With No One as Witness

Starred review from February 21, 2005
Acting Supt. Thomas Lynley and Det. Constable Barbara Havers face their most challenging and perilous case yet—the linked murders of four youths, three of black or mixed parentage—in bestseller George's absorbing 13th British police procedural (after 2003's A Place of Hiding
). Crime fans will find plenty of forensic minutiae and details of police bureaucracy and politics, but it's characterization at which George really excels. The up-and-down career of Havers is at low ebb following her demotion from sergeant to constable, and her rocky personal life doesn't make that easier to bear. Lynley's professional life has become more difficult due to the continued absence of Supt. Malcolm Webberly and the need to deal directly with Asst. Commissioner David Hillier. The tension builds as the brutal serial killings continue and the pressure to solve them mounts. George expertly uses every device in the book from red herrings to blind alleys, from subtle twists to swift shocks. This is an outstanding and explosive addition to a popular series. Agent, Robert Gottlieb. 9-city author tour.

November 15, 2004
Slashed, naked, and dead: these teenaged boys are telling Scotland Yard that a serial killer is at large. A one-day laydown and an eight-city author tour.

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2005
Over the past three months, three adolescent boys have been killed in London. The victims are black or of mixed racial heritage, and neither the police nor the press has taken much interest in the cases. However, when the fourth victim is white, the detectives at New Scotland Yard suddenly recognize that they are dealing with a serial killer and that they have a potential media nightmare on their hands. After taking a backseat to other characters in George's past few mysteries (e.g., A Place of Hiding), Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers return, along with detective Winston Nkata. Their task: to find the killer targeting boys enrolled in a program for at-risk youth. This is George at the top of her form; the story is well plotted and suspenseful, and some absorbing developments occur in the lives of her sleuths. George's many fans will love this one. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 11/15/04.] -Jane la Plante, Minot State Univ. Lib., ND

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2005
Issues of racism within the police are brought to the fore when the ritualistic murder of a teenage boy is linked to the deaths of three other youths. It's clear there's a serial killer at work, and New Scotland Yard is called in to solve the case and quell accusations of police prejudice. Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley has his hands full----not only with finding the murderer but also with ensuring that volatile Barbara Havers doesn't further damage her career. Then there's the matter of keeping an eye on a tabloid reporter and a profiler whom intractable Assistant Commissioner Hillier has foisted on the team. Veteran thriller writer George, an American, is as at home with the social dynamics of the seedier parts of London as she is with the multidimensional personalities of Lynley and his colleagues (Winston Nkata, in particular, really comes into his own here). This is a riveting installment in a superb series--far more than just plain good. It's also a turning point for the series as George makes some bold, surprising decisions that permanently change the lives of the characters her fans have come to know.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)