Just One Evil Act

A Lynley Novel

By: Elizabeth George

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Length: 28 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George offers the latest in her Inspector Lynley series: a gripping child-in-danger story featuring fan favorite Barbara Havers.

Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers is at a loss: The daughter of her friend Taymullah Azhar has been taken by her mother, and Barbara can't really help - Azhar had never married Angelina, and his name isn't on Hadiyyah's, their daughter's, birth certificate. He has no legal claim. Azhar and Barbara hire a private detective, but the trail goes cold.

Azhar is just beginning to accept his soul-crushing loss when Angelina reappears with shocking news: Hadiyyah is missing, kidnapped from an Italian marketplace. The Italian police are investigating, and the Yard won't get involved, until Barbara takes matters into her own hands. As she attempts to navigate the complicated waters of doing anything for the case against her superior's orders, her partner, Inspector Thomas Lynley, is dispatched to Italy as the liaison between the Italian police and Hadiyyah's distraught parents.

In time, both Barbara and Lynley discover that the case is far more complex than just a kidnapping, revealing secrets about Angelina; her new lover, Lorenzo; and even Azhar - secrets Barbara may not be willing to accept. 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.

©2013 Elizabeth George (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Spot On!!!!

As usual it is like being with old friends and their lives ups and downs. Each word letting one feel what they are feeling. Thank you dear author.

,,perhaps the best in the series

everything was excellent. great narrative twists and turns. Putting Barbara Havers in Italy was a brilliat touch. the perormance was outstanding.

Could hardly stop listening !

Barbara Havers is my latest hero! Love the Italy setting and the characters such a passionate mystery

Italy

I enjoyed the Italian action and characters. Havers near hysteria became exhausting but I guess it was critical to advancing the plot. Davina Porter is the best narrator so far for this series.

Endless

I found the storyline hard to follow with its endless to and fro between London and Italy. The love interest story line is preposterous to the point of seeming like satire. Have I just outgrown this series, or has it jumped the shark?

Good, but not up to standards of previous books

I've been feeling increasingly disappointed by Elizabeth George's books. It seems as though there was no such thing as a bad Lynley novel "back in the day." But lately, I find myself wondering if someone else is ghost-writing them for her. It feels like whatever held them together in the beginning--some of the chemistry between the characters, and the coherence of the plots--has slipped a little.

That being said--in fairness felt I should be honest--they are still Lynley and Havers--and I've grown to love them so much over the years that even with a little fading of the original charm, they are still good reads (listens). In this one, we get more of a look at Barbara Havers--unmarried and childless, but who has grown very fond of her little neighbor over the course of several books. She learns with genuine anguish first that the child has been kidnapped by her mother, then that she has simply been kidnapped for real. That's a good plot line--and had many possibilities. But gosh, is the book ever long! Was there an editor on the job here? And then, while I enjoy books that have occasional foreign language comments inserted here & there--in this one (for completely baffling reasons) the author has characters speak whole conversations in Italian (with no translation provided). Someone who speaks the language might have really liked that--I don't, and I didn't.

Davina Porter is a wonderful narrator--yet she lacked something in reading this. I imagined that even she didn't know what to do with the book. And, just to be clear--I am saying some things that another reader might want to know about before deciding on purchasing this book. But I still enjoyed it--as it is a (weaker) but still excellent read, due to the fact that the whole series, with the development of characters up till now, carries this book in ways that a stand-alone novel could not have done on it's own.

I hope that Eliz George will be reading the comments of her long & faithful fans, and maybe do some better editing of the next Lynley novel--which even though this one was not quite up to par--I still anticipate with pleasure.

One of her best

I loved it! It could have been a bit shorter but the story, with all its twists and turns, kept me intensely engaged throughout. And, as always, Davina Porter was magnificent.

Very good story but…

This was an excellent story but would have benefited from better editing because the book dragged in places despite the clever plotting.

Spectacular

Pay no attention to those who say they're disappointed in this addition to the series. It's one of the best.

Elizabeth George....still provides interesting !

Better than some reviews indicated. Totally interesting experience as usual with Elizabeth George!! Enjoy! Barbara!!!