Rating: 
Summary: Riveting, Robust-George Back in Form!
Review: Elizabeth George delivers another wonderful edition of her British mystery series.
This time, two characters-Simon Allcourt-James and his red haired, moody wife Deborah-who have always been supporting players, take center stage. The book pays tribute to George's many strengths in character development-any of the characters that she has written about over the years could easily become the focus of a book.
The plot: Cherokee River,a California friend from Deborah's past, shows up on the doorstep of the Allcourt-James' in London. His half-sister, China River (there mother was a child of the 60's), has been arrested in Guernsey on charges of murder. He enlists the help of the Allcourt-James' and their promise to travel to Guernsey.
The murder victim is Guy Brouard, a wealthy hotelier, who escaped the Nazis as a child. He lived with his sister Ruth in a mansion on Guernsey. His life was--and the book is--filled with an assortment of wives, mistresses, children, hangers-on, local friends. Plenty of evidence points to China: however, she is the only one who has no motive.
George's book explores human relationships and dynamics in a way unknown to most mystery authors. The passionate yet challenging marriage of Simon and Deborah--with her numerous insecurities (she can't bear children due to an abortion, her father is his servant)and his embarassment over his crippled legs--is explored in depth. The loyalty that Ruth, the murder victim's sister, feels to her brother-despite her knowledge of his weaknesses--is woven masterfully throughout the book. Several other family relationships are also presented and worked through in the pages.
Of course the mystery itself is great: plenty of twists and turns, a Nazi or two from the past, lots of atmosphere.
I would recommend this book to fans of the mystery genre ( particularly English mystery), fans of Elizabeth George (she's back in form-I, Richard was a disappointment), fans of "english books" (A Place of Hiding is more than just a mystery). I would caution die hard George groupies-her two main characers, Barbara Havers and her partner, the aristocratic and dashing Inspector Thomas Lynley, are not featured in this book. (Lynley makes one or two perfunctory appearances but that's it.) Don't let that stop you-the book is still wonderful without them.
Rating: 
Summary: A big George fan found this book disappointing
Review: I agree with the other critiques I've read in this space (not all loose ends tied up, not her best book, very little suspense, lack of Barbara Havers is disappointing). I would also add that the writing -- good as it is -- is simply not up to her standard. For example, a young boy who is very simple -- might even be developmentally disabled although this is never explicitly stated -- but his "head dialog" is as erudite as Simon's. All the characters' voices are identical when they were thinking. George is very good at differentiating her characters in dialog and she was up to her usual standards here.
My other overall criticism -- which I think factors into all criticisms that have been made of this book -- is that the thing is just too darn long. If 200 pages minimum had been cut out, the book and its readers would have been done a big service. There were times when I realized I was basically re-reading something I'd read earlier, which, in a 779 page book, is pretty annoying.
I was impressed to read that anyone who didn't know how wonderful George is at her best would have finished this book and be willing to read another. But those readers will be happy to know that other books of George's are much, much better. "Playing for the Ashes" is an amazing achievement and so are many others.
Rating:
Summary: Elizabeth George Continues Going Strong!
Review: I bought A Place of Hiding in paperback and didn't read for a while as the reviews I had read weren't encouraging. I finally started reading it and am I ever glad. I enjoyed reading a story from the prospective of Simon St. James and Deborah and I became totally involved in the story and its twists and turns. Maybe it is a slightly different style than some of Ms. George's other books, but I admire an author who dares to try something even slightly different. I look forward to Ms. George's next book.
Rating:
Summary: One of her best
Review: I don't usually review books, however, there were so many negative reviews on this book I had to put in my comments. This is by far one of Elizabeth George's best. No, T Lynley is not prominent and B Havers is missing in this one - - - but if I recall Missing Joseph correctly, they weren't prominent in that one either. Yes, the book is big on words - however, for someone who has read British Novels from the 1800's (think W. Collins) this is standard. If you want a quick read - - read Grisham. With Elizabeth George you definately get immersed in the story. This was excellent - - and the scene where Paul Fielder finally talked brought tears to my eyes. Had to put a 5-Star out here for this one.
