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In this gripping child-in-danger story, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers and her partner, Inspector Thomas Lynley, investigate the kidnapping of a friend's little girl from an Italian marketplace. With both her job and the life of a little girl on the line, Barbara must decide what matters most, and how far she's willing to go to protect it.
User reviews
LibraryThing member calicok3
I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of 'Just One Evil Act' from Goodreads. In this installment of the Inspector Lynley series there is less emphasis on Lynley and more on Barbara Havers. A portion of the mystery takes place in Italy and the reader is introduced to Ispettore Salvatore Lo Bianco
While I enjoyed the general plot, the novel itself was much too long. It was slow to begin, the middle section was solid and held my attention, but by the time I got to the last 50 pages (book has over 700 pages), I was starting to skim. George and her editors could have easily trimmed the novel while maintaining the plot and character development. I would have enjoyed a stronger ending as well, the current ending did not entice me to grab the next Inspector Lynley book, which was a bit disappointing.
All in all, 'Just One Evil Act' is a well-written mystery; just make sure you have time to sit down and read the entire book.
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(an Italian version of Inspector Lynley). As usual, George has created an intriguing plot line where the reader becomes invested in the characters; often the reader wants to help the character while at the same time yelling at them for a ridiculous decision made!While I enjoyed the general plot, the novel itself was much too long. It was slow to begin, the middle section was solid and held my attention, but by the time I got to the last 50 pages (book has over 700 pages), I was starting to skim. George and her editors could have easily trimmed the novel while maintaining the plot and character development. I would have enjoyed a stronger ending as well, the current ending did not entice me to grab the next Inspector Lynley book, which was a bit disappointing.
All in all, 'Just One Evil Act' is a well-written mystery; just make sure you have time to sit down and read the entire book.
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LibraryThing member nbmars
This 18th book in the British Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley series focuses on Lynley’s partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. Barbara is close to her neighbors, Taymullah Azhar and his daughter, nine-year-old Hadiyyah. When Hadiyyah’s mother Angelina takes Hadiyyah and disappears,
The trail quickly leads to Italy, and readers are introduced to a whole new set of interesting characters there, including the endearingly soft-hearted but wily Chief Inspector Salvatore Lo Bianco.
There is also, like George's previous book, considerable space devoted to the theme of the blight of tabloids, and their appeal "to the worst inclinations in human nature."
Meanwhile, Lynley is endeavoring not to know what Barbara is doing, not to care, and not to report her, all at once. And in his private life, he is still trying to get over his late wife, with the help of a woman, Daidre, who has her own past to overcome.
Discussion: As you may know, the BBC has run a popular series of programs called The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (also carried by PBS). Throughout this very long book (over 700 pages), I kept thinking it could go for a whole season on the BBC! This is not to say I didn’t like it. Although these books are not for those who like edge-of-their-seat page turners, they have a certain British charm and a lot of atmosphere-building, you might say. But it was a major commitment of time to read, and it could well have been broken up into several books! (And yes, this truly sounds hypocritical from one who complains that trilogies, for example, don’t end their stories and thus virtually require you to purchase additional books and keep reading.)
There are a number of things I liked about this book. The descriptions of Italy are breathtaking. The Italian characters are quite engaging. As for Thomas and Barbara though, I had both positive and negative reactions. The inner mind of Thomas is kept rather opaque, as usual, although we do get a rare glimpse of what he is thinking when he thinks about what Barbara is up to and what it means to both of them. As for Barbara’s behavior, it didn’t always seem like Barbara to me. But I did buy into it enough to feel anguish for her, especially when she owned up, at the end, to the source of her sorrow. I was hoping something would come of her growing association with another character, but we will have to wait for the next book to see. (However, in spite of wanting more in that regard, I was quite happy to have the book end after 719 pages.)
Evaluation: For fans of very British mysteries and fans of Lynley and Havers, this book adds a nice twist with the Italian setting. It could also be read as a standalone, although one would get much more out of it by tackling the entire series.
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Barbara puts her career on the line to help Azhar. Azhar never married Angelina, so he doesn’t have any legal rights in the matter. Barbara determines that they must go outside the bounds of the law to find Hadiyyah and get her back.The trail quickly leads to Italy, and readers are introduced to a whole new set of interesting characters there, including the endearingly soft-hearted but wily Chief Inspector Salvatore Lo Bianco.
There is also, like George's previous book, considerable space devoted to the theme of the blight of tabloids, and their appeal "to the worst inclinations in human nature."
Meanwhile, Lynley is endeavoring not to know what Barbara is doing, not to care, and not to report her, all at once. And in his private life, he is still trying to get over his late wife, with the help of a woman, Daidre, who has her own past to overcome.
