With No One As Witness by
Elizabeth George
pbk out December 05
(Hodder)
at £6.99
Elizabeth George has delivered another doorstop-sized page-turner, the 13th about posh, aristocratic Tommy Lynley and his plain, working-class sidekick Barbara Havers - the latter streets frumpier and even more bloody-minded than her current TV incarnation.
This very odd couple are farther apart in rank than usual as Lynley is Acting Superintendent while Havers has been demoted to Detective Constable; together they face the twin challenges of ghastly Assistant Commisssioner David Hillier (power- and status- conscious and with no time for one maverick, let alone two) and a series of dreadful paedophile murders. The connection between the young murder victims is Colossus, a South London centre for disaffected and borderline criminal boys; there are internal tensions here which hinder the investigation, while at Scotland Yard Hillier actually obstructs it as he overrules Lynley and interferes at every turn. Most of the boys are of mixed race, and Hillier uses the newly-promoted Detective Sergeant Winston Nkata to deflect any suggestion that the Metropolitan Police are not giving the murders the highest priority.
These novels are extremely popular, and deservedly so - they are dramatic and exciting, challenging and intriguing to read. Yet there are flaws - odd little inconsistencies, incidents which really stretch credulity, and more seriously the transcription of casual speech which aims at realism but which simply jars and is, in truth, unnecessary.
The usual cast of Lynley’s & Havers’ respective family, friends and neighbours is also present - by their angst shall we know them. But this book is darker, more sombre, and infinitely more tragic than any of is predecessors. And it begs many questions for the future - for example, what of book number 14?
With No One As Witness by
Elizabeth George
