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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
More a crime caper than the classic George-style whodunit, this title wasn't the same compulsive style reading as the other Lynley/Havers books. I appreciated the meditation on where guilt lies/how evil can spread, but it wasn't my favorite in this series (it reminded me in pace & theme to What Came Before He Shot Her). The book is really propelled by familiarity with the characters, so probably not the best entree into the series.
Sono indecisa se essere indignata o solo triste: durante la lettura di questa vergogna mi sono detta che non è la George a scrivere, probabilmente ha un ghostwriter (o più di uno, viste le 957 ripetizioni) perché non è più in grado di scrivere o forse si è scocciata di Linley e Havers (pruriginosa sensazione che già mi aveva colpito nel libro precedente), non so.. Fatto sta che se invece lo avesse scritto lei e non fosse - per dire - affetta da demenza senile, l'indignazione sarebbe il minimo.
La George è un'autrice che venero, la consiglio sempre con grande piacere e soprattutto Linley e Havers sono sempre stati personaggi molto amati, quindi la pugnalata alle spalle è atroce.
Innanzi tutto il poco rispetto per il personaggio di Barbara che è totalmente snaturato, una pazza che agisce senza logica e per cui è veramente difficile fare il tifo. Il finale? RIDICOLO.
La scrittura è noiosa e ripetitiva, a volte credevo che come mio solito avessi premuto la parte sbagliata dello schermo del kindle e che fossi tornata indietro perché sono ripetute proprio frasi intere a distanza di nemmeno una pagina, cose davvero imbarazzanti, giuro!
Poi vabbé, sempre sostenuto che Linley e Havers fuori da Londra non danno mai il meglio di sé, ma questa avventura italiana è ai limiti del paradosso.. Oltre all'irrealtà dei personaggi fuori dal loro contesto, c'è anche la parte di stereotipi sul popolo italiani: siamo dipinti come un popolo di poveri deficienti, mammoni, sfaticati e tanto tanto cretini.
Un fallimento totale, che pianto
La George è un'autrice che venero, la consiglio sempre con grande piacere e soprattutto Linley e Havers sono sempre stati personaggi molto amati, quindi la pugnalata alle spalle è atroce.
Innanzi tutto il poco rispetto per il personaggio di Barbara che è totalmente snaturato, una pazza che agisce senza logica e per cui è veramente difficile fare il tifo. Il finale? RIDICOLO.
La scrittura è noiosa e ripetitiva, a volte credevo che come mio solito avessi premuto la parte sbagliata dello schermo del kindle e che fossi tornata indietro perché sono ripetute proprio frasi intere a distanza di nemmeno una pagina, cose davvero imbarazzanti, giuro!
Poi vabbé, sempre sostenuto che Linley e Havers fuori da Londra non danno mai il meglio di sé, ma questa avventura italiana è ai limiti del paradosso.. Oltre all'irrealtà dei personaggi fuori dal loro contesto, c'è anche la parte di stereotipi sul popolo italiani: siamo dipinti come un popolo di poveri deficienti, mammoni, sfaticati e tanto tanto cretini.
Un fallimento totale, che pianto
I didn't think much of this book, though I have long loved this series. I thought it need a lot of editing and that the plot was more or less unbelievable. I scanned the last half so I would know what was going on with the recurring characters, which means I will read the next book and hope for better.
I love Elizabeth George's beautiful writing, her complex, well-developed plots and her recurring cast of characters. This one is definitely a page-turner with some surprise twists.
Like DI Lynley, I just wish that Barbara's life would somehow get a bit better. It doesn't seem fair that some people are doomed to be lonely and miserable!
Like DI Lynley, I just wish that Barbara's life would somehow get a bit better. It doesn't seem fair that some people are doomed to be lonely and miserable!
Not my favorite book in the series. Half of it takes place in Italy. Some of the characters speak Italian and she didn't translate so I had no idea what they said. I don't think I lost anything but it was annoying. Since I feel like Barbara and Thomas are my friends it was hard to watch Barbara go down a slippery slope.
OK, so all the way through this book, I whined about the length. Now that I've finished it, though, I can't see exactly how I would have changed anything. There's a lot going on here. Hadiyyah is kidnapped--or is she?--and things get very complicated at that point. There's not much I can say about the book without dropping spoilers, but this is mostly about Barbara, and several new people get to describe her to us, which is lovely, and confirms some things about her to me, but Lynley is involved a bit too. He's still trying to get his feet under him after Helen's murder. And much of the book takes place in Lucca, Italy, which is delightful even if it does make me want to go back to Italy NOW.
3 stars because this book was twice as long as it should have been and also had a cheating explanation for a main character’s actions revealed at the end. Also a huge number of illegal actions by law enforcement with no consequences. Really weird. I give George the benefit of the doubt so I finished it but in the end, I found the resolution of the story dissatisfying. I didn’t care about the flirtation between Lynley and Daidre. I liked seeing him move on from Helen but it was all so tentative and wimpy. I did enjoy the Italian setting and some of the Italian characters although it was hideously cliched. It made me want to go to Lucca! I wanted to slap Barbara the entire time. And she suffered no consequences, after all that! Unbelievable. She acted completely nuts. And weirdly, Lynley and Salvatore both let her get away with illegal stuff repeatedly. I just didn’t buy any of that.
Just ok, but WAY too long. The Italian parts got old fast, and I found myself skipping past a lot of it. Still, I was motivated to keep reading because I love the Barbara Havers character and wanted to see how it worked out.
Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers tries to help her neighbour Taymullah Azhar, whose nine-year-old daughter Hadiyyah has disappeared, apparently kidnapped by her mother Angelina Upman. Since Azhar is not registered as Hadiyyah's father, it is not a matter for the police, so Havers puts him in touch with a private detective.
Angelina makes a reappearance when it turns out that Hadiyyah had been kidnapped from her mother, this time in Italy, and the action moves to that country, where a new detective hero emerges, Inspector Salvatore Lo Bianco, who has to battle with an obstinate superior who wasnts a suspect, any suspect, to get the media off their backs. He works with Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley of Scotland Yard to search for the missing girl.
It is a long story (over 700 pages), with many plot twists, and at several points the reader's credulity is strained as Havers breaks one rule of police procedure after another.
Angelina makes a reappearance when it turns out that Hadiyyah had been kidnapped from her mother, this time in Italy, and the action moves to that country, where a new detective hero emerges, Inspector Salvatore Lo Bianco, who has to battle with an obstinate superior who wasnts a suspect, any suspect, to get the media off their backs. He works with Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley of Scotland Yard to search for the missing girl.
It is a long story (over 700 pages), with many plot twists, and at several points the reader's credulity is strained as Havers breaks one rule of police procedure after another.
Brilliant! Great characters, super good story. For those who found the book disappointing or could not finish, I suggest you check your expectations (not all about Lynley) and attitude at the cover and start over. The story is intricately woven, characters that you just hate and some you love. It's new and better insight into Thomas Lynley's long-time partner Barbara Havers. Barbara! What are you thinking! LOVED it!!