings the reader up to the present where the plot lines converge.

.....................
This is an intriguing story, enveloped in politics, inter-agency distrust, betrayal and murder. I absolutely loved Taleb and his dry sense of humour, his self-deprecating manner, and his and Hidouchi's rather entertaining interactions.
I'm wondering the ending may suggest a follow-up?

A delicate blend of fact and fiction take you on an engaging delve into the history of The Algerian conflict with France. It spells out the underlying troubles via two converging storylines. Superintendent Taleb , nearing retirement, is partnered with Secret agent Hidouchi, to track down corruption and Stephen Gray is trying to lay to rest the ghosts around his sisters disappearance and murder . The paths collide in the search for truth and resolution

I am a Robert Goddard fan and have enjoyed everything he has written - until this one. I really found it a struggle to finish the book with its convoluted plot and mostly dislikeable characters. Three stars because I learnt about something that I had no knowledge of before reading the book. What a shameful period in France's history. Well researched and well written but not a book I would recommend to friends. I received an e-ARC from the publishers and the author via NetGalley to read and review.

A convoluted thriller with irs roots in Paris fifty years before.A young englishman shocked by the treatment to Algerians by the French authorities whose colonial rule the Algerians are committed to end much as the French are committed to maintain..
The naive young man is is persuaded to help 2 algerians whose actions result in the disappearance of his girlfriend in the murder of a french government adviser .
Years later Algerian police superintendent Taleb, waiting for his retirement but known as an honest man is called in to search for a missing corrupt ex official .He is joined by one of Algiers feared secret police Agent Hidouchi but what is her purpose and is she there to help solve the case or bury it and maybe Taleb with it.
This is an excellent thriller against what it perhaps a fairly unknown period of history and right up there with Robert Goddard's high standards. I didn't want to give much away here as I found the story so interesting will plenty of well drawn characters and following Taleb and Hidouchi ,both great characters , as they try to work out who they can trust..

‘He’s a forgotten man. But not by all, apparently, since at that moment his telephone starts to ring.’

Superintendent Moloud Taleb is an Algerian policeman heading towards retirement. He may not be important enough to have his own air-conditioned office, but his life is about to become very interesting (in every sense). He is seconded to work with Souad Hidouchi, a female agent with the feared Algerian secret service. A former agent is on the run, after serving twenty years in prison for his involvement in a high-level corruption scandal. Hidouchi and Taleb are instructed to find him. Taleb is reluctant: he’d like to live long enough to make it to retirement and becoming caught up in this case does not bode well. But he becomes caught up in Hidouchi’s search.

‘The difference between convicted criminals and unconvicted ones is that the unconvicted ones run the country.’

Meanwhile, in rural Hampshire, Stephen Gray is approached by someone from the past who appears to have information about the disappearance of Stephen’s sister in Paris over fifty years ago. Stephen becomes caught up in an investigation of his own: he wants to know the truth.

Two apparently unconnected events bring past and present together as this complex story unfolds in locations across France, Algiers, and Hampshire.

While Taleb is well aware that no-one in Algiers wants to be reminded of the violence associated with the Algerian struggle for independence, his need for truth outweighs his desire for self-preservation. He and Hidouchi make a formidable team as they search for the former agent. And their search for this agent takes them into a mystery surrounding a murder in Paris around the time Stephen Gray’s sister went missing.

‘The irony of Algeria’s past breaking out physically into the present appealed to Taleb.’

Mr Goddard combines fact and fiction in this thriller which left me wanting to know more about the history of Algiers both before and after independence from France. A terrific read.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

On a stifling afternoon at Police HQ in Algiers, Superintendent Taleb, coasting towards retirement, with not even an air conditioned office to show for his long years of service, is handed a ticking bomb of a case which will take him deep into Algiers troubled past and it's fraught relationship with France. To his dismay, he is assigned to work with Agent Hidouchi, an intimidating representative of the country's feared secret service, who make it clear she intends to call the shots.

Superintendent Taleb is summoned by his superior. He gives him a case that he will need to work with the feared secret service, hunting down a former agent. Set in Algiers, France and the UK and covers Algiers independence from France. I really liked Taleb, he had a dry sense of humour. This is a fast paced read from the beginning. I also liked reading the historical aspects included in this story. A thrilling read that combines seamlessly true events and fiction.

I always like a book that teaches me something as well as telling me a good story.
In this case, the story centres around the events during and after the War for Algerian Independence from France..
Taleb is a Police Superintendent, due to retire in the near future. He is drawn into the case of a missing ex prisoner, a man who was behind some of the nasty things in the past (all unproven of course) and has to work with Agent Hidouchi from the DSS to track him down. The trail leads to Paris and collides with another part of the story that starts in the 1960s. Stephen Gray's older sister, Harriet, was living in Paris in 1965, when she disappeared suddenly after splitting up with her boyfriend. For over fifty years, Stephen has been trying to find out what happened to her and who was responsible. Now the truth has fallen into his hands, but not everyone wants it to appear.
I really liked this book, not only because I had no idea about Algeria's troubled past and France's part in it, but I liked the characters and the dry humour.

