Mystery spins web through Italy, Britain
Amanda Knox case echoes through latest mystery
Just One Evil Act Elizabeth George Dutton Adult
Bestselling mystery author Elizabeth George is back with another — very lengthy! — Lynley case. This time, the author sends Inspector Thomas Lynley to Italy to solve the disappearance of Barbara Havers’ young neighbour, Hadiyyah, that was set up at the surprising end of her last novel, Believing the Lie, which came out in 2012.
Living in Washington state, it’s likely that George followed the case of Amanda Knox, a Seattle resident who was living in Italy as a student when she was charged and convicted of killing her roommate Meredith Kercher.
Knox spent four years in jail, but the conviction was later overturned in a controversial trial that alleged a forced confession and other questionable investigative tactics.
Her acquittal has now been appealed and she is being retried again in absentia because she returned to Seattle as soon as she was released from jail.
It seems to me that Knox’s story has influenced George’s latest mys- tery, given the shenanigans that occur among the Italian police and legal system in the book.
It also seems to me that George must be studying Italian — Just One Evil Act is sprinkled throughout with Italian phrases and conversation, which makes it a departure from her earlier books.
George recognizes these influences in her acknowledgments, and those of us who love Italy — count me in — will find the references fascinating. Fans of Lynley’s partner, the haphazard and unkempt — but wellmeaning — Havers will also love this mystery because Havers takes a starring role.
Lynley’s friends Simon and Deborah, as well as his erstwhile lover and alcoholic boss Isabelle Ardery, take a lesser role in this 723-page mystery focused on Havers’ neighbour Taymullah Azhar and his missing daughter, Hadiyyah.
Havers stands by her friend Azhar despite questionable details that emerge that suggest he may be more involved in the events in Italy than it appears. Lynley also stands by his longtime partner Havers, but is pressed as her behaviour grows more and more problematic and dubious, and the tension between Havers and Ardery grows.
In the meantime, Lynley’s getting to know Daidre Trahair, who first appeared in 2008’s Careless in Red when Lynley broke into her house on the remote English coastline. She is now responsible for fostering Lynley’s growing interest in roller derby, of all things.
Azhar turns out to have another family hidden away in London, and his former partner and Hadiyyah’s mother, Angelina Upman, is revealed to have been a woman of many lovers who was often involved in multiple affairs at the same time.
This mystery includes kidnapping, a possible murder, London’s tabloid press, cyberspying, all things Italian as well as the usual Elizabeth George intrigue, conflict and suspense.
George has a master’s degree in psychology, and it shows in all of her novels, the first of which was 1988’s A Great Deliverance, which won France’s Le Grand Prix de Literature Policiere and was also nominated for the Edgar and the Macavity Awards. George has also won the Anthony Award and the Agatha Award, and her novels have been filmed for TV by the BBC.
After 18 Lynley mysteries, George continues to mix things up and keep her storyline fresh with her complex and lovable characters. Although Just One Evil Act requires a major time commitment, George’s fans and new readers will be glad they stuck around.