Rating:
Summary: Just what was the point here?
Review: I have read all of Elizabeth George's novels after watching the BBC series based on them. This one was a real dud as far as I was concerned. The plotting was thick and full of dead ends and the story populated by characters who never caught my imagination. And although the author does a pretty good interpretation of ordinary daily life in odd corners of Britain (in this case Guernsey) she still just misses making her characters believably British for me.Although Barbara Havers is the UK equivalent of "trailer park trash", she is without doubt the most successful of George's regulars and I think she is a truly memorable character. However, when it comes to rich, titled, aristocratic British men, I don't think she comes close to making them believable, sympathetic or attractive. I have always thought that Deborah and Simon had the potential to be George's most interesting characters because their personal backgrounds was fertile ground ripe for exploitation. However, this time, I just got annoyed. Sorry, but the way Simon is made to handle his disability, the way he blows it all out of proportion, Deborah's unwillingness to be open and honest with a man who adores her and the generally slovenly development of their characters in this story was just terribly, terribly disappointing. Also, I should think any reader who had not read the previous novels would have been wondering just what the hell was going on here with Deborah and Simon - too many allusions to the past makes this novel difficult to "stand alone". Sorry, I nearly gave up after the first 100 pages. The last 30 pages were a frantic attempt to dig out a believable conclusion (and it was credulous to say the least) and the most interesting character was a council house bully of an elder brother who clearly was nuts! Oh dear; what a disappointment - can't really recommend this and hope the author can do better next time.
Rating:
Summary: a disappointing 2 1/2 star read
Review: I have to confess I was rather disappointed with "A Place of Hiding." Perhaps it was because Barbara Havers (my favourite character in the series that Elizabeth George has created) did not make even one appearance in this installment; or perhaps it was because the novel seem to completely lack any kind of suspense (esp in comparison to Ms George's first Lynely/Havers outing, "A Great Deliverance" -- a truly superb mystery novel, that); or because it took forever for the novel to unwind and move forward. For whatever reason, "A Place of Hiding" just did not live up to my expectations. When an old friend (Cherokee Rivers) from Deborah St. James's past turns up at the St. James' doorstep begging for help, Deborah (and Simon, her husband and a forensic scientist) can hardly turn the poor man away. It turns out that Cherokee's sister, China, has been accused of murdering Guy Brouard on an isolated beach at Guersey (an island in the English Channel). Deborah is sure that her old friend is incapable of murder and is all for rushing off to prove her friend's innocence. But Simon is not so sure about the Rivers siblings, or about just what he and Deborah can really accomplish. And when it turns out that there are actually witnesses who saw China following Guy that fateful morning, both Simon and Deborah realize that its not going to be all that easy a task proving China's innocence. Finding a motive for this seemingly motiveless murder would be the first obvious step. And when the St. Jameses discover that Guy was not that well liked and that he had his fair share of enemies (two ex-wives, three estranged children, and a host of people he seems to have let down in one way or another), it looks as if the first steps have been taken to establishing that there may have been other suspects besides China. But Simon cannot let go of the notion that either one or both the Rivers siblings were involved in the murder, and his suspicions are beginning to take a toll on his relationship with Deborah. Will Simon be able to deal with his suspicions about the Rivers siblings (as well as his jealousy about Deborah's bond with them)? Or will his feelings get in the way of the investigation? The main problem with "A Place of Hiding" (for me anyway) was that it took too long to unwind. The actual motive for the murder was not revealed until a little less than three quarters way through the novel (true there were a few other probable motives strewn about, but the authour, in my opinion, failed to focus on them concretely enough that it was hard to take these 'motives' seriously). And then there was the fact that the book seemed to be absolutely full of characters, whose every action was observed, dissected, picked through and presented for the readers pleasure. And some of these characters weren't even all that essential to the plot! After a while I just started skimming in order to get to the 'meat' of the mystery!! So, if you like your mystery novels dense, where every shift in shadow and where every shade of a particular character's motivation is described, then "A Place of Hiding" should indeed satisfy. But is you're looking for a clever and suspenseful mystery novel, then you might want to give this latest Elizabeth George offering a miss.
