(2013)Well, this book was a BIG disappointment. And I do mean BIG. 711 pages and by the point that I quit/377th page, I was worn out. Nothing really happened and the main plotline resolved itself with with more than 330 pages left. I gave up. Barbara's friend's daughter is taken from him by his estranged wife only to be kidnapped from her in Italy. At the point that I quit, I guess the bigger crisis is yet to happen but I don't care at this point. Too bad, as I usually like this author's work. And the use of Italian in the text without any context to figure out what is being said wore too thin. Big thumbs down and a wasted week reading this far.KIRKUS REVIEWInspector Lynley returns for a bout of trans-European hijinks¥his first adventure outside Old Blighty.Though an American herself, it's taken George time to build a domestic audience for her long-running Lynley series, adapted for British television and then repatriated as an occasional Masterpiece Mystery offering. George's hero is a nod to Dorothy Sayers, though Lynley, a discomfited lord working among the peasants of Scotland Yard, lacks most of Peter Wimsey's affectations. For the first time in many volumes, George again pairs Lynley with tough-talking northerner Barbara Havers, who's not always scrupulous about the letter of the law; as she tells one investigator, ?I don't care if you break laws or not....Spy on anyone you need to spy on. Go through their rubbish. Hack into their mobiles and their Internet accounts. Take over their email.? Rupert Murdoch would be proud, but Havers has a fraught mission: The daughter of a friend has been kidnapped in Italy, where her mother, estranged from that friend, has taken the child. Said friend, a Pakistani microbiologist, may not be entirely innocentÂ¥and in all events, it seems, shadowy parties want daughter and mother. Though the book is too long by a couple of hundred pages, George is a master of the wily plot and the timely tossed out red herring. She's also not bad at the icky but effective detail: ?Maggots still writhed in the man's eyes, nose, and mouth; beetles had been feasting on his skin; mites and millipedes scurried into the open neck of his linen shirt.? Yet the book goes on long enough that some of the dramatic force is blunted; it could have benefited from some economizing. Too, George falls victim to the local-color gambit, insisting that ordinary terms be put into the other language: A cellphone is a cellphone is a cellphone, so calling it a telefonino to emphasize the fact that we're in Italy is more than a touch precious.George's fans will be glad to see Havers back in action, even though, as ever, she's quick to land in trouble. And as for LynleyÂ¥well, he's as cool as ever, in more than one sense of the word.Pub Date:Oct. 15th, 2013ISBN:978-0-525-95296-1Page count:736ppPublisher:DuttonReview Posted Online:July 21st, 2013Kirkus Reviews Issue:Aug. 1st, 2013

Brilliant! Great characters, super good story. For those who found the book disappointing or could not finish, I suggest you check your expectations (not all about Lynley) and attitude at the cover and start over. The story is intricately woven, characters that you just hate and some you love. It's new and better insight into Thomas Lynley's long-time partner Barbara Havers. Barbara! What are you thinking! LOVED it!! ( )

I maintain that at this point Elizabeth George has ceased writing mystery novels in order to systematically torture her characters for the waiting public. Does that make it a psychological thriller? Or just an uncomfortable adventure. Meh. Technically there is at least one murder. Still, I love Lynley and Havers, though I don't know that I believe Havers capable of her behavior in the book (yes, E.G. I get that that is your point. I can still resent you for it.) Thanks for throwing us a bone in the presence of the Italian Inspector. I hope to see more of him in the future. Gah. I wish I could quit you. ( )

I really like the Inspector Lynley series, but I didn't like this one as much. I found the switch to Italian with no translation annoying, and some of the story just didn't seem plausible. I also didn't like how Barbara became desparate and nearly unredeemable. And, I suppose even after all this time, I still don't see why Helen had to die. ( )

Barbara Havers is trying to save her friend from his own criminal act by breaking laws using the cover of her employment by New Scotland Yard. I liked many previous books in this series, but I was so angered by Havers' (and the author's) refusal to recognize the inherent evil in kinapping, excusing the behavior because it was done for a "good" reason. If you want to see police corruption gone rampant, maybe this is the book for you, but not for me. ( )