Discussion: As you may know, the BBC has run a popular series of programs called The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (also carried by PBS). Throughout this very long book (over 700 pages), I kept thinking it could go for a whole season on the BBC! This is not to say I didn’t like it. Although these books are not for those who like edge-of-their-seat page turners, they have a certain British charm and a lot of atmosphere-building, you might say. But it was a major commitment of time to read, and it could well have been broken up into several books! (And yes, this truly sounds hypocritical from one who complains that trilogies, for example, don’t end their stories and thus virtually require you to purchase additional books and keep reading.)
There are a number of things I liked about this book. The descriptions of Italy are breathtaking. The Italian characters are quite engaging. As for Thomas and Barbara though, I had both positive and negative reactions. The inner mind of Thomas is kept rather opaque, as usual, although we do get a rare glimpse of what he is thinking when he thinks about what Barbara is up to and what it means to both of them. As for Barbara’s behavior, it didn’t always seem like Barbara to me. But I did buy into it enough to feel anguish for her, especially when she owned up, at the end, to the source of her sorrow. I was hoping something would come of her growing association with another character, but we will have to wait for the next book to see. (However, in spite of wanting more in that regard, I was quite happy to have the book end after 719 pages.)
Evaluation: For fans of very British mysteries and fans of Lynley and Havers, this book adds a nice twist with the Italian setting. It could also be read as a standalone, although one would get much more out of it by tackling the entire series.
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LibraryThing member SamSattler
For a while now, many fans of Elizabeth George’s long running Inspector Lynley series have been hoping for a book featuring Lynley’s partner Barbara Havers. With the 719-page Just One Evil Act, those fans are finally getting what they wished for…in spades. This one is pretty much all about
Little Hadiyyah, daughter of Barbara’s neighbor and close friend, Taymullah Azhar, has been snatched by the little girl’s mother. Barbara can count her friends on the fingers of one hand, and she is just as frantic as Azhar himself to find the little girl and bring her home. Unfortunately for Barbara, Lynley, and their Scotland Yard boss, Barbara has never been prone to follow rules and regulations when they get in her way and, within a matter of days, she is heavily involved in her own rogue investigation of the child’s disappearance.
Between November and the following May, this investigation will jeopardize the careers of both Havers and Lynley, as well as that of an Italian detective whose poor English skill makes it easy for Barbara to fool. As the investigations (one official and one not) progress, George also introduces a number of side characters to complicate matters and keep the reader guessing as to motive and guilty parties.
Keep in mind that this 719-page novel deals extensively with psychological stress, mental anguish and pain, etc. By no stretch of the imagination is this an action novel/thriller – but few Elizabeth George novels are. Some readers are likely to be overwhelmed by the sheer length of the book and the number of characters and side-stories involved. Others will probably be so disappointed in Barbara’s behavior that they will either not finish the novel or will dislike it if they do. Nothing, however, that the main characters do in Just One Evil Act is at all out of character, and readers wanting to learn more about how Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers “tick” should find this to be a gratifying read.
Even though I believe that Just One Evil Act could have benefitted from a little more editing-for-length than it received, I consider it to be a very worthy addition to the Thomas Lynley series and I am looking forward to the next one already.
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Barbara, with all of the other main characters, including Thomas Lynley, spending their time reacting to decisions and choices (usually very poor ones) made by Barbara over the course of several months. Little Hadiyyah, daughter of Barbara’s neighbor and close friend, Taymullah Azhar, has been snatched by the little girl’s mother. Barbara can count her friends on the fingers of one hand, and she is just as frantic as Azhar himself to find the little girl and bring her home. Unfortunately for Barbara, Lynley, and their Scotland Yard boss, Barbara has never been prone to follow rules and regulations when they get in her way and, within a matter of days, she is heavily involved in her own rogue investigation of the child’s disappearance.
Between November and the following May, this investigation will jeopardize the careers of both Havers and Lynley, as well as that of an Italian detective whose poor English skill makes it easy for Barbara to fool. As the investigations (one official and one not) progress, George also introduces a number of side characters to complicate matters and keep the reader guessing as to motive and guilty parties.
Keep in mind that this 719-page novel deals extensively with psychological stress, mental anguish and pain, etc. By no stretch of the imagination is this an action novel/thriller – but few Elizabeth George novels are. Some readers are likely to be overwhelmed by the sheer length of the book and the number of characters and side-stories involved. Others will probably be so disappointed in Barbara’s behavior that they will either not finish the novel or will dislike it if they do. Nothing, however, that the main characters do in Just One Evil Act is at all out of character, and readers wanting to learn more about how Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers “tick” should find this to be a gratifying read.
Even though I believe that Just One Evil Act could have benefitted from a little more editing-for-length than it received, I consider it to be a very worthy addition to the Thomas Lynley series and I am looking forward to the next one already.
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LibraryThing member macygma
Opinionated. Wrinkled, Reeking of Smoke. Definitely NOT a fashion-plate. This is Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers of New Scotland Yard. Assistant to Inspector Thomas Lynley, she has been most annoying and helpful in all of the Lynley Novels but this time she is on her own.
