Rating: 
Summary: Not up to previous high standards
Review: Too long, too boring, no Lynley & St. James. If Ms. George wants to stray from her strong main characters, why not explore St. James & Deborah...one of the most interesting couples in fiction. Imagine the TV series: older, experienced, intelligent, disabled hero; beautiful, younger, intelligent heroine. What about the two women - Mrs. Lynley & Mrs. St. James. As each has been the lover of the other's husband, this would mak for some interesting conversation! Barbara bores me
Rating: 
Summary: I bought the hardbound. I _never_ buy hardbounds.
Review: I love Elizabeth George's novels. When I saw a new one, "In the Presence of the Enemy," I grabbed it. Only this time I got my wife to read it. Well, she hasn't read any of the others, which I had already thrown out or given away. And she thought it was so great, she _insisted_ I get the others, so I went back to the bookstore and bought the other six paperbacks, and we both read our way through them, she for the first time and me for the second... and we both loved all of them. And then, dammit, we found out there's this new one in hardbound. I _never_ buy hardbounds. But with the momentum worked up from reading seven paperbacks, well, we just _had to_...
This one is just Barbara Havers, without Lynley, Lady Helen, St. James, or Deborah. I have suggested the formation of a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Barbara Havers, but this time, for once, she avoids major emotional trauma. (Well, there's an event at the end of the book which may have ruined her career... we won't know until the next book I guess... but that's relatively minor compared to some of the things she's suffered).
The story revolves around the Pakistani community in a seaside resort town, race relations, and Islam. Wonderful local color, the usual mixture of real characters you care about and comic-strip characters you love to hate...
The following remarks should be read only by other Elizabeth George fans. I love her novels. I hope it is OK to tease just a little.
Here are the infallible signs by which you may know that this is a genuine Elizabeth George novel
1) The word "secateurs" appears in it. I believe this word appears in every one of her novels. Sooner or later, _someone_ is going to pop up in a garden with a pair of secateurs. I had almost lost hope when I had read five hundred pages with no secateurs in sight, but, fortunately, they emerged on page 520.
2) There is always at least one really obscure word that I have to look up in the dictionary. This time, I didn't even _find_ it. So if anyone knows what a "pilgarlic" is (p. 498) I'd appreciate it if they'd let me know.
3) And, of course, in every Elizabeth George novel, sooner or later someone is going to refer in some way to "the scent of sex" (in this case, on page 144).
Rating:
Summary: A multi-leveled, well-researched, engrossing mystery.
Review: Elizabeth George has never failed to provide a fascinating study in human relationships, and this book does not disappoint. I was there in that small English community, I was right with Barbara Havers each step of the way and I added another layer to my own understanding of the complexities of race relations. At book's end, there are still several tendrils waving around, but that's the way life is. George never insults a reader's intelligence by tying everything in a neat bow, something I appreciate
Rating: 
Summary: A good work by a talented author
Review: New Scotland Yard has granted police sergeant Barbara Havers a leave
of absence to recover from her recent in the line of duty injuries (see IN
THE PRESENCE OF THE ENEMY). Barbara is totally bored out of her mind from
the enforced inactivity. When she learns that her neighbor, Taymullah
Azhar, is visiting family in Balford-le-Nez on the Essex coast, a place
where there were recent riots, she decides to follow him.
..... In Balford, Chief Detective Inspector Emily Barlow recruits Barbara to
help investigate the recent murder of a Pakistani that subsequently sparked
the recent riots. Barbara quickly realizes that the murder has more than
just racial overtones. There is jealousy, criminal activities, and
especially religious fervor tied to the deceased. As Barbara gets closer
to the truth, she realizes that her own life is in danger from the killer
and that the police do not appreciate her solution.
...... DECEPTION ON HIS MIND is an exciting who-done-it that emphasizes the
destructiveness of bigotry. The melancholy Barbara is an interesting
character, who, along with her neighbors, friends, and peers, brings
present day England to life. The story line is exciting as Elizabeth
George keeps reader's interest at a fever pitch throughout the novel.
However, it is the insight into the Moslem religion (that is where all the
clues lie) that turns this novel into a refreshing and enlightening reading
experience.
....Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, like all of its predecessors
Review: I consider Elizabeth George to be the best living writer of mysteries, by a wide margin. In this book, Barbara Havers goes more or less "solo" by getting involved in a case outside of London where she is supposed to be on vacation. In addition to being a superb mystery, this book examines the racial friction generated by the influx of Pakistani immigrants into a seaside resort town in England. I can't speak for the accuracy of her analysis, but her portrayals of the cultural misunderstandings between the police and the immigrant community ring true to my ears. I don't recommend this book as your introduction to Elizabeth George's mysteries. The previous books introduce both of the main characters, Havers and her boss, Inspector Lynley. This book makes several references to the things she learned from Lynley, and to their partnership. The reader will understand those references much better if (s)he has read at least one of the previous books. However, I want to vehemently disagree with a couple of previous reviewers who downgraded this book on the grounds that Havers is a less interesting character than the absent Lynley. I think Havers is a MUCH more interesting character than the pampered and superficial Lynley. I didn't miss him at all in this book. As always, George's writing, characterizations, and plotting put her in a class of her own among mystery writers. This is not a little paperback for an afternoon; it's a real novel. If you love mysteries or if you simply love well-written, thought-provoking fiction, you should read every one of Elizabeth George's books.
