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In the Presence of the Enemy (Inspector Lynley #8)
Hailed as the "king of sleaze," tabloid editor Dennis Luxford is used to ferreting out the sins and scandals of people in exposed positions. But when he opens an innocuous-looking letter addressed to him at The Source, he discovers that someone else excels at ferreting out secrets as well.
Ten-year-old Charlotte Bowen has been abducted, and if Luxford does not admit publicl...more
Ten-year-old Charlotte Bowen has been abducted, and if Luxford does not admit publicl...more
Kindle Edition
Published
(first published 1996)
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The writing is good, the characters are interesting and reasonably believable. The mystery...the puzzle to be put together, held my interest and kept the book a page turner. But...I'm just not a mystery fan and this book did nothing to change that.
I didn't find the killer very interesting. I'm far from an expert on the criminal mind, but the killer seemed to be written as just another sociopath, another failure of brain chemistry or crossed neural circuits, acting out some bizarre sense of justi...more
I didn't find the killer very interesting. I'm far from an expert on the criminal mind, but the killer seemed to be written as just another sociopath, another failure of brain chemistry or crossed neural circuits, acting out some bizarre sense of justi...more
This book pushed me right over the edge of my comfort zone and yet I could not put it down and read far into the night and shunned daytime distractions until yes, now I have finished it. Generally, I go for mystery lite. This is deep, complex, twisted, engaging and impossible to guess what intrigue is just around the corner.
(Nevada Barr ups the amps and pushes me out of my comfort zone but after reading all but her last book, I cannot not read what will happen next. So, it is with Elizabeth Geor...more
(Nevada Barr ups the amps and pushes me out of my comfort zone but after reading all but her last book, I cannot not read what will happen next. So, it is with Elizabeth Geor...more
Back to Elizabeth George a wonderful writer even if I do have to keep a dictionary at my side. This American writer from Orange County, CA. bases her novels on mysteries in an about the British Isles and Dectective Inspector Thomas Lynley, a.k.a. 8th Earl of Asherton . This is not an author for those intimidated by words of seven or more letters.
"In the Presence of the Enemy is a brilliantly insightful and haunting novel of ideals corrupted by self-interest, of the sins of parents visited upon...more
"In the Presence of the Enemy is a brilliantly insightful and haunting novel of ideals corrupted by self-interest, of the sins of parents visited upon...more
Eighth in the Inspector Lynley mystery series set in contemporary London.
The Story
What an assortment of characters we have here. There's the cold-hearted politician who should never have had children. The idiot mother seeking to put a gloss on her youth. The oversexed male seeking confidence any way he can. All wrapped up in the reasons why we need policemen in our lives asking them for miracles while requiring them to make the necessary coldhearted decisions.
In the Presence of the Enemy is aptl...more
The Story
What an assortment of characters we have here. There's the cold-hearted politician who should never have had children. The idiot mother seeking to put a gloss on her youth. The oversexed male seeking confidence any way he can. All wrapped up in the reasons why we need policemen in our lives asking them for miracles while requiring them to make the necessary coldhearted decisions.
In the Presence of the Enemy is aptl...more
Well.