Barbara’s neighbor,
Lynley is called in at one in the morning by a hysterical Havers. Ashar’s history is at the forefront of the problems. It seems he has another family in London to whom he is still married. Angelina’s parents and twin sister disowned her when they heard of him and hate anything that isn’t White, English and well-mannered.
There are private investigators, blackmailing newsmen, a very nasty Inspector who hates women in charge and is bound to rid the police of them all, a little girl who is grabbed back and forth between parents, lovers and the Italian police who have their own degrees of corruption.
I have loved Elizabeth George novels since A Great Deliverance in 1988. She is the mistress of mystery, humour and a teller of wonderful tales. If you’ve never read her novel, now is the time. Just One Evil Act can be read alone and then you will know what you’ve been missing.
Barbara’s neighbor,
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Taymullah Azhar, his daughter and her mother are close friends – so it was thought. When Angelina takes the daughter and disappears for months; Azhar and Barbara commiserate daily. She becomes close. He does not. Then Angelina reappears with a fiancé but no daughter. She has been kidnapped in Italy!Lynley is called in at one in the morning by a hysterical Havers. Ashar’s history is at the forefront of the problems. It seems he has another family in London to whom he is still married. Angelina’s parents and twin sister disowned her when they heard of him and hate anything that isn’t White, English and well-mannered.
There are private investigators, blackmailing newsmen, a very nasty Inspector who hates women in charge and is bound to rid the police of them all, a little girl who is grabbed back and forth between parents, lovers and the Italian police who have their own degrees of corruption.
I have loved Elizabeth George novels since A Great Deliverance in 1988. She is the mistress of mystery, humour and a teller of wonderful tales. If you’ve never read her novel, now is the time. Just One Evil Act can be read alone and then you will know what you’ve been missing.
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LibraryThing member JEB5
I received this book as a First Reads ARC.
When a girl goes missing in London, England her mother is suspected of kidnapping her. Barbara Havers, a family friend of the missing girl, is on the case and has dragged Inspector Lynley into it as well. Thus begins the ever entwining and complicated 18th
George has successfully developed multiple characters that both intrigue and madden her readers. Her use of imagery and details is incredible - these very things add the element of realism to a circumstance that for many is unimaginable. Her plot, seemingly simple, is far from it and will keep readers guessing until at least the last quarter of the novel. The novel itself is 719 pages long and is quite the monumental read. It could have been shorter with some more editing; this would have improved the novel's pace better as well as the reader's experience. Then last half of the book has a sense of tedium to it and I felt several times like I had figured out "who did it" only to have another 300 pages yet to go. Overall though it was an enjoyable read and I liked the novel. This novel was my first experience with one of Elizabeth George's books and I would gladly pick up another one.
When a girl goes missing in London, England her mother is suspected of kidnapping her. Barbara Havers, a family friend of the missing girl, is on the case and has dragged Inspector Lynley into it as well. Thus begins the ever entwining and complicated 18th
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installment of George's Inspector Lynley series.George has successfully developed multiple characters that both intrigue and madden her readers. Her use of imagery and details is incredible - these very things add the element of realism to a circumstance that for many is unimaginable. Her plot, seemingly simple, is far from it and will keep readers guessing until at least the last quarter of the novel. The novel itself is 719 pages long and is quite the monumental read. It could have been shorter with some more editing; this would have improved the novel's pace better as well as the reader's experience. Then last half of the book has a sense of tedium to it and I felt several times like I had figured out "who did it" only to have another 300 pages yet to go. Overall though it was an enjoyable read and I liked the novel. This novel was my first experience with one of Elizabeth George's books and I would gladly pick up another one.
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LibraryThing member Romonko
This book is most definitey a story about Barbara Havers and her madcap way of policing. The book takes us from London to Italy and back again, and it is a story about love, betrayal, obsession, kidnapping and murder. The book is extremely long, and to me this was to its detriment. I found it tough
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slogging through the 700 plus pages, and there were times when I got so frustrated with the way Barbara was behaving that I almost put the book away. But this is Elizabeth George and she is a wonderful author, so I persevered. There were some truly wonderful highlights that kept me going through the frustrating parts. Don't get me wrong. Barbara is by far my favourite character in this wonderful series, but it was difficult to maintain my liking of her as a character with this book. She places her life, her job and her happiness all on the line for the man that she loves, even though she never admits to herself that she loves him. She chooses a particularly unsavoury partner to help her through the maze that her neighbour Azhar has woven in his attempt to hold onto his daughter Haddiyah. And she finds herself in more hot water with her superiors than she has ever been in before. During her efforts to help Azhar, Barbara takes herself off to Italy and this is where the book picks up extra points for me making it four stars instead of three. She meets a wonderful police inspector by the name of Salvatore lo Bianco who is strangely drawn to Barbara even though neither one speaks the other's language. Elizabeth George has drawn a wonderful character in Salvatore, and I can only hope that we will see more of him in future books. Or more specifically, that Barbara will see more of him in future books. As much as I loved the Italian connection, I found it difficult to follow some of it as there is much unexplained Italian in the prose, and it's like trying to figure out a puzzle while determining what is actually being said. I found this a bit difficult. Overall I did enjoy the book. And that is because Ms. George always brings the totally unexpected into her narratives. And she is a marvellous writer. For those reasons the book is well worth the time taken to read it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Judiex
If JUST ONE EVIL ACT is a typical example, I can understand why English currency is based on pounds. The 719-page tome is quite hefty. The Evil Act in the title sets off a domino effect worthy of Rube Goldberg’s talents.
