Deception on His Mind by Elizabeth George Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Deception on His Mind
Book Review: One of George's best!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of Elizabeth George's best novels, and I've read all of them. She takes on a tricky subject here, race relations between Indian/Pakistani immigrants and the white residents of small-town England, and is able to show how they play out not only in terms of the civilian population but also within the police establishment. And she does all this in the context of a Lynley-Havers mystery that will keep you guessing until the end!
I won't give away the ending for those who haven't read it, but I will say that you NEED to read this book to understand fully the novels that come after it, as Barbara Havers suffers the consequences of her actions at the end of this one for quite a long time....
Book Review: One of her best
Summary: 5 Stars
I like this book of hers because the main character is Sergeant Havers, instead of Lynley, Helen, Deborah, and Simon. Don't get me wrong, I think they are good chracters but after so many books it gets boring. Also she includes a bit of her past. This was the first of her books I read and I throughly enjoyed it. After reading it I rushed out to get the rest of her books and read them as fast as possible. I think her writing style is superb and that she has a great narritive quality. I didn't like the fact that everybody on the book but Havers was prejudiced, but the book is still very good. I am also happy that she is writing more about Azhar and Hadyyiah, they are a good addition to this book. She seems to have reseached in preparation of the book intensively and makes it believble. She weaves a good plot and develops her characters very well. The ending was a bit of a surprise but I had a vague premonition of what it might be. Overall, a good, long read that is truly gratifying.Book Review: One of her best.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read all of Elizabeth George's books and this one stands out as the best. She is a very good mystery writer. I love her books because it takes me so long to read them. I can usally devour a book in a day or two but these books always take me at least a week and a half or so. Her writing style is similar to Anne Rice's in that it is very descriptive and minute. She can take one moment in time and make it last 3 or 4 pages. Some people don't like this sort of writing, calling it flowery and over descriptive but I love detailed character studies of people that show their motivations, thoughts, feelings, etc... leading up to the showdown moment fraught with tension when Lynley and Havers almost always foil the bad(?) guys. The only thing is, by the time you read all this about these characters, there are no black and white, bad or good, just human beings trying to get through their lives.
If you want a GOOD long mystery that slowly and surely draws you into peoples lives, then pick up any of Ms. George's novels.
Book Review: One of the Series' Best
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read all of the George mysteries, and this is definitely one of my favorites. I'm happy to see the focus on Havers rather than the unexciting relationship between Lynley and Helen, and I love Taymullah's character. Can't wait for the next one!Book Review: One of the best
Summary: 5 Stars
This novel is one of the best in the entire series (seond only to "A Traitor To Memory", which is my favourite.)Lynley is gone from the plot, and i did not miss him at all!!! Barbara more than sustains interest throughout the entire book on her character alone. I didnt ONCE think..."I wish Lynley were here." To exclude him was just to induce us to love Barbara Havers even more. She is a more than worthy lead character. Incredibly human, and incredibly likeable. Her actions at the end of the book just endear us to her even more. She is SO human, she acts in the way we want all fictional characters to act. We want them to banish their starched professionalism and self-restraint. We want them to loose their cool, their temper. We want them to show human weakness. we want them to act as we are willing them to. All so often, the characters don't, which leads to frustration. This is the only book i have yet read in which i was so utterly delighted with the decisions of the character, and in turn the author.
Barbara's human actions just make her seem so real. Brilliant.
The plot is very good...filled with intrigue and puzzling actions, on behalf of almost every single character concerned. They ALL, at some point, seem to be up to something sinister. The characters are drawn very well (sometimes she overdoes character development, leading to unnecesasriness.)
The racial issues are written about incredibly well. With realism, and empathy towards both sides. She does not live in Britain, but she does have a good grasp of the racial clashes which occur in Britain.
However, as with several of her previous books, this is at least 100 pages too long. It sometimes feels drawn out and bloated. Some heavy editing would not at all reduce the effectiveness of the book as the whole. Everything would still be as taut and well written, well developed. But without things which the book doesnt need.
So, this is a near-perfect murder mystery, if only it was reduced in size. (I believe it is George's longest book in the series so far.)