The Schoenbuch Forest — Robert John Goddard

In April 1945, two dead German soldiers are brought into the church in the village of Hildrizhausen. In November 1999, Martin Slater discovers some old letters in the attic of his house in Berkshire, England. The letters suggest that Martin's mother had contacted the priest in Hildrizhausen in the 1960s. Why had she done this? What is the connection between these letters and the two dead soldiers? Martin's efforts to find the answers bring him to Germany. Here he finds himself involved with murder and with a recent history that reminds him that even when people might want to forget, the past will never let them go.

Please find below 3 examples of reviews. For the sake of balance I have included a bad review. You cannot please everybody but I can take this opportunity to urge you not to buy my book if you are looking for something by Robert Goddard, the author of many super books, for example: In Pale Battalions and Days Without Number. Robert Goddard and Robert JOHN Goddard are very different authors! Please don't mistake one for the other.

First reviews
From December 2012
It is a most enjoyable book with an unusual storyline. The characters are so real I could see them and I was in the forest too. The further I got into the book the more difficult it was to put down. There is something particularly satisfying about a book where the reader reaches a conclusion ahead of a character in the story and then spends the rest of the pages reading to find out if one is correct and /or if there are any further twists. The book also has a poignant but 'proper' ending, another satisfying feature which cannot always be guaranteed in today's books. I was pleased to see there are other books by this author and will be keeping my eye open for more.
From August 2015
This book popped up whilst I was searching for the real Robert Goddard. This one is not worth the paper it's written on, don't waste your money.
From August 2012
The Schonbuch Forest tells the story of one man's search for his identity. Literary in style, the book might be slow for some readers and will not be everyone's cup of tea, but I loved it. I like the author's eye for detail, and found this story to be compulsive reading, so much so that I now have it on my Kindle as well as the printed edition.