In this latest Inspector Lynley series, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers is
Taymullah Azhar, her neighbor and friend calls her, very upset. Angelina, his erstwhile partner, has disappeared with their nine-year-daughter Hadiyyah, She had left both of them previously but returned and he thought things were going well. He asked Havers to help locate them. To complicate matters, Azhar’s name does not appear on the birth certificate. (He is still married to his first wife. He has had no contact with her or their two children for many years.)
A few months later, Barbara learns they are in Italy where Angelina has found a new love interest and Hadiyya has been kidnapped. The Italian police are working on the case and Scotland Yard will not get involved. Azhar goes to Italy to help find his daughter and Hazers frantically seeks the help of a reporter from a sleazy tabloid to apply pressure to the Yard to get involved.
The situation gets more and more complicated as we learn more about the people involved in the kidnappings and the justice system.
JUST ONE EVIL ACT kept my interest from the beginning. When it seemed like everything was settled, something else happened to complicate the issues. (Since there were still many more pages to go, that was expected.) In most cases, the twists were logical. I think Havers’ relationship with the journalist was unrealistic. Even though she was desperately trying to help Azhar and Hadiyyah, I don’t think she would have been that careless as to so jeopardize her career.
There were some repetitions but most were brief. I think the readers were fully aware of when the action was in England and when it was in Italy without the overuse of Italian words. At times it was appropriate, however, to show how frustrating it was for a character, particularly Havers, who didn’t speak or understand the language, but other than that it detracted from the story.
I also was disappointed by the resolution of Azhar’s relationship with his wife and children.
Elizabeth George has proven once again that she can weave an engrossing story.
In this latest Inspector Lynley series, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers is
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the main character. If I wasn’t familiar with her from her previous appearances, I’d think she was off her meds.Taymullah Azhar, her neighbor and friend calls her, very upset. Angelina, his erstwhile partner, has disappeared with their nine-year-daughter Hadiyyah, She had left both of them previously but returned and he thought things were going well. He asked Havers to help locate them. To complicate matters, Azhar’s name does not appear on the birth certificate. (He is still married to his first wife. He has had no contact with her or their two children for many years.)
A few months later, Barbara learns they are in Italy where Angelina has found a new love interest and Hadiyya has been kidnapped. The Italian police are working on the case and Scotland Yard will not get involved. Azhar goes to Italy to help find his daughter and Hazers frantically seeks the help of a reporter from a sleazy tabloid to apply pressure to the Yard to get involved.
The situation gets more and more complicated as we learn more about the people involved in the kidnappings and the justice system.
JUST ONE EVIL ACT kept my interest from the beginning. When it seemed like everything was settled, something else happened to complicate the issues. (Since there were still many more pages to go, that was expected.) In most cases, the twists were logical. I think Havers’ relationship with the journalist was unrealistic. Even though she was desperately trying to help Azhar and Hadiyyah, I don’t think she would have been that careless as to so jeopardize her career.
There were some repetitions but most were brief. I think the readers were fully aware of when the action was in England and when it was in Italy without the overuse of Italian words. At times it was appropriate, however, to show how frustrating it was for a character, particularly Havers, who didn’t speak or understand the language, but other than that it detracted from the story.
I also was disappointed by the resolution of Azhar’s relationship with his wife and children.
Elizabeth George has proven once again that she can weave an engrossing story.
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LibraryThing member hazel1123
The book was way too long. The story wasn't bad but but especially in the beginning it just went on forever. I have read all of the other books in this series. Before this book I always enjoyed Barbara as a character. In this book she is sad to the point of pathetic rather than sympathetic. There
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is also this very annoying thing going on where the author throws in Italian words or phrases for no reason I can see except the story is taking place in Italy. It drive me crazy! I give the book three stars for the story line, but I will be cautious about buying more in the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member adeeba_zamaan
I always approach a new Elizabeth George novel with trepidation, because I know she's likely to do in one of my favorite characters. This possibility, plus writing that's of such high quality at every level--plot, character, atmosphere, dialogue, sentence structure, grammar, you name it--makes me
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consider her a "literary" novelist, as opposed to the novelists I read to improve my mood--ones who make me laugh and provide happy endings. She even brings in literary allusions, though they don't seem to me to be clues the way Michael Innes's or Colin Dexter's allusions are. I kinda wish they were, but on the other hand, George gives me enough realism to sink my teeth into. Only one thing: she has no right to be such a good writer and so pretty at the same time! Show Less
LibraryThing member jaysbooks
Excellent book, with a few unresolved issues at the end, which will hopefully be resolved in the next book in the series.
