Rating: 
Summary: Overlong and predictable
Review: What is supposed to be a mystery ends up being a 700-page diatribe on racism and intolerance. George has always been a favorite author of mine because of the relationships between the detectives and their former/current lovers, i.e. Lynley and St. James. By focusing the book on Barbara Havers, the least interesting character, and leaving Lynley out in the cold, the series is weakened. However, at least we were spared another visit to Barbara's aging mother! The murderer was obvious from the beginning as were the motivations of the other suspects. All in all, a disappointment. To really appreciate how George can craft a compelling mystery, you'd have to go back to For the Sake of Elena or Well-Schooled in Murder. Her last several books have been long-winded and predictable, and Deception on His Mind is no exception.
Rating: 
Summary: George's books are all fabulous, intriging, and exciting.
Review: I love all of George's book-the fact that she uses the same characters makes you feel as if you know them really well. The plots are ever surpising, and each character plays such a unique role. I love all of the characters, and the fact that they are so close knit.I love the background of where the story takes place , the country is marvelous and fascinating. She can't write fast enough to suit me.
Rating:
Summary: A mystery novel which goes much further than just the plot
Review: This is the first time I read a Elizabeth George novel, and I did it because Amazon reccommended it to me based on my previous orders. They definitely studied my profile and guessed correctly my taste. Elizabeth George writes well, smoothly and is very witty. The plot is developped inside a social frame, this anglo-indian society, with its prejudices - both sides. The story of the families, their everyday life and contradictions, as well as so many society problems are focused in a very light and unpretencious way. I liked the book and I am looking forward to reading another one from this author. Perhaps someone can suggest it to me?
Rating:
Summary: Mysteries with Grit
Review: I've read all of Susan George's novels and would buy any new book without even looking at the dust jacket.
I have never found her books "easy." Deception on his Mind is no Exception. I never saw the disturbing plot twist coming. Horrible things happen in George's novels and the people in her books must go on. One hopes that Saluhah does make it.
George's books are provocative and horribly wonderful -- definitely not for the meek at heart. There are no happy endings.
While Linley is great (although my heart belong to Lord Peter Wimsy and Richard Jury), Barbara Havers is fast becoming my favorite character. Let's see more of her.I look forward to reading more...
Rating: 
Summary: A political novel masquerading as a murder mystery
Review: I am a raving fan of Elizabeth George's mystery writing, but this book is neither fish nor fowl. It reads like a political novel exploring Britain's deep ambivalence about East Asian immigrants. George follows so many characters and conflicts that I lost the sense of the mystery. One hundred fewer pages would have been most welcome! Barbara Havers stars alone in this one - I missed Lynley.
Rating:
Summary: Great by George!
Review: This is a must read Elizabeth George. Instead of Linley who is off on his much awaited honeymoon , we get to have our fill of the gritty, prickly, blue collar Sergeant Barbara Havers. Barbara, ordered by Linley to take a much needed vacation after being physically injured during their last case, is at loose ends. It has been so many years since she had any leisure time and anyway her life is her work. So Barbara, becoming aware of a puzzling situation in the life of her Asian neighbors, an endearing father and small daughter, and in her desire to help them heads to the seaside. Instead of a vacation she finds that her old police academy companion is now in charge of a murder investigation that involves her neighbor's family. Barbara, offers to assist on the case which severely challenges her to question her own abilities as detective, her loyalties to her friends and her own moral beliefs. The feel of the book is permeated with the intense and unusual heat of this particular summer at the English seaside and by Barbara's personal and external stuggles to solve a very puzzling case. Race and sex relations and cultural differences in small town England are a major feature of the plot which is complicated and intense enough to satisfy without being filled with intentional red herrings. As usual for George, the characters and their situations are finely drawn and full of depth and character. A really good read and and a good novel.
Rating:
Summary: Good mystery, but could have been better.
Review: I have liked every one of this author's books, but was disappointed with this one. I found Barbara Haver's a good character and was interested in learning more about her as the story unfolded. In my opinion, the book emphasized racism against the Pakistani community too much. I would have like to have seen the characters developed as individuals with various motives, without being hit by the sledgehammer of racism at every turn. The ending disappointed me also. It was hard to believe George's conclusion as to the murderer. I don't think the murderer's character was developed enough or the foundation laid enough to believe it. There are other characters who had equally, if not stronger motives. There were some threads left dangling such as what happens to Theo and Shalah, and what about Shalah's baby?
Rating: 
Summary: Nice to read, but the solution is not wholly satisfying
Review: After I had laid aside a previous Elizabeth George novel which I found boring and too stereotypical Brit-crime, I was hooked by this one and enjoyed reading it from the beginning to the end. The characters and the setting are credible, and Sergeant Havers is far more individual than in the earlier novels. The solution is far from compelling however: I found it hard to actually SEE how this person could have committed the murder without leaving any trace, and I still think that there is another person who had a more plausible motive and at least as good an opportunity.
Rating:
Summary: A compelling, page turning, meaty read!
Review: I read one of Elizabeth George's books, and was immediately "hooked", and was not satisfied until I had read - and owned, all of them. When I learned that in Deception on His Mind, we were going to follow Sgt. Havers into her investigation, I questioned whether I would miss Lynley, St. James, et al. I didn't. I enjoyed the fact that this is a long, meaty book, full of vivid descriptions and plotting. To me it did not need editing - read a Cornwell book if you want a quick read. The last Cornwell I read will be my last - it had nothing going for it - no substance. With Elizabeth George's books you are literally taken to the scene, you can visualize what she is describing, and that to me is the mark of a great writer. I don't want "fluff", and the longer the book, the better I enjoy it. The characters in her books are so well drawn, you may not like them, but you are truly fascinated by them. I hope George will continue to write this type of book for many years to come, I shall never miss one.
Rating: 
Summary: A Hatchet Job
Review: Elizabeth George's "Deception on His Mind" should get an award for "The largest number of unlikeable characters ever assembled in one book". George's poison pen especially drips with venom whenever she deals with gay character Cliff Hegarty, who comes off as being vile and despicable and disgusting. She manages to dredge up and use most of the pejorative words for "homosexual" again and again, without ever once using the neutral word "gay". An irrational hatred based on a person's innate, biologically determined sexual orientation seems to permeate this book. Time after time we are treated to the typical ultra-conservative, right-wing religious condemnation of gays. Yet George never mentions the fact that there are several progressive main-stream religions that welcome their gay brothers and sisters with love and acceptance - not hatred and condemnation. A book like this is especially rough on the gay teenagers who read it, because these youngsters have not yet developed the defense mechanisms necessary to cope with verbal gay-bashing. I have all of Elizabeth George's novels in my library, and I have read every one of them. I would never have expected this from her. It is a bitter disappointment.
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