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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
Conan Doyle had a small problem: he wanted to stop writing the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Solution? Kill of Holmes. Major fan uproar, and an implausible resurrection had to take place. I bring this up because I'm feeling like Ms. George wants to do the same, but is afraid that her legions of fans just won't let Lynley or Havers go (although killing Lady Helen Clyde several books back was easy). So instead, she's going to make them less likeable and just drive her fans away.
We're only a year past Lady Helen's death and several books have passed. This one, with its focus on Havers, should have been more interesting than it was, because this is truly a unique creation. The hair, the clothes, the attitude - nothing quite like it in a female detective, private or police. But here? She's almost a parody of herself. Lynley virtually sleepwalks through his role in the book, and Deborah, Charlie, Nkata and Simon are barely there.
Instead we get excruciatingly long stretches of plot in Italy. Where - WHERE??? - were the editorial shears? Who thought this 700+ page book was good to go? I found a few typos, but beyond that at least a third of the book could have easily been excised and it would have been better.
It really feels like the author is trying to drive readers away so she can just end the series. My advice? Help her out. Or, if she's reading these reviews, put the characters away for a bit. Stick with the Widbey Island series. And then, if people truly clamor for a new Lynley/Havers, or you have a great idea that just cries out for these people, write another.
We're only a year past Lady Helen's death and several books have passed. This one, with its focus on Havers, should have been more interesting than it was, because this is truly a unique creation. The hair, the clothes, the attitude - nothing quite like it in a female detective, private or police. But here? She's almost a parody of herself. Lynley virtually sleepwalks through his role in the book, and Deborah, Charlie, Nkata and Simon are barely there.
Instead we get excruciatingly long stretches of plot in Italy. Where - WHERE??? - were the editorial shears? Who thought this 700+ page book was good to go? I found a few typos, but beyond that at least a third of the book could have easily been excised and it would have been better.
It really feels like the author is trying to drive readers away so she can just end the series. My advice? Help her out. Or, if she's reading these reviews, put the characters away for a bit. Stick with the Widbey Island series. And then, if people truly clamor for a new Lynley/Havers, or you have a great idea that just cries out for these people, write another.
Think this may just have been my favourite Inspector Lynley novel yet!! Well written, good amount of twists and turns and wondering what is and isn't true.......great read.
dark
mysterious
‘But there’s no real certainty about anything, is there?’
This is the 18th novel to feature Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, but his role in it is largely secondary. It’s Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers who is caught up in events when her neighbour and friend, Taymullah Azar, has his life is turned upside down. Years ago, Azhar left his wife and two children for his pregnant lover, Angelina Upham. Their daughter Hadiyyah is now aged 9. While Azhar and Hadiyyah have always been together, Angelina’s presence has been intermittent.
Azar returns home one day to find that Angelina and Hadiyyah are gone. There is no note. Azar has few rights: he has no legal relationship with Angelina, and his name does not appear on Hadiyyah’s birth certificate.
Angelina’s removal of Hadiyyah is simply a first step in a convoluted story. Action moves from Britain to Italy, where Hadiyyah disappears a second time. And now there is a formidable cast of characters including: a private investigator with two clever offsiders; Angelina’s Italian lover Lorenzo Mura; an Italian investigator; and a British tabloid reporter that Barbara Havers has involved in a partially successful attempt to get the British police involved.
But it’s Thomas Lynley who is sent to Italy, not Barbara Havers. Here he works with the Italian Inspector Salvatore lo Bianco. Havers is furious about this, but she doesn’t give up. Desperate times apparently call for desperate measures, and it seems likely that Havers will lose her job this time. Havers’s judgment is questionable at times, but it is her not sharing all the information she has and actions she has taken with Lynley that really had me wondering.
It’s a convoluted story with plenty of action, and while it kept me turning pages to try to work out who was doing what and why, some aspects of the ending didn’t really work for me. Still, I will no doubt read the 19th novel (assuming there is one) as I’m keen to see what happens next in the lives of Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
This is the 18th novel to feature Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, but his role in it is largely secondary. It’s Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers who is caught up in events when her neighbour and friend, Taymullah Azar, has his life is turned upside down. Years ago, Azhar left his wife and two children for his pregnant lover, Angelina Upham. Their daughter Hadiyyah is now aged 9. While Azhar and Hadiyyah have always been together, Angelina’s presence has been intermittent.