LibraryThing member terran
I kept thinking that this book needed editing to shorten it, but I don't know what I would have eliminated. To begin with I was listing to the audio book, but did not get to listen to all 24 discs. The amount of Italian was annoying to me to listen to because I don't know Italian and it wasn't
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always clear to me what the translation was. Reading the rest of it in print was much better. Barbara Havers goes manic when the daughter of her neighbor is kidnapped. She endangers her position at Scotland Yard by disobeying orders to quit investigating the case. Inspector Lynley becomes involved when the trail leads to Italy, but even he begins to wonder if Barbara has gone over the edge. Her persistence pays off in the end, but I'm not sure what the future holds for her. I enjoy all of the Inspector Lynley books, so I had to finish this, but it is not as easy to get through as earlier ones. Show Less
LibraryThing member bowedbookshelf
As I listened to the incomparable Davina Porter read this eighteenth novel in the Lynley/Havers series, I thought that writing this gigantic mystery seemed less like hard work and more like fun for George. She is so experienced, and so familiar with her characters by this time that she appears to
George creates a glorious new character, Salvatore lo Bianco, presumably just for this book. (Sad; I’d love to see him again.) Ispettore lo Bianco is a police inspector. We meet Salvatore’s former wife, his mother, his children, his boss and colleagues--rounded characters all. George shows off her skill with this move to Italy and handling the introductions, as well as presenting a particularly intricate mystery featuring an abduction and a murder, placing Barbara’s neighbor, the Pakistani Muslim microbiologist Azhar in the frame. The story has so many angles and curves we are left gasping. But George sails through ably, with Davina Porter’s narration smooth perfection. Imagine the great time George had doing research for this one…
Elizabeth George once again earns her superstar status among mystery writers. It is a real achievement to pull off this enormous cast of characters (including Lynley’s new love interest, Daidre Trahair), a mystery that looks completely damning for a member of a racial minority, and the byzantine conundrum of Italian justice. George keeps piling obstacles in Barbara's path but Barbara plows through in her indomitable way, struggling to save a friend whom she believed in through every turn of the screw. Who would not want to have such a person on one’s side?
George handles the pacing well, by placing Salvatore and the slow (..."piano, Barbara") if inexorable pace of justice in Italy in contrast to the fall of a sickle in the person of tabloid journalist, Mitchell Corsico. Corsico, who is constantly on deadline and who infects the course of justice with misinformation, makes us fear for Barbara who goes a long way out on a limb, only to have it cut off.
Elizabeth George is at the top of her game in this episode, continuing the legend of Lynley and Havers, both of whom we now know far better than our own loved ones at home. Davina Porter, narrator for the audio production, is also at the top of her game. She makes one marvel.
A word about the Italian phrases: George for the most part helps us out by giving us the meaning in subsequent sentences. Otherwise, we are confused, just as Havers is. This is intentional, and very nicely done. A little mystery within a mystery keeps us on our toes. About the length of the book I can only say that we readers made out like bandits. The cost per word is a bargain. While I ordinarily dislike huge novels, I’ve read several of the Lynley mysteries, and I always look forward to another. We have here one that could have qualified as two novels, but we only paid for one. I can’t think of another author that could have pulled this off within two years, or whatever it has been since George’s last book was published. It’s a miracle, no? I can hear George now: "Niente."
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riff off them with ease. She has them travel to Italy when Barbara discovers her favorite neighbors are in serious trouble. George creates a glorious new character, Salvatore lo Bianco, presumably just for this book. (Sad; I’d love to see him again.) Ispettore lo Bianco is a police inspector. We meet Salvatore’s former wife, his mother, his children, his boss and colleagues--rounded characters all. George shows off her skill with this move to Italy and handling the introductions, as well as presenting a particularly intricate mystery featuring an abduction and a murder, placing Barbara’s neighbor, the Pakistani Muslim microbiologist Azhar in the frame. The story has so many angles and curves we are left gasping. But George sails through ably, with Davina Porter’s narration smooth perfection. Imagine the great time George had doing research for this one…
Elizabeth George once again earns her superstar status among mystery writers. It is a real achievement to pull off this enormous cast of characters (including Lynley’s new love interest, Daidre Trahair), a mystery that looks completely damning for a member of a racial minority, and the byzantine conundrum of Italian justice. George keeps piling obstacles in Barbara's path but Barbara plows through in her indomitable way, struggling to save a friend whom she believed in through every turn of the screw. Who would not want to have such a person on one’s side?
