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The Long Journey Home
Believed dead in a charter plane crash, John Gabriel Benedict, a Londoner from New Zealand, is actually footloose and carefree in southern Italy until he is forced to match wits with the Mafia, the Union Corse in France, and a London-based conglomerate
232 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1985
55 people want to read
About the author
Michael Gilbert
143 books91 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Born in Lincolnshire in 1912, Michael Francis Gilbert was educated in Sussex before entering the University of London where he gained an LLB with honours in 1937. Gilbert was a founding member of the British Crime Writers Association, and in 1988 he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America - an achievement many thought long overdue. He won the Life Achievement Anthony Award at the 1990 Boucheron in London, and in 1980 he was knighted as a Commander in the Order of the British Empire. Gilbert made his debut in 1947 with Close Quarters, and since then has become recognized as one of our most versatile British mystery writers.
He was the father of Harriett Gilbert.
Born in Lincolnshire in 1912, Michael Francis Gilbert was educated in Sussex before entering the University of London where he gained an LLB with honours in 1937. Gilbert was a founding member of the British Crime Writers Association, and in 1988 he was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America - an achievement many thought long overdue. He won the Life Achievement Anthony Award at the 1990 Boucheron in London, and in 1980 he was knighted as a Commander in the Order of the British Empire. Gilbert made his debut in 1947 with Close Quarters, and since then has become recognized as one of our most versatile British mystery writers.
He was the father of Harriett Gilbert.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 8, 2015
This was totally freaking awesome! I don't read a lot of suspense. It's just not normally my genre. For one thing, most suspense includes PoV shifts to the bad guys (which makes sense because suspense relies on you being concerned for the protagonist and that's much easier to do if you know what the bad guys are plotting). I hate PoV shifts to the bad guys. Only I totally didn't. I didn't love them or anything, but they didn't annoy or even detract from the story.
Indeed, Gilbert does a number of things that totally shouldn't work. Like, for example, it's a quarter of the book before it's anything more than a travelogue. And the motivation for the hero boils down to the girl in the refrigerator—and in kind of a creepy way if you think about it.
But even though I recognized all that while I was reading, I just didn't care. Gilbert tells a fast-paced tale (yes, you can be fast-paced with a travelogue, just ask Heinlein) with interesting characters, even when he sketches them in broad strokes. It doesn't hurt, of course, that his hero is a great example of what I've come to call "competence porn". John Benedict is smart, capable, and decisive and he ducks and weaves around governments, organized crime, and captains of industry. But he's also kind and vulnerable as well and that just makes him endearing as hell. Better, he finds himself in his situation out of a combination of both parts of his character (which I think is why Gilbert spends the first quarter of the book with him before the action kicks loose).
It helps, too, that the bad guys aren't simply evil. They're selfish and tempted too easily to the expedient and they do evil, but they aren't evil. In other words, their motivations make sense. And John isn't wholly good, either.
So if I were to pick out what made this story work for me, I'd say it was the combination of great characterization and a spanking pace; and a rock-solid plot that hung together in depth with both those other two elements. Seriously, this was an incredible read and I won't hesitate to pick up another by Gilbert the next time the mood strikes.
A note about Steamy: There is no steam. But there is sex. It's just not detailed. It's clear, it just isn't described.
Indeed, Gilbert does a number of things that totally shouldn't work. Like, for example, it's a quarter of the book before it's anything more than a travelogue. And the motivation for the hero boils down to the girl in the refrigerator—and in kind of a creepy way if you think about it.
But even though I recognized all that while I was reading, I just didn't care. Gilbert tells a fast-paced tale (yes, you can be fast-paced with a travelogue, just ask Heinlein) with interesting characters, even when he sketches them in broad strokes. It doesn't hurt, of course, that his hero is a great example of what I've come to call "competence porn". John Benedict is smart, capable, and decisive and he ducks and weaves around governments, organized crime, and captains of industry. But he's also kind and vulnerable as well and that just makes him endearing as hell. Better, he finds himself in his situation out of a combination of both parts of his character (which I think is why Gilbert spends the first quarter of the book with him before the action kicks loose).
It helps, too, that the bad guys aren't simply evil. They're selfish and tempted too easily to the expedient and they do evil, but they aren't evil. In other words, their motivations make sense. And John isn't wholly good, either.
So if I were to pick out what made this story work for me, I'd say it was the combination of great characterization and a spanking pace; and a rock-solid plot that hung together in depth with both those other two elements. Seriously, this was an incredible read and I won't hesitate to pick up another by Gilbert the next time the mood strikes.
A note about Steamy: There is no steam. But there is sex. It's just not detailed. It's clear, it just isn't described.
March 15, 2010
Best of his books!!
