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

Not a Fan Anymore!

I used to put the Lynley novels at the top of my wish list, and couldn't wait to grab the latest book as soon as it was out. Not any more! The book prior to "Just One Evil Act" - "Believing the Lie" - was such a disappointment that I returned it and got my credit back (Thank you Audible!) as soon as I was done. "Believing the Lie" was full of "unbelievable" subplots and distractions, Lynley's behavior was totally out of character, and Barbara Havers was barely in the story at all. I thought "Believing the Lie" would be my last Lynley, but when I saw that "Just One Evil Act" featured Barbara Havers and sounded much more like the familiar solid plots of the earlier books in the series - I took a chance, hoping to be rewarded with the excellent story-telling that Elizabeth George is capable of. Nope. Anyone who knows the series knows that Lynley's wife was killed off in a senseless murder several books ago. Now it seems that George is equally determined to kill off (figuratively speaking) the rest of her main characters by having them behave in ways that completely contradict their personalities that developed as the series progressed. Barbara Havers had never been portrayed as stupid, yet in this book she does one unbelievably stupid thing after another. Emotional attachment is a fine motive for poor decisions, but Havers' behavior in this book makes her seem like a complete idiot. Lynley has been a deeply troubled soul, but also not stupid. His brains, like Havers, have gone by the wayside in the past two books and he, too, behaves like a cardboard caricature of his former self. Add to this the fact that "Just One Evil Act" is about twice as long as it needs to be, and George arrogantly inserts entire conversations in Italian that are not translated for the reader who expects the book to be in English - and I was left with the distinct impression that the author no longer cares what her readers think. I'm sure her books will continue to sell based on hype and past reputation, but for anyone who read the series when it was truly good, this descent into mediocrity is painful. I can easily overlook a book or two in a series that aren't quite as good as some - anyone can have a slump - but the last few books in this series have been a downward plummet as opposed to a temporary slump. If this had been the first book in the series I read - I would never have read another one. If you read the reviews on Amazon you'll see lots of 1 and 2 star reviews from former fans of the series - I wish I'd read them before I wasted my time on this lengthy slog. I'm done with this series. There are so many better books out there.

A Fan Departs

I have followed Elizabeth George's Linley/Havers series since the very first book, and I have been a fan.

"Just One Evil Act" will be my last adventure with these two detectives.

I will try in this review to avoid any spoilers for those who will still want to try this book (as I did). In this listening experience I was left with several mysteries of my own. How many of us who have been acquainted with Barbara Havers all these years can believe that her reaction to being used and betrayed by a good friend would lead her to protect that friend? Our prickly, hotheaded, emotionally self-protective, untrusting Barbara?

Who could accept that the demanding new head "Gov" at Scotland Yard would overlook again and again dereliction of duty, lying, and actual law breaking? And, alas, who would have thought that this fan could actually find herself fed up with the actions and stupidity of a favorite character?

"Just One Evil Act" is simply too, too long. And I didn't believe it.

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.

A huge disappointment

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The book was not up to par with the other books in this series. I struggled to finish it and I usually look forward to George's books.

What was most disappointing about Elizabeth George’s story?

The whole storyline was tedious. The characters were uninteresting and the regular characters were doing things "out of character" and made the story a bit far fetched to this reader. The move to Italy and the kidnapping was an uninteresting plot for a Lindley book. Also, the book opened with Inspector Lindley at a roller derby ring; and, he was there because he's a a crush or love interest in one the roller derby skaters. Did I forget to mention that he's an Earl. Oh my, all the things that made him interesting when he was wooing his deceased wife Deborah made this a very disappointing read. I'm not very interested in the direction the characters are taking.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The reading was fine; the book was uninteresting.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment

Any additional comments?

I will not buy the next book. Very sad, because I really did enjoy this series.

I don't speak Italian

What could Elizabeth George have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Less Italian language, much less of Havers flaunting any reasonable police procedure without seeming consequences

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

Lynley

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Just One Evil Act?

about 1/2

Any additional comments?

I have enjoyed E. George's books for years. This book and the one with Freudinger's cat were both far beyond a good mystery read - more like a college class for which I had not taken the introductory course.

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.