Rating:
Summary: Racial tensions
Review: While her boss Thomas Lynley is away on his honeymoon, Sergeant Barbara Havers spends recovery time after being the victim of a shooting, on a so-called holiday at Balford-le-Nez, a seaside community with a growing population of Asians. She joins forces with a former colleagus Emily Barlow, who has been recently promoted to the rank of Detective Chief Inspector, and whom Barbara admires greatly for her superior police work.
The body of a recent Pakhistani immigrant has been discovered on the beach and has been identified as the man brought to England as the prospective husband of the daughter of the towns' wealthiest businessman. The son of the businessman is intent on raising racial conflict in the town, leaving the police to wonder at his motives.
It's a good murder/mystery story with plenty of twists and turns and, although rather wordy, is nevertheless a good, long read.
Rating:
Summary: One of her best.
Review: I have read all of Elizabeth George's books and this one stands out as the best. She is a very good mystery writer. I love her books because it takes me so long to read them. I can usally devour a book in a day or two but these books always take me at least a week and a half or so.
Her writing style is similar to Anne Rice's in that it is very descriptive and minute. She can take one moment in time and make it last 3 or 4 pages. Some people don't like this sort of writing, calling it flowery and over descriptive but I love detailed character studies of people that show their motivations, thoughts, feelings, etc... leading up to the showdown moment fraught with tension when Lynley and Havers almost always foil the bad(?) guys. The only thing is, by the time you read all this about these characters, there are no black and white, bad or good, just human beings trying to get through their lives.
If you want a GOOD long mystery that slowly and surely draws you into peoples lives, then pick up any of Ms. George's novels.
Rating:
Summary: Does Bantam need editors??
Review: At first I didn't think that I'd like this book as much as the others in the series because there seemed to be so much about racism and I didn't think I'd get past that. But Ms. George has a way of bringing you into her own world no matter what your preconceived notions are. This book is a wonderful thriller, and a masterpiece of psychological suspense. In this book Barbara Havers is on her own, and the book does not suffer for that. Barbara is a wonderful character and we really get into her head with this book. Believe me it's a worthwhile place to be. She is, I think, one of the best female detective characters that I have ever read. This book is so well written, and so complex, and there are all kinds of twists and turns in the plot to keep you guessing. I can't say enough good about it.
Rating:
Summary: Thanks to God, and Allah too
Review: Someone has murdered Mr. Haytham Querashi, a recent Pakistani immigrant, in Balford-le-Nez, a small, economically depressed town on the coast of Essex, England. Mr. Querashi was to soon wed the beautiful Sahlah, daughter of Akram Malik. In the Pakistani tradition, the parents of the bride and groom had arranged the marriage. As part of the deal, Mr. Querashi had become Production Manager in Mr. Malik's mustard factory where he displaced the last non-Pakistani, full-time employee. Just a few weeks ago Mr. Malik became the first Pakistani on the Town Council when his formidable adversary, the aging Agatha Shaw, was forced to resign due to a stroke. Despite her condition and Malik's appointment, Mrs. Shaw, with the help of her grandson Theo, is determined to obtain the Council's approval for her project. She is resolute in the renovation and development of the pleasure pier to attract tourists, resuscitate the town's economy and thus assure her legacy as savior of the community. Querashi's death is threatening to ignite smoldering racial tensions, however. The Asian's in general and Malik's son in particular suspect the murder was racially motivated and expect the police will ignore white suspects and blame a Pakistani. Enter Sgt. Barbara Havers, who is conveniently vacationing in the town, to mediate with the Pakistani as police liaison. As the case proceeds, Barbara discovers that nearly all the players have something to hide, including her self. Indeed, the title of this English mystery novel should be "Deception on Their Minds." Elizabeth George is a master of this genre. Her characters are believable, the events are realistic, the scenes evolve with interesting complexity and the plot is superb, although sometimes I found her style more descriptive and dragging than in her prior novel, "In the Presence of the Enemy." And unlike her previous novel, I had the killer figured in this one before the cops did. "Deception" is unusual and outstanding, however, for George's treatment of the culture clash. Her characters cover the full spectrum of personalities one would expect to find in her hypothetical community. Thanks to God and Allah too, she does it without the least bit of moralizing.
Rating:
Summary: Great Story, Disappointing Resolution Yet Again
Review: Elizabeth George creates fascinating, believable characters. Her treatment of the "Pakistani Question" in Britain is thorough and unbiased. For instance: one of the main characters, Sahlah, is a young Pakistani woman who, though raised in England, realizes that she can never be as "free" as an English girl, and this is presented in a very believable manner. The story revolves around the murder of her fiance, and how this could potentially be a racial fire-keg in the small town where the murder occurs. During the course of the investigation, the lives of countless characters are examined, and the reader is drawn into caring about many of them (especially Rachel, the girl with the deformed face.) Unfortunately, the same thing happened with this book that happened with the last three E. George books that I've read. Suddenly I see that I only have 20-30 pages left, and I think, "how can she possibly resolve all of the issues that she's raised?" And, of course, she doesn't. This reader was left with a VERY unsatisfied feeling. Hey, Elizabeth, what about Rachel and her new flat? What about the baby? Where is Muhammed? What will happen to Yumn? You have left far too much for the reader to figure out for himself. Murder mysteries should not be like the lady and the tiger!
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