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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
Ms. George's need to show us all her worldliness and sophistication is pathetic. And annoying. It's bad enough that we've spent years putting aside her American pretensions to British-ness for the sake of a good story but now we all have to see how very Continental she is as well. Oh. Lucky us. The Italian dialogue is a ridiculous waste of space since it has to be translated in the next paragraph anyway - probably one of the reasons this book is a billion pages long. The only purpose it actually serves is to interrupt the flow of the story and remind us how very quaint and insular we American readers are. Maybe it's to inspire us to run out and buy an Italian phrase book so we're not such an embarrassment to her. I'm on page 120 and had I not paid full price for the hardcover I wouldn't bother to read further. Won't make that mistake again. In the future her books will come into my hands in paperback from the used bookstore only. Damn! I knew I should have bought the Amy Tan instead...
I have been a fan of the Inspector Lynley books since the beginning - as each new book would come out, I'd clear my schedule and gorge myself.
I've noticed that with the last book it was much harder for me to keep going - it just wasn't holding my attention. It's not you, I thought, it's me.
So I eventually finished it and went about my business. When Just One Evil Act came out, I didn't leap on it right away, but eventually did buy it. I started it almost three years ago and have no interest in finishing it. As much as it pains me to say it - it's just not very good. I decided to purge it from my list and move it from currently-reading to read and move on.
I'm sorry but it really is you.
I've noticed that with the last book it was much harder for me to keep going - it just wasn't holding my attention. It's not you, I thought, it's me.
So I eventually finished it and went about my business. When Just One Evil Act came out, I didn't leap on it right away, but eventually did buy it. I started it almost three years ago and have no interest in finishing it. As much as it pains me to say it - it's just not very good. I decided to purge it from my list and move it from currently-reading to read and move on.
I'm sorry but it really is you.
Disappointing. Lots of padding. And lots of italian that the author doesn't bother to translate. Mostly all Barbara. Can we please get back to Tommy and Barbara solving crimes?
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Doing the wrong things for the right reasons.
Content Warnings
The author helps you obtain an in-depth understanding of the main characters.
Sheesh.
I borrowed this from the library on my Kindle for a long plane ride, and I'm very glad I didn't pay for it. I'm about half way through (700 pages!), and I suppose I'll finish it, but it will be slog, even with the amount of skimming I am doing.
The plot is absurd, and the normally sensible characters behave as if they're on drugs. I'm guessing George's editor must have taken a vacation, how else to explain all the repetitive detail and tedious cliche? And the insertion of unnecessary Italian phrases throughout is exasperating: if two Italians are having a conversation in Italian (but rendered in English for the reader), why leave random phrases from that conversation in Italian?
I used to enjoy her books, but the quality has been dropped precipitously over the last several books. This is definitely my last one. I think I decided that last time, but I forgot.
I borrowed this from the library on my Kindle for a long plane ride, and I'm very glad I didn't pay for it. I'm about half way through (700 pages!), and I suppose I'll finish it, but it will be slog, even with the amount of skimming I am doing.
The plot is absurd, and the normally sensible characters behave as if they're on drugs. I'm guessing George's editor must have taken a vacation, how else to explain all the repetitive detail and tedious cliche? And the insertion of unnecessary Italian phrases throughout is exasperating: if two Italians are having a conversation in Italian (but rendered in English for the reader), why leave random phrases from that conversation in Italian?
I used to enjoy her books, but the quality has been dropped precipitously over the last several books. This is definitely my last one. I think I decided that last time, but I forgot.
First Christmas gift finished. I am still enjoying George but miss the style of the first. I like the detectives to detect more than experience emotional turmoil.
Did not enjoy this one at all. Love the whole series and the characters but this one made me impatient and furious. There's no reason to believe that Barbara could get away with this ludicrous behavior. Plus I've had it with Taymullah. His daughter was a sweet addition to the book and her interactions with Barbara helped develop her character in important ways. Now Hadiyyah is nothing but a plot device. The only parts I enjoyed were those bits with Thomas and his Italian counterpart.Otherwise, I'm glad that this chapter in Barbara's life is finally closed.