George handles the pacing well, by placing Salvatore and the slow (..."piano, Barbara") if inexorable pace of justice in Italy in contrast to the fall of a sickle in the person of tabloid journalist, Mitchell Corsico. Corsico, who is constantly on deadline and who infects the course of justice with misinformation, makes us fear for Barbara who goes a long way out on a limb, only to have it cut off.
Elizabeth George is at the top of her game in this episode, continuing the legend of Lynley and Havers, both of whom we now know far better than our own loved ones at home. Davina Porter, narrator for the audio production, is also at the top of her game. She makes one marvel.
A word about the Italian phrases: George for the most part helps us out by giving us the meaning in subsequent sentences. Otherwise, we are confused, just as Havers is. This is intentional, and very nicely done. A little mystery within a mystery keeps us on our toes. About the length of the book I can only say that we readers made out like bandits. The cost per word is a bargain. While I ordinarily dislike huge novels, I’ve read several of the Lynley mysteries, and I always look forward to another. We have here one that could have qualified as two novels, but we only paid for one. I can’t think of another author that could have pulled this off within two years, or whatever it has been since George’s last book was published. It’s a miracle, no? I can hear George now: "Niente."
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LibraryThing member delphimo
This is a very lengthy book, which I thought should have ended sooner. The title implies only one evil act, but I count at least three from the main character list. The one evil act is listed on the book jacket in which Angelina absconds with Hadiyyah, but both Taymullah Azhar and Lorenzo Mura
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commit evil acts. Barbara Havers risks all to aid Taymullah and Hadiyyah, and Thomas Lynley attempts to help Barbara. The story has many twists and turns, and the multitude of Italian is disturbing. I usually enjoy the Inspector Lynley series, but too may plots and way too long. George presents a detailed story, but forgets that many people do not have the leisure to read over 700 pages, Show Less
LibraryThing member tututhefirst
I really want to say that the title refers to the story of an evil act, but the book is replete with evil acts, evil intentions, and unethical choices.
However......the true evil act is the editor's lack of cleaning up a mess and foisting this 700+page monstrosity on the series' fans.
In some ways,
As it is, a non-crime occurs when Barbara's next door neighbor, little Hadiyyah Azhar is taken by her mother to Italy without the father's knowledge or permission. Let's remember that Daddy is not on the birth certificate, is not married to mommy, and in fact not only has this paragon of fatherly virtue (as far as Havers is concerned) never divorced his first wife, he's had no contact with her OR his TWO OTHER CHILDREN in over a year. Barbara Havers is stuck in London, working for a new boss (not Lynley) and is frantic to get to Italy to "help".
At least in the beginning, we get vintage Havers - impulsive, slovenly, damn-the-torpedoes, misguided, and in this book, totally blinded to her own motivation. Thomas Lynley is nearly an afterthought throughout this book. If he hadn't spoken Italian, he'd have almost no part in the story, except to be starting what appears to be a new romance with a roller-derby veterinarian.
The plot is contrived, the dialogue is stilted and very difficult to follow since the author has entire paragraphs of words spoken in Italian WITH NO TRANSLATION. This is a language I can usually follow along thanks to my grandmother, but the excessive use of Italian was way over the top. I found myself constantly going to translation tools because I wasn't comfortable enough with my assumptions to feel sure I understood what was happening, and whether it was important or not. (And if it wasn't important, it sure didn't need to be in a book that was over 700 pages long). I guess we're supposed to feel the frustration Havers feels at not being able to understand the language, but all I felt was frustration that the story was being hijacked by the author's showing off her supposed knowledge of the language, and dragging us along for about 200 pages too much.
There are so many plot lines and sub-plots that I got dizzy trying to keep up. Is it kidnapping? Is it a custody fight? Later is it murder? And who's working the case? And who's responsible?
The book is even worse in audio.....usually one of my favorite formats. I had the large heavy and awkward print version that was driving me crazy and decided to download the audio to see if Davina Porter - normally one of my favorite narrators -could help make more sense of this mess. That was a horrible mistake. Ms. Porter's very clear, clipped and normally understandable British accent does not do well at all with Italian...it was absolutely painful to hear. I constantly had to stop the audio to go to the print to see what on earth she thought she was saying in Italian.
There is so much not to like about this book....the choices all the characters make,the stereotyped sleaziness of the characters, the convoluted plot(s), the implausible and almost incredible (meaning NOT credible) ending - one of those "Oh, I guess I need to wrap this up because I have a deadline and it is getting a tad bit long." In addition, this really should have been at least two, and probably three books. Maybe that's a good thing if you're a fan. You can purchase an entire trilogy for the price of one book.
