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!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointingly unbelievable
Review: I found that the characters in this mystery about murder, kidnapping and confused identity never seemed realistic. The two aristocratic detectives and their wives just seem ridiculous -- the men (whose personalities are indistinguishable from each other) are absurdly old-fashioned and sexist and the women, Helen and Deb, are childish and self-indulgent. Juliet Spence is so psychologically cruel to her daughter Maggie that it's hard to read, not to mention hard to believe. The village constable, reminded of something he'd rather forget, freaks out and rapes a woman, even though he's supposedly never raised a hand in anger since protecting his mother from his father years before. Whatever. Suffice to say, none of the characters here behave in a believable fashion. Even minor characters' reactions just seem off, somehow. The plot, at root an interesting one, is convoluted and buried in detail which makes it very hard to follow. I repeatedly found myself thinking "*what*...*who* are we talking about again?" The setting is also strange: it's supposed to be taking place in the 1980's or 90's, it seems, but many of the attitudes seem decades older. Lynley, the detective lordling, actually has a manservant, and his girlfriend Helen has a maid! (Maybe British nobility really do still have bodyservants in the modern day, but it seems bizarre, and certainly helps to keep me from sympathizing with the characters.)Attitudes toward women here, overall, seem trapped in around the 1930's. The novel is a lot of work, and I don't really think it's worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Great Story!
Review: I have been working my way through Elizabeth George's Havers and Lynley series, and I seem to enjoy each book more than the last. This book is a masterpiece. It's the finest piece of fiction that you can find, and it has a mystery too! Ms. George's plots have the trademark of seeming to be apparently simple at the beginning, and as the reader delves into the story, she peels away layer after layer of personal history of her main characters, and the ones that just appear in this particular installment. This unravelling continues until the end when the mystery is solved and all the characters inner torments are revealed. Her writing is hypnotic, unforgettable, and totally addicting. This book is no different, but somehow I felt it was even deeper than some of the previous ones I've read. For one thing Ms. George examines Human sexuality in more detail than she has in other books. The emotion in this one seems rawer and more real too. In this book we don't see as much of Havers as we usually do, and that's a loss, since she's so great, but Lynley is totally awesome here, so it makes up for it somewhat. Elizabeth George is a true artist and is fast becoming a real favourite of mine.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great Story!
Review: I have been working my way through Elizabeth George's Havers and Lynley series, and I seem to enjoy each book more than the last. This book is a masterpiece. It's the finest piece of fiction that you can find, and it has a mystery too! Ms. George's plots have the trademark of seeming to be apparently simple at the beginning, and as the reader delves into the story, she peels away layer after layer of personal history of her main characters, and the ones that just appear in this particular installment. This unravelling continues until the end when the mystery is solved and all the characters inner torments are revealed. Her writing is hypnotic, unforgettable, and totally addicting. This book is no different, but somehow I felt it was even deeper than some of the previous ones I've read. For one thing Ms. George examines Human sexuality in more detail than she has in other books. The emotion in this one seems rawer and more real too. In this book we don't see as much of Havers as we usually do, and that's a loss, since she's so great, but Lynley is totally awesome here, so it makes up for it somewhat. Elizabeth George is a true artist and is fast becoming a real favourite of mine.
Rating:
Summary: OK? Does Havers EVER Get a Life?
Review: I started reading this series on my mother's recommendation... she told me that the mysteries were very romantic and that there was a very interesting woman character (Havers) and an English lord who develop a wonderful relationship....NOT! Come on, Mom! Havers is the most abused heroine I've ever encountered. How many times has George described her with a bovine adjective? I keep reading these books waiting for Havers to "Get a Life" but I am not sure that she will ever be so generously rewarded. Meantime, I have to wade through every PC topic known to mankind... incest, abortion, child abuse, teen sex... whatever sells.
Rating: 
Summary: Get ON with it!
Review: I'm 80% through this book and it is just now getting around to developing a reason for Sage's murder. This plot is dragging on and on with no developments. Meanwhile, Little Deb continues to wreck her marriage and Helen is trying her best to wreck her own chances for one. I wish Lynley would do what his father would have done to that lowlife rapist constable. At least something would be happening. If only his blood were a little less blue. This is not the best in the series. I'm reading them in order and this one is by far the worst so far. Havers is the only one with any life in her, and her circumstances are enough to squeeze the life out of anyone. Her rough edges are the only thing that holds any promise for the remainder of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfying Book
Review: If you enjoy previous Elizabeth George books you will enjoy this book also. It is a bit slow moving at times, but the storyline is interesting and the conclusion satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: Verbose George better than no George
Review: In the mystery genre, Elizabeth George's prose and her ability to surprise are almost unparalleled. With "Missing Joseph," however, one begins to feel that she's falling a little too in love with the sound of her own voice. Is it really necessary to describe every moment of every day of every character? The real nuts and bolts of solving the "whodunit" doesn't really begin until nearly page 400 (of the paperback edition). And I, for one, find the romantic travails of the four bed-hopping protagonists more intrusive than enlightening. More filler...George has been compared quite often to P.D. James. Both fair and apt. But what she could learn a little more of from James is BREVITY.
Rating:
Summary: Showcases George's Strengths
Review: Less of a mystery than a comment on the nature of family and parenthood, this novel showcases Elizabeth George's strengths as a writer. Her most compelling books are those in which parent-child or sibling-sibling relationships are explored. The bond between mother and daughter is at the heart of this story, and drives it believably to a pulse-quickening conclusion. I would recommend this or "For the Sake of Elena", as an introduction to George at her finest.
Rating:
Summary: Was the priest accidentally poisoned or was he murdered?
Review: Missing Joseph is testimony to Elizabeth George's ability to take the reader through the complex web of relations that constitute social life in an English community while keeping him/her enthralled with the mystery at hand. Missing Joseph is the story of the death of a small town priest. George has Lynley and St. James together with the indubitable Havers solve the problem of who killed the priest while conducting a very complex sub narrative about Deborah St. James' struggle with her preoccupation with having a child of her own. I read George's novels because I am a dedicated mystery buff and she is among the best. However, I also read her because of her downright honest sometimes brutal portrayals of women. To the already initiated, this book is a must read, for those new to the author or to the genre, it is a masterful introduction
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