In the Presence of the Enemy

Rating:
Summary: This book is superb in both character development and plot.
Review: Elizabeth George has outdone herself in her latest novel, "In the Presence of the Enemy". This novel involves the usual characters - Detetctive Inspector Thomas Lynley, Simon St. James and Barbara Havers as they try to resolve the kidnapping of a young girl. As the reader is drawn deeper and deeper into the plot, Ms. George's talent for creating believable characters becomes apparent. In addition to how each character reacts to news of the kidnapping, there are subplots and twists which keep the reader intrigued. The personality of each character if finely developed and maintained throughout the book. And the ending was a total suprise to me! It left me thinking about human actions and interactions for many days. If you like mysteries which keep you challenged and constantly thinking, then this is a book for you

Rating:
Summary: Barbara is fabulous, but this book needed more clues
Review: I devour mystery books, and am especially fond of series that include the same characters over and over. So I was inclined to like this series from the start, but was pleasantly surprised by the way George develops her characters to an unusual degree. However, they are uneven are far as how interesting they seem (which I suppose is true in life as well). Every time the plot involves Deborah I just want to put the book down and snore. She's sweet, she's a photographer, she has curly red hair, she is devastated by her inability to have children; that's all we know. But really, who cares about her? Not me. And would Simon get over his leg already? On the other hand, I find Helen Clyde to be hilarious, very witty. Lynley, a wee bit dry for the central character. But Barbara Havers has now become my favorite mystery character of all time. I am so excited to read Deception on His Mind, where she has an even larger role. Thank you, Elizabeth George, for making this complex, funny, unglamorous and wholly likable person. My only complaints: it makes no sense to me that Barbara has no real friends. Why not? She's very cool. She should have a close gal pal. Second, I hope that life begins to treat Barb a little better pretty soon; I somehow felt personally crushed by some of the things that have happened to her. One last comment about this book: there were absolutely zero clues as to the perp in this book. And no hints in this person's behavior as to their psychotic crimes until they were explained in the end. I like to have at least a slight chance of sussing the mystery out myself!

Rating:
Summary: Wow! But call out the SPCC...
Review: If you've never read any of Elizabeth George's novels, this is as good a place as any to start. By the way, she writes novels, not just "mystery novels."

This book works as a novel, as a mystery, as a puzzle, as a soap opera, as a sheer entertainment page-turner, and as a travelogue. You get a lot of bang for your reading buck.

Poor, poor Barbara Havers... I think there should be a society for the prevention of cruelty to characters. I feel so sorry for her.

Fantastic (in both senses of the word) plot twists.

As it happens, I am extremely dense about guessing whodunnit. I just read mysteries for the atmosphere, the characters, the story, the procedure, and the background. But Elizabeth George has pulled off what for me is a very rare experience--I didn't guess whodunnit, but at the end I actually feel that I ought have been able to.

Rating:
Summary: Good characters and suspenseful ending
Review: In this installment of the Lynley-Havers series, Elizabeth George has created an interesting situation involving kidnapping and murder. I definitely felt the pace of the novel picked up after Lynley and Havers were assigned to the case. These two characters are much more fully developed than the others (Helen, Deborah, Simon). In particular, Barbara Havers comes alive and is a unique individual. The last section of the book was quite a page-turner; I stayed up into the wee hours to finish the book. I've read all of George's novels and this one ranks quite among her best. If you like British police procedurals with strong characters and surprise endings, you'll enjoy In the Presence of the Enemy

Rating:
Summary: Suspensful, powerful and provoking
Review: Reading Elizabeth George is always a pleasure, but her this novel is disturbingly so. If you like your characters predictable and bland, read something else. "In the Presence of the Enemy", the characters will make you angry, baffled and you may even weep. George's tight weave between the kidnapping of a child, politics, London's tabloid press and crime detail is masterful. She writes with a style that makes one become enmeshed in the thoughts, feelings and actions of her characters. This is no mere story-telling. I grew to scorn the Junior Minister, Eva Bowen; wept for Charlie; wanted to have Leo for a son; fair liked to have slapped Corrine silly.I was dead wrong as to the identity of the murderer until the name was announced, something rare for a reader of more ho-hum novels than masterpieces. This story will stay with me for quite some time. Until the next Elizabeth George novel captures my attention.

Rating:
Summary: A good read, but flawed

Review: Though Elizabeth George's latest novel kept me turning its pages well pastmy bedtime, I felt that one of its major plot elements was seriouslyimplausible. The mystery hinges on a kidnapping/blackmail (no real spoilers here, I promise). Dennis Luxford, editor of an anti-Tory tabloid, is told he must publish, on the front page of his own newspaper, the fact that he fathered a prominent female Tory politician's child. Otherwise the kidnapped child will die. The girl's mother, Eve, gets a similar note. Complications ensue when Eve assumes her former lover is, in fact, blackmailing *her,* his goal to embarrass her publicly and sell more newspapers. Much of the book traces the results of her stubborn refusal to imagine any other villain than Luxford.

However, no one in the novel seems willing to point out to Eve with sufficient force that this makes no sense. Luxford is editor of this tabloid; he knows he's the father of her child; he could publish the information, if he wanted to, at any time. Why would Eve have to be forced into agreeing to publish when Luxford could do this unilaterally if he chose? Especially when the elaborate purported scheme would only get him in legal trouble, if he were discovered?

I also found it difficult to believe Eve's career would be so aversely affected that she'd risk her child's life. After all, the public already knows the girl is illegitimate; it's just her paternity that's unknown. Surely Eve would at least get some sympathy points for the horror of having her child kidnapped, and that would offset news of the real father.

Because the book's central conflict is so unbelievable, the book as a whole suffers. Unable to enter into the plot's emotional urgency, as a result I felt detached from the characters--when I wasn't actually annoyed at them.

George also seems more interested these days in such minor characters as the music teacher or the Irish maid, rather than her major and continuing characters. I always like Barbara Havers, and she does have some good moments in this outing. Others, however, are becoming to seem one-note: Deborah's childlessness, Simon's leg, Helen's shoes. I would like to see these characters develop in a more multi-layered way.

Still, despite these flaws, George does have the ability to keep you reading, and there are some genuine surprises in this well-paced mystery.

Rating:
Summary: Impossible to put down!
Review: When the daughter of a Tory MP is kidnapped, DI Thomas Lynley and his off-sider, DS Barbara Havers are eventually brought into the case. Eve Bowen, the politician, is initially reluctant to agree to the demands of the kidnapper who insists that the well known editor of a scandal sheet newspaper admits to being the father of Eve's illegitimate child. The plot thickens, involving police, the press and members of Parliament, with some very interestingly drawn characters whom Elizabeth George paints most convincingly. I loved this book and was unable to put it down, so much so that I can't wait to get more stories involving the main characters.