In 'This is the Night They Come for You', Robert Goddard not only manages to write a well plotted thriller, but also educate the reader on Algerian politics, and in particular a massacre that occurred in Paris on the 17th October 1961. Using well drawn characters such as Superintendent Taleb, Agent Hidouchi, Stephen Gray and Suzette Darby, Goddard keeps the reader engaged in what is quite a complicated plot that moves between Algiers, Paris and the UK. There is a focus both on the individuals in the story, and also on the wider politics and conspiracies, that I found enthralling. I would recommend.

On a hot and clammy afternoon in Algiers, veteran Police Superintendent Mouloud Taleb—on the verge of retirement after close to five decades of service—is handed what is probably the biggest, and most perilous, case of his career. He is to join Souad Hidouchi, a young female agent of the Algerian Secret Service on the hunt for Wassim Zarbi, who himself was a mighty intelligence operative for a long time until being thrown in prison for corruption twenty years ago. Zarbi is absconding from his house—where he was kept due to old age—and is presumably in pursuit of his former partner Nadir Laloul who had abandoned him all those years ago, skipping the country with the entire ill-gotten wealth.

Meanwhile, Stephen Gray in Hampshire, England receives an unexpected visitor from the remote past, with a strange request. Suzette, the daughter of an Englishman named Nigel Dalby—resident of Algiers since the 1960s until his death in the 1990s—wants Gray to read the copy of a document supposedly typed by her father and verify its authenticity, based on certain events described in it involving Gray.

Both the Algerian duo’s manhunt and Gray’s assignment take them, through their own separate paths, towards some explosive secrets about Algeria’s recent history—about six decades of it—that have the potential to unsettle the power structure of Algeria and its former colonial master—France. Naturally, some powerful people, including certain government agencies, do not want these secrets to come to light and are quite prepared to eliminate those in the process of uncovering them. Thus unfolds an elaborate game of diabolical conspiracies, large-scale deception, blackmails and double-crossing in which the victors are the ones who escape with their lives intact, and This is the Night They Come for You is the gripping account of this lethal game.

Robert Goddard has a stellar reputation for delivering well-researched, intricately plotted thrillers set in a variety of locations and his latest offering bolsters this repute. In This is the Night They Come for You, Goddard masterfully blends historical fact with ingenious fiction to present a narrative that is both authentic and absorbing. The primary strength of this novel lies in the brilliantly etched characters; they are utterly realistic and command the reader’s attention and sympathy. Particularly fascinating is the starkly contrasted characterisation of Taleb and Hidouchi—mismatched on almost every count—and the subtle growth of their relationship from the bumpy beginning. The plot builds up slowly and steadily in intensity, with several compelling twists along the way, towards the exhilarating, highly satisfying finish. For readers with no knowledge about Algeria—myself included—This is the Night They Come for You offers considerable insight into the country’s troubled recent history including its subjugation by the French, and the continuing exploitation even after decades of independence.

In short, This is the Night They Come for You is an outstanding thriller with a memorable cast of characters, a riveting plot and some top-notch writing by the acclaimed master of the genre. I greatly enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to everyone who is looking for a solid thriller with a lot of substance.

My sincere gratitude to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for sharing with me a digital Advance Reader Copy of This is the Night They Come for You through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review.

This review appears on the Mystery & Suspense Magazine at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/this-is-the-night-they-come-for-you/

Robert Goddard's USP is to begin his story in a foreign land; there is a historical crime and a current problem which the detective is tasked to deal with, which then reveals entanglement with the history. This one starts in Algiers, links to rural Hampshire and thence to Paris. Its an absolute cracker with fast and thrilling, bloody action. Don't miss it!

A most enlightening story of Algeria in the turbulent years following the war of independences. A complex multi stranded plot of a man searching for why his elder sister disappeared in Paris at the time when a massacre of Algerians happened, mixed with a detective and agent partner assigned to recapture a man disappeared on release from prison. The man wanted dead or alive together with his partner who had avoided arrest, were involved in stealing vast sums from government funds. French interests to control Algeria’s economy by secret agents. compounded by the conflicting political interest of secular and Islamic elements also have interests to protect. The search ends in Paris and brings to light dark secrets of what happened that both governments wanted to be kept secret to keep the peace and so how to walk the tight rope and keep alive and complete the mission in an unofficial capacity demands all their combined courage and cunning to achieve.

Police HQ Algiers, and all soon to retire Superintendent Taleb wants is air conditioning. and to be left alone. Summoned by his superior he is handed a job which forces him to work with the feared secret service, hunting down a former agent.
Robert Goddard always surprises with his stories; always good. always different and always readable. He transports his readers into the heart of his characters. Not always fast paced, this is more a book to savour/

Really enjoyed this one. Started it on a friday night and was finished late sunday afternoon! A nice easy read, that had you gripped.

4/5 Excellent.

My 2nd read from Roger Goddard is every bit as good as the first in this complex intriguing, intricate and stunningly well plotted literary thriller.

A story that takes place in Algeria, France and the Uk, that spans years and details Algerias independence from France, and all the bloodshed and corruption that came with that,

With a sprinkle of humour and satire added to the mix, this is brilliantly crafted and beautifully written stuff, it’s very intelligent, it’s gritty, tense and I was completely engrossed with a set of characters so well drawn.

Great stuff

Well written, with a plot and characters that haunt you long after you've finished. This book transported me to another world… fascinating… I found it difficult to put the book down.