Rating: 
Summary: A Place of Hiding
Review: I love Elizabeth George's books ~~ and was thrilled to finally have a chance to buy this one since I own all of her books. She is my favorite mystery author ~~ I just love Barbara Havers, she's my favorite character, so I was a little disappointed that she isn't featured in this book. But I like Deborah and Simon ~~ so I was ok.
This novel is the latest to come out in paperback. After a hiatus of a few years, I was really looking forward to getting this novel. But, it's not the same as her older books. The suspense wasn't quite there. The characters aren't quite well-developed like the others were. It was a dark and dreary book ~~ without the bit of historical lore that I love to read. Don't get me wrong, it is still a fanastic book and a great one to take on a road trip with you. It's just not the same as the others.
Deborah comes to Guernsey to help her friend, China, who came from the US with her brother Cherokee. Only problem is, China is accused of murdering the rich benefactor of the island ~~ Guy. Guy escaped France during WWII and during France's occupation by the German Nazis. He and his sister have managed to run a series of an upscale hotel chain and when they retired, they lived on Guernsey full time. There, they met others who have fought during WWII and decided to build a museum to honor those who died for Guernsey and Britian. But Guy is discovered murdered ~~ and the evidence is directed at China. Deborah gets her husband involved in the investigation ~~ and soon, it became a race against time to snare the killer before he or she strikes again.
It is a good read ~~ compelling as well. You can't read the last page to discover who did it ~~ she has the neatest trick of putting off back page readers ~ by not disclosing the identity of the murderer on that page. So just settle down in your couch and enjoy this latest mystery.
10-10-04
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I loved every one of her prior books, so much so that I couldn't wait for the next one. Maybe if you remove all the interplay, soul searching and second guessing that goes on between Simon and Deborah the book would have been close to her usual storytelling. I felt like I was being prepared for these two characters to get a divorce. Certainly, if they bored each other as much as they bored me, divorce is where they are headed.
Rating:
Summary: truly dissapointed and bored!
Review: I read elizabeth george's In the presence of the enemy, and it was a very good developed story, i liked the characters also, that got me interested in reading another novel of george, but i must say that has been so difficult for me to keep on reading this one, because theres is too much wondering, the crime investigation goes sooooo slow that you get bored, to the point of not being interested in knowing who murdered Guy. I have been trying for the last 2 weeks to finish the book and i find it so dificult, im not a fan of george's novels, she is actually new to me, but, i expected more in this novel from what i've read so far. Truly dissapointed and bored. Not to mention the annoying blabbering, too wordy, and also i found the french sentences included, i dont speak french!, i mean What's the point? to keep the reader interested or to have a longer story?? I kept on passing pages, reading shallow to get to the meaty part of the story but i just can't overcome how wordy, slow and boring this book is. I finally put down the book, and dont think i will be able to finish it anytime soon or ever. What a HUGE dissapointment!
Rating:
Summary: My first Elizabeth George and there are loose ends.......
Review: I was given this book by a friend who could not believe that a book obsessive like me had read nothing by Elizabeth George. I'm glad she did - I found it entertaining, and I have to confess that I didn't truly figure out who was the murderer until Ms George was ready to let me know. I had my suspicions of course, but they were vague, and there were all those great red herrings thrown in for good measure.
What I found most unsatisfying was that there were a number of behaviours of the murdered man that led to suspects aplenty, but in the end there was no explanation at all for some of his more bizarre behaviours. There is a moment when his sister realises, but alas it is not shared with the reader. This could have been a truly fantastic novel if all of these loose ends were resolved to everyone's satisfaction and understanding.
Similarly the enticing subject of the German occupation and what it did to decent men and women is touched upon, but never really delved into. This could have given the novel a depth that it truly needed.
Having said that, it kept me engrossed enough to finish, and I will certainly be trying others of this genre by Ms George.
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