Azar returns home one day to find that Angelina and Hadiyyah are gone. There is no note. Azar has few rights: he has no legal relationship with Angelina, and his name does not appear on Hadiyyah’s birth certificate.
Angelina’s removal of Hadiyyah is simply a first step in a convoluted story. Action moves from Britain to Italy, where Hadiyyah disappears a second time. And now there is a formidable cast of characters including: a private investigator with two clever offsiders; Angelina’s Italian lover Lorenzo Mura; an Italian investigator; and a British tabloid reporter that Barbara Havers has involved in a partially successful attempt to get the British police involved.
But it’s Thomas Lynley who is sent to Italy, not Barbara Havers. Here he works with the Italian Inspector Salvatore lo Bianco. Havers is furious about this, but she doesn’t give up. Desperate times apparently call for desperate measures, and it seems likely that Havers will lose her job this time. Havers’s judgment is questionable at times, but it is her not sharing all the information she has and actions she has taken with Lynley that really had me wondering.
It’s a convoluted story with plenty of action, and while it kept me turning pages to try to work out who was doing what and why, some aspects of the ending didn’t really work for me. Still, I will no doubt read the 19th novel (assuming there is one) as I’m keen to see what happens next in the lives of Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Part of me wants to give it just 3 stars because of how many times I thought, "WHEN is this case going to be OVER?" It is such a brick of a book. The case keeps changing shape just when you think they're about to solve it, over and over and over. And I want to smack Barbara upside the head, but I guess that's not unusual. Dickens may have been right when he said you shouldn't write insanely long mysteries because the suspense just can't be kept up for that long.
I do love this series but the main characters were exceptionally annoying in this one.
All it takes is "Just One Evil Act" to turn someone's world upside down. This book is more about Barbara Havers and less about Inspector Lynley. Barbara has become very attached to her Azarh, Pakistani microbiologist neighbor and his 9 yr old daughter, Haddiyah. The scientist left his wife to be with his daughter's mother, Angela Upton, but never married her. She left, came back and left again - this time taking their daughter with her. To complicate matters, the child has her mother's surname and her father's name is not on the birth certificate. Now she has gone and can't be find. He is frantic to find his daughter. Barbara agrees to find him. Then it begins. This is a long book - over 700 pages. It is complicated beyond belief, sardonic, funny, and sad all at the same time. One of the sayings Barbara likes to use is "For my sins..." For those sins, Barbara is assigned to DI John Stewart who despises her and is using her as a clerk typist. Lynley's wife has been dead for a little over a year. He also ended a short but unsatisfying affair with his boss, Isabelle. The book opens with Lynley enjoying a roller derby meet, something that an Earl who happens to be a policeman shouldn't be enjoying. However, he is really interested in one of the participants, Dairdre, a large animal vet he met while walking the cliffs of Cornwall after his wife's death. Lynley tries in vain to prevent Barbara from getting involved in her neighbor's problems, but, of course, she does anyway. This may be George's best books yet. There's so much in it - it's a delight to read and savor.
I finished "Just One Evil Act" by Elizabeth George this afternoon. I'm in that awkward place right now where I keep thinking I need to get back to reading to find out what's going on with the characters! They were totally intertwined in my life. After over 700 pages, I guess that could be expected but it wasn't just the length of the book. As usual with George, it was so well written it could make lesser writers sob in frustration. It was complex, intricate, exasperating, touching, true always to itself and its characters--everything I want in a book. And lots of red and reddish-pink herrings.
Next up I will have to be something attention-grabbing, fast-moving and yes, shorter. :)
I read some reviewers on here complain about the use of Italian phrases and words without translations inserted right there but I actually enjoyed that. It was a challenge to use the context to figure it out but it took nothing away for me. If anything, it set up the confusion and frustration that people who speak only one language would have in dealing with a foreign legal system.
There were SO many characters, some very well developed, some used as only cameos, but all added to the richness that I experienced with this book. I have given very few 5-star ratings to books on here. This one was one.
