Rating: 
Summary: could be a lot better
Review: "Missing Joseph," like Elizabeth George's previous Lynley mysteries, has both strengths and weaknesses. On the one hand, her novels are engrossing, the plots are densely written, well thought out and very contemporary. On the other hand, her cast of characters which appear in each book, (Lynley & Havers - the professionals from Scotland Yard - assisted by "amateurs" St. James & Lady Helen) are neither particularly appealing nor very believable. "Missing Joseph" is less melodramatic than some of the earlier novels, but there is still an overwrought feel to it, part of which is due to the introspective nature of nearly all of the characters and their over-complicated relationships. There is also a depressing atmosphere in each of George's novels, as if a writer has to be depressing in order to be serious. Ruth Rendell, who I think Elizabeth George has studied very closely, is a much better writer, but even gloomier. Finally, there is also an almost gratuitously trashy element in each of Ms. George's novels - her sexual scenes are written in a very tacky way and she inserts occasional obscenities in the most surprising and inappropriate places. Some scenes read like they were lifted from a bad romance novel. Her word choices also sometimes border on the absurd ("turgent" is a good example from early on in "Missing Joseph"). Why force the reader to the dictionary, especially when you need an unabridged edition (which most people don't own) for a definition? There are too many other irritating mannerisms in Elizabeth George's writing to point out here (e.g. too often her British settings and language do not sound genuine, as if she is overdoing it). Despite these complaints, if you like excess handwringing, which I admit I occasionally do, then a Elizabeth George novel is a good place to find it.
Rating: 
Summary: deeply engrossing novel of suspense and murder
Review: "Missing Joseph" is by far the best of Elizabeth George's novels. The inter-relationship between characters could not be better. There were many intriguing and fascinating storylines. The book was extremly complex and well-handled. Interest never flagged for a moment. It was by far my favorite book by this superior author.I have read 3 times in the past year. Would recommend very highly!
Rating: 
Summary: The first Elizabeth George disappointment
Review: "Missing Joseph" starts with a promising scenario--a wedding but no priest! He is later found murdered. With sub-plots galore, we learn that the fortune seeking groom does not love his pregnant but very rich bride and is trying to make it with the young rectory housekeeper who, incidentally, also practices a type of witchcraft as well as keeping the murdered priest's rectory clean. We learn that the local constable is a widower and just too weird with his female relationships, ie. dead wife, rectory housekeeper, current amour, etc. Then we get bogged down with teenagers in the village and their problems and eccentricities. There is a very atypical George description of the constable's brutal and salacious rape of the rectory housekeeper and we also get to meet her over-sexed mother who is REALLY weird. Colorful characters abound however, the length of time taken to get the point across in the descriptions of the characters is also atypical of George's work. We DO get to see our old standbys whom we all know and love, the troubled (and childish) love affair between Tommy and Helen ( could they really be as shallow as all this?) we are let in on the marital problems of Simon and Deborah and even get to experience Haver's dilemma in changing her life style now that Mum is in the nursing home. All of this would be great but Ms. George keeps on and on in her descriptions of these characters and what they are doing at the moment to the point that too much of the author's time (and the reader's) is given to explaining all of this to the point of being repetive and, even boring, to the max., As a result, the story becomes tiresome. Eventually, the murder of the priest who didn't show for the wedding is FINALLY solved. This is the only Elizabeth George book I cannot recommend to others. I am very sorry, too because she is one of my favorite authors.
Rating: 
Summary: Full of atmosphere of the wintry English countryside
Review: An intriguing romp with a twisting unsolvable plot. Occasionally the descriptive narrative slows the pace and the reader has to skim through the slow parts. Fortunately these were few, and this story led me to read several of her other books.
Rating:
Summary: Continues her winning (if unrealistic) formula
Review: Elizabeth George has some of the best prose in the business. It's elegant and evocative. But it's so long winded! A lot of it's unnecessary, when she could have got the same effect using far fewer words, and much shorter sentences. However, i still really really enjoyed this book. As a long-time devotee of Agatha Chrisite, i have yet to find anyone who comes close to being a modern day model of her. George's novel are of the right style, the right topic, the right mood, and always feature the right sort of mystery. I have no doubt that if Christie was still writing today, these are the sort of books she would be writing. George is able to craft great mysteries, with great well drawn plots, and always manages to create a cast of colourful and realistic characters. That is why i like her books so much, i think. Her intricate and puzzling plots, and how well she draws her characters. You may not like them all, but they are still interesting and colourful, human and well developed. She concentrates not just on the mystery, but on the lives of the characters as the mystery goes on around them. Which is what i admire, because while a mystery effects lives, it does not stop them. Here she goes back to A Great Deliverance country with a "whydunnit" rather than a "whodunnit". We know from the start who killed him. There is a little room for doubt, but not serious doubt. The mystery is more focused on why the killer did what they did. With her resolutions and solutions, George is a master. Always has good motives and an unexpected and clever answer to the mystery. She falls down on one point. Always. Her depections of English life. Her books are similar to Christie, and a bit too similar. they not only follow some of the same principles, but they seem set in the same time zones as well, when George's novels are supposed to be set in the present day. The English life she depicts may well have been that of fifty or sixty years ago, but it is very rare you find things like this now. We simply don't live as she writes we do. However, her English way of life may not always be realistic, but if you just forget it's supposed to be set in the modern day and think of it as being a novel set in about the thirties, then you'll be fine.