However......the true evil act is the editor's lack of cleaning up a mess and foisting this 700+page monstrosity on the series' fans.
In some ways,
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it's vintage Elizabeth George, but mostly it's overblown, way too long, insulting to readers. Periodically, authors will take well-known and well-developed characters and move them to a new and "out of the comfort zone" setting. That keeps a series fresh, and adds a new perspective to the character. In this case, the crime scene and investigation moved to Italy, where Italian police procedure is quite different from that normally expected in New Scotland Yard. If the author had helped clarify what crime was being investigated by whom and why, we might have been more disposed to follow along. As it is, a non-crime occurs when Barbara's next door neighbor, little Hadiyyah Azhar is taken by her mother to Italy without the father's knowledge or permission. Let's remember that Daddy is not on the birth certificate, is not married to mommy, and in fact not only has this paragon of fatherly virtue (as far as Havers is concerned) never divorced his first wife, he's had no contact with her OR his TWO OTHER CHILDREN in over a year. Barbara Havers is stuck in London, working for a new boss (not Lynley) and is frantic to get to Italy to "help".
At least in the beginning, we get vintage Havers - impulsive, slovenly, damn-the-torpedoes, misguided, and in this book, totally blinded to her own motivation. Thomas Lynley is nearly an afterthought throughout this book. If he hadn't spoken Italian, he'd have almost no part in the story, except to be starting what appears to be a new romance with a roller-derby veterinarian.
The plot is contrived, the dialogue is stilted and very difficult to follow since the author has entire paragraphs of words spoken in Italian WITH NO TRANSLATION. This is a language I can usually follow along thanks to my grandmother, but the excessive use of Italian was way over the top. I found myself constantly going to translation tools because I wasn't comfortable enough with my assumptions to feel sure I understood what was happening, and whether it was important or not. (And if it wasn't important, it sure didn't need to be in a book that was over 700 pages long). I guess we're supposed to feel the frustration Havers feels at not being able to understand the language, but all I felt was frustration that the story was being hijacked by the author's showing off her supposed knowledge of the language, and dragging us along for about 200 pages too much.
There are so many plot lines and sub-plots that I got dizzy trying to keep up. Is it kidnapping? Is it a custody fight? Later is it murder? And who's working the case? And who's responsible?
The book is even worse in audio.....usually one of my favorite formats. I had the large heavy and awkward print version that was driving me crazy and decided to download the audio to see if Davina Porter - normally one of my favorite narrators -could help make more sense of this mess. That was a horrible mistake. Ms. Porter's very clear, clipped and normally understandable British accent does not do well at all with Italian...it was absolutely painful to hear. I constantly had to stop the audio to go to the print to see what on earth she thought she was saying in Italian.
There is so much not to like about this book....the choices all the characters make,the stereotyped sleaziness of the characters, the convoluted plot(s), the implausible and almost incredible (meaning NOT credible) ending - one of those "Oh, I guess I need to wrap this up because I have a deadline and it is getting a tad bit long." In addition, this really should have been at least two, and probably three books. Maybe that's a good thing if you're a fan. You can purchase an entire trilogy for the price of one book.
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LibraryThing member Stevil2001
For three years now, I've read an Inspector Lynley novel every four months... finally I've caught up! Sometimes I wonder if it's really been worth it-- there have been some awful ones-- but Just One Evil Act is somewhere in the middle. It has a number of distinct phases: 1) Barbara Havers's
It's all really there for part 3, the real meat of the book-- how far will Havers go? She makes choices that make you yell at the book, but George knows her character: they're all perfectly plausible ones. It's well written, and a great mystery even pops up. But man.. why's it got to take so long to get to the point of the great mystery? The thing about George is that even if you only get half of a good book, her books are so long that that's still more good writing than you might get out of a complete novel by another writer.
(Also, seriously, George needs to stop talking about computers, because no matter how much research she does, she just comes across like my grandmother trying to use facebook.)
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neighbor Hadiyyah is "kidnapped" by her mother, 2) Hadiyyah is actually kidnapped and Lynley is sent to Italy to investigate, and 3) Havers crosses the line helping Hadiyyah's dad and Lynley debates intervention. Part 1 is a necessary prologue, but part 2 is just dead boring. As far as I can tell, Lynley never even actually investigates anything, he just talks to Italian policeman and magistrates while Havers tries to help from the UK. There are also long scenes where all of the dialogue is in Italian. How is that even narratively justifiable? Oh God, it was painful. It's George's wheel-spinning narratives at their worst, and it all could have been handled much more quickly because it's not the actual point of the novel.It's all really there for part 3, the real meat of the book-- how far will Havers go? She makes choices that make you yell at the book, but George knows her character: they're all perfectly plausible ones. It's well written, and a great mystery even pops up. But man.. why's it got to take so long to get to the point of the great mystery? The thing about George is that even if you only get half of a good book, her books are so long that that's still more good writing than you might get out of a complete novel by another writer.
