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

Lives up to her standard

The novel is Elizabeth George's mixture of mystery and psychological drama.
The characters are real people , that come to life and live with me while I read the book. Fabian Porter reads well but her Italian accent is attrocious.

Great series

Love inspector Lynley is very human. Detective Barbara, also very human in a different way. They compliment each other which keeps series interesting

well written and well narrated

This story has so many charactersit would be easy to confuse the listener. However Davina Porter is so masterful that each one comes alive with his or her distinct voice. If you are a fan of Elizabeth George Lynley mysteries be aware this novel fo cuses mostly on Barbara Havers.
The trajectory follows one evil act by another and a series of bad if not evil acts by most of the characters. There is a lot of Italian which is not translated but adds to the story as a counter point to the constant miscommunication that occurs between/among all of the characters.

Not a True LYNLEY Novel, but still- - - -

Elizabeth George and her Lynley series have kept me entertained for years--and I was really looking forward to this one. It seemed to run off the track a bit from what is typically expected with Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers solving crimes and bailing each other out of all sorts of situations.

This story is mostly based on Barbara's neighbor, Azhar, and his missing daughter, Hadiyyah. She was taken to Italy by her mother, Angelina.

Barbara jumps in with both feet to help him get Hadiyyah back. Ignoring her superiors orders not to get involved (this is nothing new) she seems to lose all sense of reason and concern for her own life and job this time--and Lynley is not a great deal of help.

One source of frustration in the first half of the book are the Italian phrases which are never translated for the reader, even though I could sort of understand what was being said from the rest of the conversation. Still, it was almost enough to make me stop listening--almost. The second half was much better and after all was said and done, an interesting story.

I haven't given up on this series yet--however--if the next novel doesn't return to some of the flavor of the original Lynley novels, it will probably be my last.

Another excellent book by Elizabeth George

This was the first one of her books I've listened to, instead of read. I really enjoyed Davina Porter's reading. This book focused more on Sargent Havers then on Lynley and was still excellent. Sargent Havers really came into her own and I found myself cheering her on when she was right and cringing when she did some things. (I won't go into detail as I don't want to spoil any of the plot twists for those who haven't listened to it yet.

Elizabeth George is wonderful writer who really crafts how her books flow. I was afraid I would miss that in listening to the book, but that was not the case at all.

I love watching how relationships grow and develop within the book and over the whole series. I'm already looking forward for the next book.

Havers fans will be gratified & gravely skeptical

Did Davina Porter do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

No. She did a great job with Isabelle Audrey (Scottish). The Italians and Azhar (a Pakistani) all sounded a bit Scottish at times. Her attempt to interpret Barbara Havers' speech, that of a working class Londoner, just plain didn't work. Ms. Porter found her character in Isabel Dalhousie, and she should stick to that.

This was a challenging text to read well and was beyond Porter's linguistic skills.

Could you see Just One Evil Act being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

NO. No, please, NO.

No typical Lynley mystery!

Where does Just One Evil Act rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

About midway

What was one of the most memorable moments of Just One Evil Act?

When Lynley makes his last visit with Isabelle Ardrey.

What does Davina Porter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I liked that she provided pronunciation for the Italian and Pakistani words.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no. WAY too long.

Any additional comments?

I got really tired of it and was ready for it to be over.

Great, classic Elizabeth George

This is classic Elizabeth George, perhaps with a bit less Havers than I would prefer (love Havers!). Davina Porter is a wonderful narrator, with one great caveat: if you know even a little bit of Italian this narration will make you want to break something. And, being that a significant part of the plot is set in the Tuscan town of Lucca (Lucca, Ms. Porter, not Luca!!) there is a lot of Italian names, place names, and expressions.

Not the best Lynley book

I've read or listened to almost all of the Lynley series, and this is definitely not the best. In particular, the minor characters are not very likeable, and Barbara Havers—a character I usually love—makes incredibly foolish decisions throughout, making me wish for the end of the book to come sooner.

On the plus side, Davina Porter is excellent as always, giving each character a unique voice and personality.

Not her best

We are generally great fans of Elizabeth George’s Lynley series. This one, however ,drove us crazy, particularly as an audiobook. Barbara Havers’ behavior was maddeningly suicidal, inexplicable even in the context of the story. The novel also had a surfeit of really despicable and dislikable characters. Finally, as much as I like and appreciate Italian for the beautiful and lyrical language that it is, it is difficult to listen to that much of it as a non-Italian speaker on an audiobook.