Running out of Steam

I have been a fan of Elizabeth George and her main characters, Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers, for many, many years. But I fear that EG is running out of steam. This book was too long (I can't believe I said that); the ending was facile; and I found the choices some characters made difficult to believe (out of character). I actually found myself drifting off periodically because the story simply didn't hold my interest.

The narrator was excellent.

Perhaps the best ever of Elizabeth George mysterie

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

Many things made this book captivating. I liked the focus on Barbara Havers. I loved that most of the "action" took place in Lucca, Italy. I liked that Lynley had a new love interest. There was just so much about this book that I adored. I liked the new character, Salvatore.

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

When Barbara Havers is up all night trying to figure out what to do next. I won't reveal more as no reader wants to know in advance too many details!

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

Davinia Porter is one of my favorite readers. As I am legally blind and have no option but to listen to books, the reader is key. Ms. Porter is excellent.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Barbara sees Lucca from the rooftop terrace. Also, the various emotional encounters.

Any additional comments?

A brilliant read. I especially enjoyed that the book was not hurried and that it was long. I liked this very much. As always with Ms. George, the characterizations were marvelous. She is such a grand and enjoyable author.

it pains me to say this

How many books were in here? How stupid is Barbara Havers? If you can't stand characters behaving so stupidly that you can't believe they can find their own feet in the morning this book is not for you.

I have read all of the previous Lynley novels. Loved most and liked all.

This one is not for me. If you have little patience for gross stupidity (yes, I know I've already said it but it can't be said enough) then this book isn't for you either. If you like people who screw up and do stupid things - hey, give it a whirl.

I cannot believe that I wasted so many hours of my life on this.

ANOTHER WASTE OF TIME

What is up with Elizabeth George recently? Her last FIVE books have been awful. The hard copy versions can be better used a toilet paper!!! I went back and re-read George's earlier books in this series. Some are several decades old but one can see how much better this author was in her prime. These recent books have convoluted story lines, way too many characters (most forgettable), and all are just too long. The earlier books are abridged and, while I usually hate abridged books, it is the only solution for Elizabeth George's books. She wastes hours with characters pondering, speculating, daydreaming, wondering, analyzing, considering, brooding, reflecting, mulling over, deliberating, cogitating on, puzzling, contemplating, ruminating, musing, dwelling on, reviewing, overthinking, etc., etc., etc.!!! None of which has anything to do with the story. And there's often only one or two murders but it takes George 24 audio hours to wrap the mystery up. Agatha Christie killed off about 10 people in 6 hours in "And Then There Were None"! A much better book, by the way. Several listeners have complained about the abridged versions but they obviously haven't had the torture of listening to 18 hours of minutiae in a 24 hour unabridged Inspector Lynley book. I have read and/or listened to all 18 of this series and I can state unequivocally that the earlier books and the abridged versions are so much better.

As for this one, it's more about DS Barbara Havers than Inspector Thomas Lynley. Personally I think it's time for DS. Havers to have her own series. However, this story has very little to do with New Scotland Yard as Barbara has gone rogue, investigating a domestic "kidnapping" on her own. What makes this book a 1 star effort is because I can't give it NO STARS!!! Once again, George's racism is on full blast, this time directed at a Pakistani chemistry professor whose biggest mistake is impregnating a white woman. The fact that she is as cray-cray as hell is less important than his "brown skin".

Much of the story takes place in Italy. Rather than establish that fact to the reader in the beginning, then express the action and dialogue in English, for some bizarro reason, George wrote these parts in Italian! We are left to guess what is going on! I've read tens of thousands books in my lifetime and I've never come across anything like this! That's why the book is so long - at least 1/3 is in Italian. You need to pay for language lessons from Rosetta Stone to understand this book! Donna Leon's "Commissario Guido Brunetti" series takes place in Venice but we aren't forced to learn both Italian and Venetian in order to enjoy her great crime mystery series.

What the hell is going on with Elizabeth George?!? Even if she's slipping artistically, her editors and publishers, along with Audible.com, should be exercising some kind of quality control. She's only 66 years old but she is writing like someone who is 85 with dementia! I'm 65 and still sharp enough to see that something is very wrong. Elizabeth George has been one of my favorite authors for a very long time. One bad book wasn't enough for me to let her go. But I've just listened to FIVE in her Inspector Lynley series - both early and recent releases. She has seriously dropped the literary ball.......