Just One Evil Act

A Lynley Novel

De: Elizabeth George

Narrado por: Davina Porter

#1 New York Times bestselling author of A Banquet of Consequences Elizabeth George delivers another masterpiece of suspense in her Inspector Lynley series: a gripping child-in-danger story that tests Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers like never before.

Barbara 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 their daughter’s, Hadiyyah’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—at the risk of her own career.

As both Barbara and her partner, Inspector Thomas Lynley, soon discover, the case is far more complex than a typical kidnapping, revealing secrets that could have far-reaching effects outside of the investigation. 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 them.

Reseñas de la Crítica

Praise for Believing the Lie:

"A multiplicity of subplots and a richness of physical detail...The terrain and the weather are objective correlatives to the characters' stormy patches. Meanwhile, the story strands are untied and retied in satisfying and often moving ways." —The Wall Street Journal

"Elizabeth George is a superstar of the crime-fiction world, British Inspector Division. Deservedly so: Her tails always provide nuanced character studies and insights into social issues along with their intricate mysteries." —The Seattle Times

"Devilishly complicated." —Entertainment Weekly

"A dense, twisty plot with characters who reveal the sad spectrum of human dereliction." —People

"George's...ability to continually enhance the portraits of Lynley, Havers, and other recurring characters while generating fully fleshed new ones for each novel is nothing less than superlative, and her atmospheric prose, complete with lovely and detailed descriptions of her setting, combines to add literary gravitas to her work....A worthy addition to her portfolio and one that simultaneously disturbs and satisfies." —Richmond Times-Dispatch

“This is one of her best.” – Daily American on Believing the Lie

“George’s many fans…will be thrilled with this new episode in the lives of her lovable cast of characters.” – Library Journal on Believing the Lie

“Believing the Lie is so fascinating that even at a thundering 606 pages, I wished for at least 10 more.” – Mystery Scene on Believing the Lie

“A worthy addition to her portfolio and one that simultaneously disturbs and satisfies.” – Richmond Times Dispatch on Believing the Lie

“George is a master of interweaving character perspectives to reveal her mysteries” – Sheknows.com on Believing the Lie

“George's strengths--character development, plot twists and shocking tragedy--continue to shine.” – Shelf Awareness on Believing the Lie

“A book of twists, turns and, to be blunt, fantastic writing…A complete A+ for the mystery realm.” – Suspense Magazine on Believing the Lie

“A page-turning plot.” –World Magazine on Believing the Lie

“[Lynley is] one of the great character portraits in contemporary crime fiction.” – The Boston Globe

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?

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

Choose Narrators Wisely!

What made the experience of listening to Just One Evil Act the most enjoyable?

I started listening to this series because of Lynley. Over time, I have found Barbara Havers to be even more interesting. This time, I'll leave a review of the book to others. My comments here concern the narration. Normally, I like Davina Porter. This time, I want to strangle her and I'm not even halfway through the story. A large part of the story takes place in Tuscany, which I was looking forward to. Before we even board the plane, however, Ms. Porter is tossing out mangled Italian words with abandon. The main problem is a misplaced accent, which takes me right out of the story. The latest cringeworthy words are "macchina" (car) and "aspettami" (wait for me). The former word is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable and not the second, which is where Ms. Porter places it; the latter word is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable and not the third. She stresses the wrong syllable in "Jacopo" (Porto San Jacopo). Aha! Someone must have corrected her, because she just pronounced it correctly. This problem of mispronounced words is not restricted to Italian. I have heard it with French, most recently, when a reader pronounced the "grâce" in "coup de grâce" as if it were written "grah." Even native English speakers routinely mispronounce some words; for example, I have never heard a narrator pronounce "primer" correctly. I refer to the primer that is a reader (textbook), which is pronounced as if it were spelled "primmer." Narrators would do themselves, and their listeners, a favor if they checked out Forvo.com before reading books that contain words in a language other than English or, for that matter, books that contain unfamiliar English words.

Barbara Being Barbara

If you could sum up Just One Evil Act in three words, what would they be?

Story Character Development

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

Lynley shows up unexpectedly at Barbara's home.

Which character – as performed by Davina Porter – was your favorite?

I was drawn to the Italian detective, much to my surprise.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Elizabeth George goes international.

Any additional comments?

I thought long and hard before choosing this book because of the reviewers who characterized Barbara as not acting like Barbara. Having finished the book (and I confess that I turned it off only to sleep - sigh!), I wonder whether we read the same novel. Barbara acted exactly like Barbara would in a cruelly intense situation. If a character behaved in a way that was not true to his nature, it was Barbara's neighbor, the professor. I loved this book because of the twists and turns, Isabel's curious choices at the end of the novel, and because I see that there are new paths available to Ms. George as she creates the next novel.

How Havers Hustled

I can't wait to see how this novel affects the character of Havers in the future.

A great read

What did you love best about Just One Evil Act?

An Inspector Lynley novel is always outstanding, and this one was one exception. My favorite character Havers is deeper in trouble than before, and that's no picnic

The Misadventures of Barbars Havers

It was good for BH to be the center of the story, at last, but most of the time I did not believe the lengths she went to. It often felt contrived, plus it was a few plot twists too long.
Davina Porter was amazing in her voicing of ALL characters!