Product Description

The shocking conclusion of Elizabeth George’s previous bestseller, WITH NO ONE AS WITNESS, saw the wife of New Scotland Yard's Thomas Lynley gunned down in the street outside her home. Under arrest for the crime is a twelve-year-old boy, Joel Campbell. What possible motive could he have? What chain of events could have led such a child from the housing estates of North Kensington to the elegant streets of Belgravia with such deadly intent? The answer to these questions is a complex mixture of fate and circumstance. Abandoned (albeit involuntarily) by his parents, Joel and two siblings are dumped on the doorstep of his aunt’s house. Kendra, childless and with two marriages behind her, is doing her best to turn her life around; responsibility for three troubled children is not what she had in mind. Drugs, neglect, violence and poverty are commonplace in North Kensington. Joel does his best to look out for his family, but that involves a Faustian pact. And the Devil will have his pay.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51319 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 656 pages

Review
'Elizabeth George takes a brave descent into the world of gangs and teenage murderers . . . the novel shows how even the best of intentions can be defeated by poverty, bad breaks and bad guys.' (Daily Express )

'Why haven't I read Elizabeth George before? Maybe because someone told me she was a serious crime writer, and I listen to thrillers to escape, not to think. All this will change; she's brilliant' (Sue Arnold, Guardian )

'George's best since her 1998 debut. Read it and weep.' (Kirkus Reviews )

'Absolutely remarkable and a great achievement' (Boyd Hilton on BBC Radio FiveLive )

'A very powerful novel.' (Kate Mosse )

'It shifts the way you look at things – I was completely drawn into this world I knew nothing about and I’m full of admiration' (Sarah Harrison )

About the Author
Elizabeth George is the author of highly acclaimed novels of psychological suspense. Her first novel, A GREAT DELIVERANCE, was honoured with the Anthony and Agatha Best First Novel awards in America and received the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière in France; WELL-SCHOOLED in Murder was awarded the prestigious German prize for international mystery fiction, the MIMI (1990). Her novels have now been adapted for television by the BBC. An Edgar and Macavity Nominee as well as a New York Times and international bestselling author, Elizabeth George divides her time between Langley, Washington and Kensington, London.

Customer Reviews

This is NOT a Lynley/Havers mystery, BUT...
It is, essentially, the anatomy of a murder. It describes the events leading up to the conclusion of E. George's last work "With No One As Witness", however the connection starts taking shape only towards the end of this book. As an E. George's fan and after having enjoyed all the Lynley/Havers mysteries, I was truly looking forward to find out some answers to the unexpected and tragic ending of her previous book, but the more I read, the more my eagerness became deflated. Simply, I had mistakenly expected a sequel, and this is not it.

However, my feelings were not hurt, so to speak, as it is also true that the more I read, the more I appreciated the story line, which I would define, at this point, essential for the understanding -or, at least, for coming to terms- with what had happened previously. This is a well written tale of a dysfunctional and troubled family in North Kensington, London. As usual, I have appreciated and enjoyed the author's ever-present deep psychological insights. Also, the inclusion of slang language dialogues, where needed, represents the main characters vividly and real-life-like. Some descriptions and situations resulting from impossibly hard and complicated circumstances are simply heartbreaking.

I would categorize this book almost as a statement about those people born into less fortunate families and backgrounds. It is a work of fiction and simultaneously a sad reminder of how things can go wrong in real life if proper support lacks in many ways, for reasons that may commonly be considered avoidable but are, more often than not, beyond control, despite the well meaning efforts made by most people (some families themselves, authorities etc.) to avoid degeneration and degradation.
Conspiracy of silence and exterior toughness as means of survival dominate the scene but, predictably, they do not lead to definite/satisfactory/proper solutions but rather contribute towards the perpetuation of a cycle hard to break. Easier said than done, for both fictitious and nonfictional events.

I am now most definitely anticipating E. George's next Lynley/Havers book, "Careless in Red", which should be the "real" sequel to "With No One As Witness". It will be available next May (I've just checked!).

An interesting, if depressing, book
I've never been much of a fan of Elizabeth George. In her early books, her usual central characters came across as too stuck up (Linley) or too much of an inverted snob (Havers) for their own good.

In this book, George moves away from Linley and Havers to a book that can be best described as one that examines the 'psychology of a murderer.' In a previous book, Linley's wife was killed by a 12 year old. In this book we find out how the child came to murder someone.

It's a depressing book, if a little far fetched. It deals with the unremitting horrors that some kids have to see, and that's often unpleasant reading. The book is also a little strange, in that it seems to want to excuse the child for what he did, when for most of the book he could have stepped back and said 'No thanks, not for me.'

The twist in the tail is rather clever and was one I didn't see coming, which is a change for me. I can usually spot them coming a mile off these days. The unexpected twist made it worthwhile for me to read the book I think and might cause you to enjoy it too..

Thought He'd Never Shoot Her!!
I'll be honest, I've gone off Elizabeth George's books over the years, mainly becuase her characters are such stereotypes - stereotypical English Toffs in Inspector Lynley and his friends (and most of all his wife - was I the only one glad to see her go?), stereotypical 'commoners' in Barbara Havers. And what is worse her Toffs are so anacronistic - did she steal them from Agatha Christie?

So I approached this book with some degree of pleasure - something different. But blimey, don't it go on!? I got to the point where I didn't care what happened - it could easily have lost 200 pages (almost plucked at randum since it felt that the same things kept happening over and over again)

And more stereotypes! This time stereotypical black Londoners - do they really all say "innit" at the end of ever sentence?

I'm sure that if I had been anywhere other than stuck on an Air India flight from New York with nothing else to read and only Asian films available to watch, I would have given up on this after 100 pages or so.

Massive disappointment!!