(Also, seriously, George needs to stop talking about computers, because no matter how much research she does, she just comes across like my grandmother trying to use facebook.)
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LibraryThing member dooney
Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George was both fascinating and at times painful to read. It could easily have been subtitled "The unravelling of Barbara Havers" and unravel she does. A tightly wound bundle of denial, anger, fear, loss and recklessness, Havers comes dangerously close to losing
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everything and completely antagonizing the few friends who have stood by her. And yet I found a certain amount of resolution in this novel, at least in the end. Nothing was completely new here; both Lynley and Havers have been through tough times and Barbara, rather rightly or wrongly has felt betrayed by Lynley for a long while, although this betrayal was unintentional and probably not even reognized by Lynley or acknowledged by Havers. In fact there have been signs throughout the last few novels that Havers was spiralling out of control and it is a sign of George's mastery to have managed this long, convoluted saga with Haddiyah and Azarh so well. In the end I'd like to hope that Havers and Lynley are both beginning to heal now, although I'll also admit I wouldn't mind seeing Salvatore lo Bianco again either. Show Less
LibraryThing member librarian1204
I liked this book very much probably because I have read all of the Lynley series. I feel like I know these characters and have spent many hours with them. ( the books get longer and longer.) So although this may not be the best in the series it moved the story forward and gave Havers the lead role
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one again. Havers is hard to like period but in this book she is really hard to like. Much of the story is set in Italy and Ms George uses her knowledge of the Italian language to give readers a hard time in places. A word here and there may be known to many readers but when sentences are added to sentences, it gets to be trying. I eventually decided not to fret but just to keep reading and hope it all made sense in the end. Looking up every word would have seriously destroyed the context. All in all , as usual, I can't wait for what comes next. Show Less
LibraryThing member Gingermama
While I enjoyed the story, for the most part, at 719 pages this was 200-300 pages too long. And I can understand including a line or two in Italian to set a scene, but the extended passages in that language were distracting and frustrating.
LibraryThing member diana.hauser
I enjoy Elizabeth George's books thoughly - on every level - plot, mystery, characters, sense of place/location. I have read every title many times. I consider E George a brilliant mystery writer.
WHAT CAME BEFORE HE SHOT HER haunts me still and remains one of the most tragic stories I have ever
My only reservation is that I am getting tired of the Barbara Havers character. She is becoming more and more
unbelievable as a real character. Her puppy dog adoration of her neighbor, Taymullah Azhar, which resulted in her being an accomplice to a crime committed by him is a bit unbelievable to me, considering she is an accomplished police officer. Inspector Lynley also seemed a 'weakened' character in this particular book.
The twists and turns in the plot made this book for me, in spite of the characters.
WHAT CAME BEFORE HE SHOT HER haunts me still and remains one of the most tragic stories I have ever
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read.My only reservation is that I am getting tired of the Barbara Havers character. She is becoming more and more
unbelievable as a real character. Her puppy dog adoration of her neighbor, Taymullah Azhar, which resulted in her being an accomplice to a crime committed by him is a bit unbelievable to me, considering she is an accomplished police officer. Inspector Lynley also seemed a 'weakened' character in this particular book.
The twists and turns in the plot made this book for me, in spite of the characters.
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LibraryThing member CLStern
another series i love, always like catching up with old friends.
LibraryThing member NoelleGreene
Enjoyed this book as much as others in the series.
LibraryThing member VictoriaJZ
I get a bit tired of Barbara's slovenliness == all the cigarettes make me sick and her food choices and diet do likewise = it's a bit over the top. Plus she does seem a bit unhinged in this one. I found it interesting, especially the Italian detective and the descriptions of Italian life and also
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the chemical/e-coli issues. But really lost patience with Barbara's zooming around mindlessly. Show Less
LibraryThing member JanicsEblen
I enjoyed this book - but not as much as others she has written. I would like to see a return to Linley being more of the focus and less of Barbara Havers gone wild story line. The use of so much Italian was annoying to me. IF you are writing a book for international reading - I do not feel you
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should use a language that not everyone in your reading public will understand. Show Less
LibraryThing member hobbitprincess
I have read all of the Inspector Lynley novels so far, and I found that this one is about in the middle of the pack as far as how much I liked it. I didn't become as involved with the mystery portion of it as I have in some of the books. I did squirm through the book as I read of Barbara
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self-destructing since I find her the most interesting character. I do not believe, however, that Scotland Yard would put up with as much as she dishes out in reality. I enjoyed the book as being part of the greater whole, but I do hope the next one will be a bit more interesting to me. Show Less
LibraryThing member idiotgirl
A very complicated book. Lynley and Havers are going at things separately. And we have an Italian detective in the mix. Novel begins at the point I was thinking it might end. Even more fun since I now know that George writes here on the island. This was a fun read.