In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner by Elizabeth George Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner
Book Review: Perhaps her best - but aren't they all?
Summary: 5 Stars
I find it aggravating when I discover that an Elizabeth George novel is awarded four stars by the readers, and then find that some forgettable, superficial 210-page mystery by someone else is classified as a five-star work. It shows that the "star" system has some deficiencies, because those formulaic genre mysteries (and I enjoy them as much as anyone) can't be mentioned in the same breath as George's work.If you haven't read an Elizabeth George novel before, then this isn't the one to start with. At the very least, you need to read "Deception On His Mind" first. (I really believe that everybody should start with her first Lynley/Havers novel, "A Great Deliverance", and read them all in sequence, but I have to accept that some people may not be that ambitious or as fervent an admirer of Ms. George as I am!)
The long-simmering conflict between Havers and Lynley takes center stage in this novel. In order to accentuate the conflict, George has Lynley acting even more rigidly than usual, while Havers becomes even more impulsive. Masterful writer that she is, George uses the conflict between the two of them to make the mystery itself even more complex and interesting than usual.
The bare outlines of the story are that two murders are committed one night in an isolated area of a moor. One victim is the daughter of a retired Scotland Yard detective of Lynley's acquaintance; the other is a young man who aspired to be an artist but actually made his living distributing the business cards of prostitutes to phone booths and other public places. At the beginning the two victims seem to have no connection to each other, but we soon learn that the daughter had been living a double life, and was a highly paid dominatrix in London. There is, of course, an ample supply of suspects and motives. George handles both the mystery and the relationship between Havers and Lynley masterfully. And George has not forgotten the relationship between Havers and her Pakistani neighbor family that was so central to "Deception on his Mind". Although that relationship occupies only a few pages of this book, it is still perhaps the most emotionally moving part of the story.
In sum, this is another memorably wonderful Elizabeth George novel. I hope she never, never stops writing them.
Book Review: A solid enjoyable read
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the first George book I've read. I hope it won't be my last. You can read the other reviews to find out the basic plot/premise, but I will say that it is at least interesting enough to keep you turning the pages to find out what is going to happen next. And that's the most important thing in a murder mystery isn't it?? The only dissappointments were that I thought a couple situations (like how they found the coat) a little unbelievable and the ending seemed a little to neat and tidy after being led up to it for 650+ pages. But other than that, the book was a good, fun read.Book Review: Too long
Summary: 3 Stars
I stuck with all 594 pages of "In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner" because I figured the end must be fabulous to justify the long slow pace of the book. It wasn't worth it.The book is the story of the search for the killer of two young people. Scotland Yard and the local police are working on different facets of the case, and we are fed the clues and facts they collect in a painstakingly slow manner.
Book Review: EG at her best
Summary: 5 Stars
This is by far my favorite Elizabeth George mystery. Her characters are complex and flawed, but they do grow and learn from their behavior. Havers is beginning to realize that her defeatist attitude affects her relationships with her co-workers and leads to much unfair prejudice on her part. To that end pairing her with Winston Nkata was brilliant. I wonder what will happen between Havers and Azhar. The moments between them are so wonderful, and Havers' friendship with the sweet and charming little Hiddyah is just beautiful. George did an excellent job of handling of secondary characters and story lines, especially the Julian-Samantha relationship. I would love to know how she conducted her research on the S&M scene. This book is full of terrific moments and altogether makes up a terrifc book.Book Review: Worth the wait!
Summary: 5 Stars
I love Elizabeth George's books, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. I wasn't disappointed either. A sign to me that a book is very good is when I get emotionally involved with the characters, and I found myself actually getting angry with Lynley and with Havers as they struggled to resolve their moral conflict. I also waited with anticipation to see how George would tie together the prologue with the murder investigation as the story unfolded.