THE
OTHER SIDE OF LONDONOrlando Sentinel (Florida)
THE
OTHER SIDE OF LONDON
British writer Elizabeth George always can be relied on to produce
multilayered stories that focus on more than just crime and punishment while
providing seductive glimpses of the inbred lifestyles and prejudices of the
English upperclasses.
In With No One As Witness (Harper Collins, $26.95), the aristocratic Scotland
Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley and his distinctly working-class sergeant Barbara
Havers deal with race relations, love, loss, grief, loyalty and blind ambition.
Someone is targeting black youths, laying their bodies out in a ritual manner at
different spots across London. At first no one links the deaths, but when the
killer chooses a white boy as a victim the case finally makes headlines.
Lynley is named to head the investigation, along with a black detective
sergeant, Winston Nkata, who suspects and resents that he has been assigned to
the case to quell accusations of racism being leveled at Scotland Yard's
hierarchy.
In a questionable bid to win favorable publicity, Lynley's boss decides to allow
a journalist from a popular London daily to be "embedded" with the investigative
team. It is a move that infuriates the killer and results in tragic consequences
for Lynley.
At 630 pages, George's novel is not a quick read. Each character is developed
with care and skill, building tensions, many of which have nothing to do with
the killings. Lynley, for instance, is also dealing with his inept boss and
helping his wife, Lady Helen, prepare for the birth of their first child.
In With No One as Witness, George provides plenty to ponder as she explores some
of London's toughest districts far from the tourist delights of Bond Street and
Mayfair. But nothing in George's novel is more powerful than the painful
conclusion.
Copyright 2005 Sentinel Communications Co.