I think perhaps I would have enjoyed this book more had it been half the length. George does ramble on interminably about her character's inner thoughts, at no particularly great gain to the plot, and the idea of show-not-tell isn't high on her agenda. The women in the book are a rum bunch - I enjoyed the police detective, but the correlation between career woman and badly-dressed-virgin is predictable and so old hat as to be ridiculous. No less ridiculous were the other key female charact...more
I think perhaps I would have enjoyed this book more had it been half the length. George does ramble on interminably about her character's inner thoughts, at no particularly great gain to the plot, and the idea of show-not-tell isn't high on her agenda. The women in the book are a rum bunch - I enjoyed the police detective, but the correlation between career woman and badly-dressed-virgin is predictable and so old hat as to be ridiculous. No less ridiculous were the other key female charact...more
Sep 02, 2011
Lisa (Harmonybites)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Mystery Fans
Of the eight Lynley novels I've read, I'd rank this third, after the first, A Great Deliverance and the third, Well-Schooled in Murder. Not that I felt that way through Part One, which is almost another book I'd rate much lower--for two reasons. First, that first part involves only that Tiresome Three (tm) Simon and Deborah St. James and Lady Helen Clyde. So not my favorite George characters. Second, and worse, they engage in utterly stupid behavior that's a pet peeve of mine in amateur detectiv...more
My wife knows that I enjoy British detective mysteries and recommended this one to me. I am glad that she did! The plot is innovative and complex, with a wide range of believable characters and detailed descriptions of all phases of the investigation. It gives particular insight into two unwholesome professions, politics and tabloid journalism and the people who choose them as careers. I have never before seen a ransom demand like the one proposed here. Most importantly, this book does what a go...more
This Inspector Linley series novel starts off a very slow, and at times, seems endless, but it is worth finishing. Tabloid editor Dennis Luxford receives a post instructing him to acknowledge his first-born, whom has been kidnapped. If not, she will be killed. But she is the daughter of Even Bowen, member of Parliment and junior primte minister. Eve refuses to acquiesce, and 10 year old Lottie's body is found in Wiltshire, about 90 minutes from where she was taken.
Inspector Thomas Linley is put...more
Inspector Thomas Linley is put...more
This 8th book in the George's series on Inspector Thomas Lynley was chosen by my book group to read because it is the Whatcom Reads choice for 2012 meaning that people all over the county are reading it. Elizabeth George made the choice of book to read, and she will be at several events to discuss the novel. I have no idea why she chose a book that is in the middle of her series. Many have read it and found it difficult to get into. I loved it, but then I have a) read it before and b) know her c...more
this is a well written, well paced, well developed mystery. elizabeth george sure likes to pack her stories with language (details details details), but since i like my books to go on and on, and her going on and on is well done, i am not complaining, at all.
okay, now that i got that out of the way let me talk about women and mysteries. men and mysteries, too. the latter first. i learned today (here) that the millennium trilogy, of which i read only the first installment, a book that struck me...more
okay, now that i got that out of the way let me talk about women and mysteries. men and mysteries, too. the latter first. i learned today (here) that the millennium trilogy, of which i read only the first installment, a book that struck me...more
Really, really enjoy this series! Ms. George does not disappoint in this latest installment. Good mystery - surprise killer. I wish things had worked out better for Havers, however. I was so hoping she'd meet someone! But oh, well.
Additionally, I like it when an author uses words with which I am unfamiliar, and this author does it in every book. Some of my unfamiliarity is because it is British, and sometimes it's just a "big" word I've never heard before. This time, I feel she overdid it a bit....more
Additionally, I like it when an author uses words with which I am unfamiliar, and this author does it in every book. Some of my unfamiliarity is because it is British, and sometimes it's just a "big" word I've never heard before. This time, I feel she overdid it a bit....more
Oct 12, 2012
Deb
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012-books-read,
kindled-ebook
This series just gets better and better. The young illegitimate daughter of an important Tory M.P. is kidnapped and the kidnapper is demanding that the child's father, the editor of tabloid newspaper, print a front page story admitting his paternity. The parents don't want the police involved but Simon St James is called in to do some investigating. It's not until the child is murdered that Lynley becomes involved. Barbara Havers comes into her own as she is given independent command of a branch...more
The story begins with a ten year old girl who is kidnapped and held for ransom. But the ransom demand is not for money—it is for an important revelation to be published and become front page news—and therein lies the mystery.
But the book is more than a mystery novel, it’s an intelligent piece that tests the readers’ vocabulary with some interesting and obscure words such as: encomium, chunter, plimsolls, and tenebrous—all told I circled and looked up the definitions for thirty words—unusual for...more
But the book is more than a mystery novel, it’s an intelligent piece that tests the readers’ vocabulary with some interesting and obscure words such as: encomium, chunter, plimsolls, and tenebrous—all told I circled and looked up the definitions for thirty words—unusual for...more
Book 8 in the Inspector Lynley series
Ms George knows how to sustain her readers’ attention in tales that are not only suspenseful but finely crafted and delightfully intricate. With “In the Presence of the Enemy” she once more proves that she is one of the best classic British mystery novelist today.