September 11, 2017
Entrepreneur John Benedict has just sold his company, and is embarking on strip back to his birthplace in New Zealand, when on a whim, he neglects to reboard his charter flight in Rome. Instead, he outfits himself to do a walking tour in southern Italy, where his father served in the Allied ores in World War II. Hi shifts as a mechanic prove to gain him entree into the homes of rural country folk, and leads him to the Paoli family in the mountains. Paoli senior, and his beautiful daughter Anna, work at a factory owned by the very company that bought John's company. John is told about the influence the Mafiosi have gained in the business, and how these enforcers have killed people who caused trouble for the company. Paoli is the current union boss, and is treading cautiously to avoid the Mafia's attention.
When the family are murdered, neighbors who suspect the Mafia was behind the killings advise John to flee into the mountains and the cover of approaching winter.
John finds shelter with a snowbound religious order, and spends the winter thinking of how to gain some sort of justice for his deceased friends. But he hasn't reckoned with the persistence of the villains trying to find him. Can he get back to London alive? Will he be able to outwit the multinational company and its morally challenged leaders? And can he stay a step ahead of their enforcers?
As usual, Gilbert weaves an exciting tale of an underdog fighting back against criminality and injustice. This one has a let-down of an ending, at for me. But the ride is fun. Worth a read.
When the family are murdered, neighbors who suspect the Mafia was behind the killings advise John to flee into the mountains and the cover of approaching winter.
John finds shelter with a snowbound religious order, and spends the winter thinking of how to gain some sort of justice for his deceased friends. But he hasn't reckoned with the persistence of the villains trying to find him. Can he get back to London alive? Will he be able to outwit the multinational company and its morally challenged leaders? And can he stay a step ahead of their enforcers?
As usual, Gilbert weaves an exciting tale of an underdog fighting back against criminality and injustice. This one has a let-down of an ending, at for me. But the ride is fun. Worth a read.
August 31, 2020
A man on the run is always a good plot, but this one is a bit uneven. A resourceful middle-aged kiwi is walking through Italy when he encounters the Mafia and its ilk. His escape involves hiking through the snowy mountains, being taken in by monks, escaping through France and into England with the help of a slightly dodgy trucker, and eventually foiling the bad guys. There is death by fire, death by elevator, and death by quicksand, and Gilbert has no compunction about getting rid of some likeable characters. A bit over-plotted, but I did enjoy Midge and his father, the Cockney truckers.
June 8, 2020
This is more of a traditional mystery with contemporary themes.
June 11, 2023
A slow start, but at the same time it was to experience life in rural Italy. Then twists and turns and a satisfying finish.
April 19, 2016
I have always loved Michael Gilbert, so was very pleased when I found this in a second hand store and had not read it.
The story basically is that John Benedict, an entrepreneur and inventor in his ?40s, has sold his company in England for a vast sum and decided to return to his childhood home in New Zealand. When the small plane he and others are on lands to refuel in Rome, Benedict decides to get off and explore Italy for a while. He bums around, playing itinerant mechanic, trading repair of farm machinery and vehicles for room and board in the rural areas of central Italy.
He meets and falls in love with a very young woman who works for a company peripherally involved with the company which bought his company in London. Bad things happen and all of a sudden he is on the run through the mountains of Italy with the mafia chasing him to kill him.
He meets another woman whom he had known in the past who helps him (she also works for the company which bought his). The end is a bit fantastic.
Some of the time in Italy is interesting- descriptions of small mountain villages which may be real or not. Much of the story seemed contrived and implausible. There was one section which was so offensive that I can't stop thinking of it and actually blacked it out: "She was more experienced in lovemaking than he was and to start with he had let her take the lead. Later, she had put up a token resistance, which had given him additional pleasure from the illusion that he was raping her. A month later I'm still remembering that line.
This is not one of Gilbert's best...
The story basically is that John Benedict, an entrepreneur and inventor in his ?40s, has sold his company in England for a vast sum and decided to return to his childhood home in New Zealand. When the small plane he and others are on lands to refuel in Rome, Benedict decides to get off and explore Italy for a while. He bums around, playing itinerant mechanic, trading repair of farm machinery and vehicles for room and board in the rural areas of central Italy.
He meets and falls in love with a very young woman who works for a company peripherally involved with the company which bought his company in London. Bad things happen and all of a sudden he is on the run through the mountains of Italy with the mafia chasing him to kill him.
He meets another woman whom he had known in the past who helps him (she also works for the company which bought his). The end is a bit fantastic.
Some of the time in Italy is interesting- descriptions of small mountain villages which may be real or not. Much of the story seemed contrived and implausible. There was one section which was so offensive that I can't stop thinking of it and actually blacked it out: "She was more experienced in lovemaking than he was and to start with he had let her take the lead. Later, she had put up a token resistance, which had given him additional pleasure from the illusion that he was raping her. A month later I'm still remembering that line.
This is not one of Gilbert's best...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews