Rating: 
Summary: A gripping tale of retribution and suspense
Review: "The Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers" mystery series is a fairly new reading venture I have begun. The previous books I have read are, "A Great Deliverance," "Payment In Blood," For The Sake of Elena," "Playing for the Ashes," and, finally, this particular one. Each story is heartwrenching and complex, but "In The Presence of the Enemy is by far the best book in the series which I have read.
The premise of this installment concerns a tabloid writer, Dennis Luxford, who receives an annymous note demanding that Luxford acknowledge his illegitimate daughter, Charlotte Bowan, who was conceived during a brief illecit affair with Eve Bowan, a member of Parliament. Charlotte has been kidnapped by the sender of the note. At first, Luxford does nothing, thinking that it is a joke, but when Charlotte's life is threatened, he enlists the help of amateur sleuths, Simon Alcourt St. James, and Lady Helen Clyde. It is only when the investigation takes a drastic turn that Scotland Yard is called in to the case, and Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers join Simon, his wife Deborah, and Helen in finding the culprit.
This installment is filled with suspenseful and heartwrenching moments. The sceens between Charlotte and her abductor are equally terrifying and poignant. The characters are sympathetically portrayed and likable, except Eve Bowan, Charlotte's mother, who seems to not care about her little girl at all. Ms. George possibly portrayed her too negatively for my taste. All the other characters are unforgettable, and Barbara Havers, a character whom I greatly disliked when I first began the series, is becoming more and more my most favorite character of the books.
This novel is a must-read for mystery fans, and even if you have not read any books in the series, this is a good place to start. Read this novel to meet some unforgettable characters, and for a shocking solution which will make you want to read other books in this gem of a mystery series. Happy reading, and take care.
Rating:
Summary: She's gone missing
Review: (Paperback version.)
This mystery suspense thriller opens with the kidnapping of Charlotte, a.k.a. Lottie, a.k.a. Charlie, the ten-year old daughter of Eve Bowen, the Undersecretary of State for Britain's Home Office. Lottie, we soon discover, is the result of a brief but torrid romance with one Dennis Luxford while Eve attended a political conference eleven years previous. Now, Dennis is the editor in chief of The Source, a "tawdry and noisome" tabloid that has achieved spectacular gains in circulation by exposing the scandalous behavior of Eve's peers in the Tory government. The kidnapper is demanding that Luxford acknowledge his firstborn child on the front page of The Source. The problem is no one except Eve and Luxford are supposed to know that he is Lottie's daddy, and be it known, Eve's political career will be ruined. Certain that Luxford has staged Lottie's disappearance so he can print her humiliating disgrace, Eve hardly acknowledges that "she's gone missing." But the reader knows Dennis is innocent.Elisabeth George develops this confused situation into an intricate and superbly plotted mystery with well-developed characters and rich dialogue. George writes in the King's (or is it the Queen's?) English, though. You might wonder what's going on when the sprat is told to shut his gob or he'll be gated for talking bosh. But then, it's a mystery isn't it. Whether or not you're a fan of British mystery genre novels, this is a highly recommended read.
Rating:
Summary: George Bounces Back
Review: After a disappointing turn with Playing for the Ashes, George goes back to the creativity and readability that she showed in Missing Joseph. Equally pleasing is the emphasis on Barbara Havers (for those of us who are fans of the character). The supporting characters are well-drawn and in Eve Bowen, George has designed one of the most coolly evil characters I have ever encountered. Additionally, the careful reader is rewarded with a mystery that, while not simplistic, can be figured out before the perpetrator is revealed. Like most of the Lynley/Havers novels, this one delivers.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!
Review: Elizabeth George is a master storyteller, and a wonderful novelist. Her books are certainly a lot more than just a cozy little whodunit, that entertains for evening. She just keeps getting better and better, and her characters do the same. This book is especially wonderful because we see so much more of Havers. She is a wonderful character. But everyone in this book seem so real. The only character that I did not feel an empathy for was the ubiquitous Eve. Does politics do that everyone? But in spite of her, we see human foibles and weaknesses in a kaleidiscope of characters. This book has everything - pathos, happiness, love, anger and of course, humour too. I cannot recommend this series enough to anyone who truly wants to become a part of Elizabeth George's world.
Rating:
Summary: Barbara is fabulous, but this book needed more clues
Review: I devour mystery books, and am especially fond of series that include the same characters over and over. So I was inclined to like this series from the start, but was pleasantly surprised by the way George develops her characters to an unusual degree. However, they are uneven are far as how interesting they seem (which I suppose is true in life as well). Every time the plot involves Deborah I just want to put the book down and snore. She's sweet, she's a photographer, she has curly red hair, she is devastated by her inability to have children; that's all we know. But really, who cares about her? Not me. And would Simon get over his leg already? On the other hand, I find Helen Clyde to be hilarious, very witty. Lynley, a wee bit dry for the central character. But Barbara Havers has now become my favorite mystery character of all time. I am so excited to read Deception on His Mind, where she has an even larger role. Thank you, Elizabeth George, for making this complex, funny, unglamorous and wholly likable person. My only complaints: it makes no sense to me that Barbara has no real friends. Why not? She's very cool. She should have a close gal pal. Second, I hope that life begins to treat Barb a little better pretty soon; I somehow felt personally crushed by some of the things that have happened to her. One last comment about this book: there were absolutely zero clues as to the perp in this book. And no hints in this person's behavior as to their psychotic crimes until they were explained in the end. I like to have at least a slight chance of sussing the mystery out myself!
Rating: 
Summary: gripping with a slightly flawed conclusion
Review: I really enjoyed this book -- it took forever to listen to on cassette, and I was still sorry when it ended. But there were a few things that bugged me: 1. As another reviewer said, the perp sort of came out of left field. His or her motivations were explained after the identity was revealed, but it felt to me like one of those scenes in "Mission Impossible II" where the "good guys" kept pulling off their fake faces and turning out to be the bad guys. 2. The climax includes a scene that's almost identical to one in Payment in Blood (which happens to be the last one I read), where a woman, while alone with a man, receives a phone call informing her that the man is probably the murderer. It's a good suspense-builder, but not as effective the second time. 3. It was pretty obvious in the final confrontation who was going to save the day, though it was apparently intended as a surprise twist. All that said, though, I thought this was really fine stuff. I thought the "temporary" characters (Eve Bowen, Dennis Luxford, their families, etc.) were very well drawn, and I enjoyed the further development of the recurring ones (Lynley, Havers, Simon, Deborah, and Helen). I do often hate Lynley and wonder why his friends put up with him, but he generally redeems himself eventually. And like the other reviewer, I agree that Barbara deserves at least a little happiness.
Rating:
Summary: Slow Then Addictive...
Review: I was very disappointed in the first ~100 pages of this installment in the Lynley/Havers series. Neither of them appeared and the action was very very slow-moving. However, once they become involved in the story, the book is addictive and I stayed up very late one night to finish it. The character of Havers has always fascinated me and you get to see another side of her in this book, although it is almost heartbreaking to see it. Once again, George has created characters that are so dimensional in their personalities that you can empathize with them, hate them, curse them, and praise them all at the same time - with the exception of the Eve Bowen character who is nothing but a politician in all her actions, professional and personal. Another great read!
Rating:
Summary: Wow! But call out the SPCC...
Review: If you've never read any of Elizabeth George's novels, this is as good a place as any to start. By the way, she writes novels, not just "mystery novels." This book works as a novel, as a mystery, as a puzzle, as a soap opera, as a sheer entertainment page-turner, and as a travelogue. You get a lot of bang for your reading buck. Poor, poor Barbara Havers... I think there should be a society for the prevention of cruelty to characters. I feel so sorry for her. Fantastic (in both senses of the word) plot twists. As it happens, I am extremely dense about guessing whodunnit. I just read mysteries for the atmosphere, the characters, the story, the procedure, and the background. But Elizabeth George has pulled off what for me is a very rare experience--I didn't guess whodunnit, but at the end I actually feel that I ought have been able to.
Rating:
Summary: Top notch story, top notch mystery!
Review: Ms. George just gets better and better. I read one of her books by accident and enjoyed it so much that I went back to the first Lynley/Havers book and am reading them in sequence. Each stands alone, but it is fun to watch the characters develop. This book is the best one yet. Complicated plot with no loose ends, well written fiction as well as a good whodunit. Definitely worth reading!
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Read -
Review: The Inspector Lynley/Barbara Havers series is listed under mysteries but they are splendid works of fiction that happen to be mysteries. "In the Presence of the Enemy" can be read without doing the whole series but you will surely want to go back to the beginning and read all the books after you have read this one.
Elizabeth George draws her characters in well-defined strokes making them interesting and very human, even the bad guys. The private as well as the professional lives of Inspector Lynley and Barbara Havers are also very well done. He, an English lord who happens to be a police detective, and she, from what may be called the other side of the tracks, each bring their own life experiences and prejudices (especially Barbara) to their work.
A child has been kidnapped. She is the daughter of a female member of Parliament who has no trouble using the girl as a prop for her career. The father is the editor of a scandal driven newspaper who receives a note instructing him to publish the story of his "first born" or he will not get the child back. The problem is that Mom and Dad are not married, they simply got together for a sex-filled weekend during a political conference years before. Dad has never met his daughter. Making matters worse, Mom is absolutely certain that Dad is behind the kidnapping and insists he is out to ruin her career and keep her from advancing in government. Dad wants the girl safely returned but he needs to keep news of her existence from his wife and young son who are not aware of her existence.
Lynley and Havers make a delayed appearance in this story because friends are quietly called on to try and find the girl without going to the police. Politcal Mom doesn't want a scandal. Lynley is understandably furious when he discovers what has been happening.
Some of the stories in this series have been filmed and are being shown on U.S. tv. They are fine in and of themselves but the richness of the characters and the fine plotting are very much diluted in the tv versions. The book is the real treasure.
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