The story opens with the kidnapping of young Charlotte Bowen. The kidnapper(s) demand her father, publisher Dennis Luxford to pay an unusual ransom, “ Divulge on the front page of his newspaper tha...more
Ms George knows how to sustain her readers’ attention in tales that are not only suspenseful but finely crafted and delightfully intricate. With “In the Presence of the Enemy” she once more proves that she is one of the best classic British mystery novelist today.
The story opens with the kidnapping of young Charlotte Bowen. The kidnapper(s) demand her father, publisher Dennis Luxford to pay an unusual ransom, “ Divulge on the front page of his newspaper tha...more
Another good contemporary British murder mystery from Elizabeth George. This time around we get child abductions and blackmail, a cold-hearted Tory MP who's more worried about her career than her missing child, and a Labour party tabloid publisher who's worried that his (8-yr-old) son isn't manly enough.
The author still cheats by giving you the point of view of the murderer, making him or her seem innocent, but otherwise the mystery was very well done.
We have more baby drama from the St. James's...more
The author still cheats by giving you the point of view of the murderer, making him or her seem innocent, but otherwise the mystery was very well done.
We have more baby drama from the St. James's...more
A British minister's daughter is kidnapped. The kidnapper doesn't want money; he wants the father, an well-known tabloid editor, to reveal the story of his relationship with the minister. The minister refuses to allow this. In fact, she insists that he has kidnapped their child yo justify printing info that will damage her career. She refuses to have the police called in and hires Simon St James to find her daughter. Simon tries to talk her into calling in Scotland Yard but she remains insistent...more
All of Elizabeth George's novels are wonderful combinations of character development, social issues and suspense. This one I liked even better than most. Some of her plots and characters are too grim and shocking for me, but this was a great balance.
The plot involves abduction (but not molestation) of children, so caution there.
One of the main characters is the editor of a London scandal rag. I wonder if any newspaper today wields the power ascribed to the papers in this story, which wasn't wri...more
The plot involves abduction (but not molestation) of children, so caution there.
One of the main characters is the editor of a London scandal rag. I wonder if any newspaper today wields the power ascribed to the papers in this story, which wasn't wri...more
An ambitious politician's daughter has been kidnapped. The only ransom demand - the truth of the daughter's parentage must be printed on the front page of the newspaper her natural father edits. The politician assumes the natural father, someone at the opposite end of the political spectrum, is behind the kidnapping, his sole aim to discredit her and ruin her career. And, naturally, she fears police involvement would bring out the media wolves, so she forbids it. Lynley and Havers come into this...more
Nov 19, 2011
Mary Helene
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Mary Helene by:
Whatcom Reads
Shelves:
mysteries
This is the Whatcom Reads choice for this year - the whole county reading one book. I was thrilled to have a woman author and a mystery chosen for this year, but I was disappointed in the text itself. The characters obviously have histories I know nothing about. The premise seems unlikely to me on several counts - would the public really care that much about who fathered your ten year old child? The killer himself - it all seems a little over the top. What I did like: an indictment (subtle thoug...more
Lynley and Havers are scrambling to find a child killer. The parents are not much help as they want to escape scandal to their private lives. The mother is a junior minister and the father is a newspaper man for the opposition. Lynley divides the investigation; he takes the city and Havers goes to the area where the child was found. Everything heats up when the next child is abducted. Havers discovers she has been in the presence of the enemy all along and ends up in a fight for her life and the...more
I think this has been my favorite of the Lynley mysteries so far, at least in my rereading of them. This is the 8th book. A young girl is kidnapped; her mother is a member of Parliament with serious political ambitions. The girl will die unless her biological father, a tabloid editor, reveals that he is her father, thus destroying her mother's career because of their political differences. It gets more complicated from there. Kidnappings, murder, twisted relationships, and a totally unexpected t...more
In the Presence of the Enemy deserves a least another half star. One of the pleasures of this book is that Simon St. James, childhood friend and forensic scientist, his wife Deborah and Lady Helen Clyde have about half of the of the story to themselves.