Oh man. I have read all bloody eighteen of these novels, which I think demonstrates my dedication to these characters and George's prose. But oh my god was this bad. Mostly it was bad because it was four hundred pages too long. Almost redundant-- I kept waiting for some plot twist to happen, but the mystery was largely solved by the middle of the book. So disappointing. I will dutifully keep reading these books because the characters got me through a difficult but important period of my life. But I would never, ever recommend this particular chapter to anyone.
Rating 3.4* out of 5. I'm feeling a bit ambivalent about this book. I enjoyed it very much up until about page 500, but the last couple of hundred felt redundant. Not that they were, it just felt like the events could have been woven into the first five hundred pages and ENDED there.
The best thing about this book are the old familiar characters that I have followed for almost twenty years. Detective Seargant Barbara Havers with her undelicate hair cut and disheveled clothes. Inspector Lynley, also an Earl, who doesn't actually have to work but chooses to do so and is finally moving on after the murder of his wife Helen. Barbara is neighbor and close friends with microbiologist Taymullah Azhar and his daughter Hadiyyah. When Hadiyyah is taken by her conniving mother Angelina and disappears, Barbara tries to help. However, there is not much the police can do since Azhar's name isn't on Hadiyyah's birth certificate - so a private investigator is involved.
Months pass. Then suddenly Angelina is in London again, hysterical because Hadiyyah has been kidnapped in Italy. This time Barbara insists that the English police do something to assist the Italian counterparts. When a direct approach doesn't do any good, she gets a tabloid paper to print the story. The result is that Inspector Lynley has to travel to Italy to try be of assistance.
Barbara's descent to the wrong side of the law continues. She means so well, but she will do anything to help Azhar and to find Hadiyyah, regardless of the personal cost to herself - and the blights it puts to her career. Barbara's always been a mess. A clever officer yes, but messy and with no sense of personal style. Her burning passion will be the end of her.
One the problems I had with this story at around page 600 was the lack of plot twists. I did not see how anything could possibly be anything other than what they seemed. The ending did manage to surprise me and I am eagerly looking forward to the next book. Which will hopefully feature Barbara a little less.
The best thing about this book are the old familiar characters that I have followed for almost twenty years. Detective Seargant Barbara Havers with her undelicate hair cut and disheveled clothes. Inspector Lynley, also an Earl, who doesn't actually have to work but chooses to do so and is finally moving on after the murder of his wife Helen. Barbara is neighbor and close friends with microbiologist Taymullah Azhar and his daughter Hadiyyah. When Hadiyyah is taken by her conniving mother Angelina and disappears, Barbara tries to help. However, there is not much the police can do since Azhar's name isn't on Hadiyyah's birth certificate - so a private investigator is involved.
Months pass. Then suddenly Angelina is in London again, hysterical because Hadiyyah has been kidnapped in Italy. This time Barbara insists that the English police do something to assist the Italian counterparts. When a direct approach doesn't do any good, she gets a tabloid paper to print the story. The result is that Inspector Lynley has to travel to Italy to try be of assistance.
Barbara's descent to the wrong side of the law continues. She means so well, but she will do anything to help Azhar and to find Hadiyyah, regardless of the personal cost to herself - and the blights it puts to her career. Barbara's always been a mess. A clever officer yes, but messy and with no sense of personal style. Her burning passion will be the end of her.
One the problems I had with this story at around page 600 was the lack of plot twists. I did not see how anything could possibly be anything other than what they seemed. The ending did manage to surprise me and I am eagerly looking forward to the next book. Which will hopefully feature Barbara a little less.
this book was too long - I wonder if Elizabeth George is such a sure thing that no one edits her work anymore?
ending with the Havers subplot and Lynley subplot were unsatisfying and, in Havers' case - downright unrealistic.
ending with the Havers subplot and Lynley subplot were unsatisfying and, in Havers' case - downright unrealistic.