Rating: 
Summary: ''Missing Joseph''misses the point ENTIRELY!
Review: I checked this book out from my local library recently, and I have had a giant question mark hanging over my head, signifying my confusion as to where, exactly, the plot of this book is going. I have enjoyed the rest of her work, but this is the first Elizabeth George mystery which actually disappointed me, because it read more like a Jackie Collins novel than anything else!
Rating:
Summary: Another complex, convoluted winner
Review: I classify mystery writers into three categories. First there is Sue Grafton and her alphabet series, always a casual, enjoyable read without a lot of thinking. Moving up, we get to Patrician Cornwell and her excellent, sometimes great works which are darker and slightly more complex. Finally at the top there is Elizabeth George, the Titaness of Mystery, whose books reed of erudition, superb crafting, intelligence and studies of the human nature second to none. The eerie opening, so fitting yet foreboding, leads into a complex tale of murder and mayhem. The same cast is back again though my favorite character, Havers, is not a major figure this time around. Despite the incredible writing it is the final synthesis of the various plots that makes the whole affair worthwhile. In other words, her literary abilites are highlighted by her technical abilities. What can I say except run to your local bookstore and snatch this up?
Rating:
Summary: Another complex, convoluted winner
Review: I classify mystery writers into three categories. First there is Sue Grafton and her alphabet series, always a casual, enjoyable read without a lot of thinking. Moving up, we get to Patrician Cornwell and her excellent, sometimes great works which are darker and slightly more complex. Finally at the top there is Elizabeth George, the Titaness of Mystery, whose books reed of erudition, superb crafting, intelligence and studies of the human nature second to none. The eerie opening, so fitting yet foreboding, leads into a complex tale of murder and mayhem. The same cast is back again though my favorite character, Havers, is not a major figure this time around. Despite the incredible writing it is the final synthesis of the various plots that makes the whole affair worthwhile. In other words, her literary abilites are highlighted by her technical abilities. What can I say except run to your local bookstore and snatch this up?
Rating:
Summary: An Entertaining Read
Review: I couldn't put Elizabeth George's "Missing Joseph" down. This is the first of this author's novels I have read, and I don't think it will be the last. In the tradition of P.D James, George is a master of fully developing all her characters, whether they be suspects or detectives. Yet George spends less time on description and more on action than James does, and so her book moves a bit faster than James's do. The characters are complex, moving, and three-dimensional. I found myself on the verge of tears several times at the plights of Polly Yarkin and Maggie Spence, and even the rather scheming and unsympathetic village constable manages to arouse my pity more than once. Deborah and Simon St. James have come to Lancashire, a small British village, for a holiday. However, the vicar Deborah had hoped to visit while there has died under suspicious circumstances. Simon summons Inspector Thomas Lynley, a British aristocrat turned CID agent, to unofficially investigate. The plots and subplots are complex and intricately woven, but in such a deft and craftsmanlike way that I never lost track of the goings-on, nor did I become bored with any of the plot lines. The obligatory red herrings are dragged across the reader's path, and the solution to the mystery comes as a shocking surprise. Unexpected though it is, the dénouement is my one complaint with this otherwise excellent book. After the fascinating character studies and excellent plotting, the solution to the mystery seems contrived and artificial; it is a "rabbit out of a hat" solution which relies on revelations which are simply narrated. The reader had no real chance to deduce them from clues hidden throughout the book. Nevertheless, it was interesting enough to keep me turning the pages to find out what happened next. An excellent yarn to curl up with on a rainy weekend!
Rating:
Summary: Worth reading--and re-reading!
Review: I first read "Missing Joseph" back in 1996, and recently re-read it. This is classic Elizabeth George--gore, sex and murder in a small town. This story is unusual in that the reader always know "whodunnit"; the question is why. All of the characters--even minor ones such as Josie--are well-drawn and fully fleshed out. And the dangling ends of the plot are tied neatly into a bow at the end. Havers doesn't play much of a role in this one. The spotlight is shared by Lynley and Simon St. James, with minor roles played by Deborah St. James and Lady Helen Clyde. The reader sees quite a bit of Lynley's troubled personal life, including his relationship with Helen (I like the "soap opera" aspects of the series), and gets a brief taste of Havers' troubles in moving out on her own. The Deborah/Simon sub-plot is compelling. It's hard to believe that these characters have all experienced so much in fairly short lives (Simon's accident, Deborah's affair with Lynley, etc.), but it makes for good reading. All in all, this is definitely worth reading--and re-reading!
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