The plot moves well, and even if you think you know who did it about three quarters through the book, the writing compels you to go on to the end.
Another enjoyable feature of the book is that Havers gets to head her own arm of the investigation....more
The plot moves well, and even if you think you know who did it about three quarters through the book, the writing compels you to go on to the end.
Another enjoyable feature of the book is that Havers gets to head her own arm of the investigation....more
I really enjoy Elizabeth George - and her characters are so much fun. Inspector Barbara Havers takes the lead in this story - investigating the disapearence of a 10 year old girl - the subsequent black mail and later the found body.
The story takes place in the country where Havers goes to investigate the place of the crime. She teams up with Robin, the local policeman. She also stays at his mother's bed and breakfast which turns out to be not a good choice.
There were too many blanks in the story...more
The story takes place in the country where Havers goes to investigate the place of the crime. She teams up with Robin, the local policeman. She also stays at his mother's bed and breakfast which turns out to be not a good choice.
There were too many blanks in the story...more
-(#8 of the havers lynley series) Another masterpiece by George. This was about Eve and Dennis. They were together several years ago at a political convention and enjoyed a 10 day sexual romp. Their politics and views were at opposite ends of the spectrum. They weren’t in love. They both filled a need for that short time together. That short time produced a child. Now, several years later, they are brought together after this child is kidnapped and the kidnapper demands Dennis, who is now the ed...more
A gift from one of my best friends, this book became my introduction to yet another favorite mystery series. It was apparent that this book was not the first of the series; however, it was thoroughly readable on its own. I enjoyed the class conflict in the relationship of Thomas Lynley, the lord and Scotland Yard inspector, and his partner Barbara Havers, the most common of commoners and a mere detective——this being perhaps the first British mystery series that interested me since the Agatha Chr...more
diplomat’s daughter, born out of wedlock is abducted. The absent father is at the opposite end of diplomat’s political spectrum with child a result of a short torrid affair. Once the daughter is abducted, the characters continue to evolve rather nicely (well, not all of them) with the ending providing a nice twist. This is my first of a prolific author’s books—my friend, the recommender of this author, says I should read them in sequence but reading 30-40 books from one author is not my cup of t...more
This is my first time reading Elizabeth George, and had no idea I was selecting a book mid-series. Perhaps this taints my review. Her writing is engaging and sucks you in. But the MP "mother character" rang too hallow and hit too many stereotypes of what "women in politics must really be like" for me to fully accept the story. Or maybe it is because I am a mother. The panic. The insanity of having a child taken - even Luxford's reaction - it was as if they misplaced an important document, not a...more
As an avid mystery reader, I'd never really heard of Elizabeth George but I was told she was good so I picked her up. I can't say for sure if she will be my perfect replacement for P.D. James (who is so completely formulaic that I can basically pick out the murderer even if I have no idea what the motive or means) and Ruth Rendell (who drives me batty) or not.
I liked this book with one big fat exception: the characters all seemed pretty dim-witted. Not always. But there were these hugely obviou...more
I liked this book with one big fat exception: the characters all seemed pretty dim-witted. Not always. But there were these hugely obviou...more
Jan 17, 2011
Aleisha Z Coleman
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
mystery lovers
loved this story, well paced--slower and deliberate, with enough to keep me guessing as to who done it until the end. the author has come recommended to me several years ago by my sister in law's sister and this is the first one i have ever found at a DI. so that says to me that people who buy her books, keep them:) like my other favorite mystery writers who are also more difficult to find at DI: minette walters, pd james. i might have to break down and buy more elizabeth george:)
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Susan Elizabeth George is an American author of mystery novels set in Great Britain. Eleven of her novels, featuring her character Inspector Lynley, have been adapted for television by the BBC as The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.
She was born in Warren, Ohio, but moved to the S...more
More about Elizabeth George...
Susan Elizabeth George is an American author of mystery novels set in Great Britain. Eleven of her novels, featuring her character Inspector Lynley, have been adapted for television by the BBC as The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.
She was born in Warren, Ohio, but moved to the S...more
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