Next up I will have to be something attention-grabbing, fast-moving and yes, shorter. :)
I read some reviewers on here complain about the use of Italian phrases and words without translations inserted right there but I actually enjoyed that. It was a challenge to use the context to figure it out but it took nothing away for me. If anything, it set up the confusion and frustration that people who speak only one language would have in dealing with a foreign legal system.
There were SO many characters, some very well developed, some used as only cameos, but all added to the richness that I experienced with this book. I have given very few 5-star ratings to books on here. This one was one.
Elizabeth George redeems herself with her new book.
After a disappointing read in Believing the Lie, George's new novel brings her back with a bang. This one has it all, exotic locale, a situation that points fingers closer home for the main characters, thereby flummoxing the reader. What else can one ask for?
George excels in using the crime thriller genre to her best advantage. It is not a simple case of who dunnit and why buthow did the crime happen, the far flung repurcussions and the retribution. A bulky read, it sweeps through the traffic ridden london streets to the lush green countryside of Italy. Also, Barbara Havers here enjoys a dominant role while Lynley though pivotal takes more of a backseat this time. I can't help gushing enough and well the praise isn't because it is a free copy as some may be led to believe. It was a library copy and this just proves time and again at how Elizabeth George is a master in this game.
I loved Barbara Havers' love to hate persona who does all the wrong things for the right reasons. That is what George is good at. Creating these layers where the end does not justify the means. Desperation can cloud one's sensibilities forcing them to take rash decisions which prove detrimental and George builds it all up gradually.
The gist:
The story takes off where Believing the lie ended-Hadiyaah's kidnapping. Barbara takes it personally and risks professional hara kiri to get the girl restored to her father, her love interest. In the process Barbara incurs the wrath of her superior Ardery who is determined to stall her. Lynley steps in as the liason officer after it is learnt that the girl could be in Italy. But events take a sinister turn as Barbara throws caution to the winds and desperately tries to get to the bottom of it all in a race against time in a foreign country.
What works:
George's brilliant portrayal of kidnapping of a foreign national
Her tight grip on how the tabloid journalism works
The clash of cultures especially when it comes to communication
A terrific plot which keeps the reader on the edge
A beautiful setting for the story
What doesn't:
It is a bit of a bulky read but then George's novels are always elaborate, well set stories which work great as a standalone read even if you are unfamiliar with the regular characters.
A satiating read.
After a disappointing read in Believing the Lie, George's new novel brings her back with a bang. This one has it all, exotic locale, a situation that points fingers closer home for the main characters, thereby flummoxing the reader. What else can one ask for?
George excels in using the crime thriller genre to her best advantage. It is not a simple case of who dunnit and why buthow did the crime happen, the far flung repurcussions and the retribution. A bulky read, it sweeps through the traffic ridden london streets to the lush green countryside of Italy. Also, Barbara Havers here enjoys a dominant role while Lynley though pivotal takes more of a backseat this time. I can't help gushing enough and well the praise isn't because it is a free copy as some may be led to believe. It was a library copy and this just proves time and again at how Elizabeth George is a master in this game.
I loved Barbara Havers' love to hate persona who does all the wrong things for the right reasons. That is what George is good at. Creating these layers where the end does not justify the means. Desperation can cloud one's sensibilities forcing them to take rash decisions which prove detrimental and George builds it all up gradually.
The gist:
The story takes off where Believing the lie ended-Hadiyaah's kidnapping. Barbara takes it personally and risks professional hara kiri to get the girl restored to her father, her love interest. In the process Barbara incurs the wrath of her superior Ardery who is determined to stall her. Lynley steps in as the liason officer after it is learnt that the girl could be in Italy. But events take a sinister turn as Barbara throws caution to the winds and desperately tries to get to the bottom of it all in a race against time in a foreign country.
What works:
George's brilliant portrayal of kidnapping of a foreign national
Her tight grip on how the tabloid journalism works
The clash of cultures especially when it comes to communication
A terrific plot which keeps the reader on the edge
A beautiful setting for the story
What doesn't:
It is a bit of a bulky read but then George's novels are always elaborate, well set stories which work great as a standalone read even if you are unfamiliar with the regular characters.
A satiating read.