In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner (Hardcover)

Award winning novelist Elizabeth George (A Great Deliverance, Well-Schooled in Murder) returns with In Pursuit of a Proper Sinner, her 10th instalment in the Lynley-Havers series. Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley has his work cut out for him: two mutilated corpses are found in a prehistoric stone circle in Derbyshire. One is the daughter of Lynley's former mentor Andy Maiden.

What's more, the Inspector's partner Barbara Havers has been suspended and is facing criminal charges of assault and attempted murder. Was Havers really saving a drowning child or was she disobeying orders? Why then did she fire a rifle at the Detective Chief Inspector and how could Lynley ethically justify it? As he grapples with the ramifications of his partner's radical insubordination, the case in Derbyshire grows in daunting complexity.

Once again, Elizabeth George delivers an intricately woven plot which efficiently navigates the reader through the book's 566 pages. Along the way, readers will be introduced to a delightful cast of supporting characters, from the dowdy Phoebe who finds the first gory cadaver to the stately Andy Maiden: "His face was drawn with exhaustion, and his growth of peppery whiskers fanned out from his moustache and shadowed his cheeks". And, of course, fans will get an eyeful of George's trademark; her vivid descriptions of death: "At her feet, a young man lay curled like a foetus, dressed head-to-toe in nothing but black, with that same colour puckering burnt flesh from eye to jaw on one side of his face". --Rebekah Warren

Quotes for Elizabeth George In her 10 novels, Ms George has proved herself a master of the English mystery, with an ear for local language and an eye for the inner workings of Scotland Yard. With each book, she moves up in the ranks of a team headed by PD James and Ruth Rendell, in a tradition that stretches back to Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers. The New York Times Quotes appearing on the US edition of IN PURSUIT OF THE PROPER SINNER: 'Elizabeth George reigns as queen of the mystery genre. The Lynley books constitute the smartest, most gratifyingly complex and impassioned mystery series now being published.' Entertainment Weekly 'It's tough to resist George's storytelling, once hooked.' USA Today 'Ms. George proves that the classiest crime writers are true novelists.' The New York Times 'George is a master ... An outstanding practitioner of the modern English mystery.' Chicago Tribune 'Ms. George can do it all, with style to spare.' The Wall Street Journal 'A fascinating list of subjects ... wrenching stories ... George conveys them all with exceptional grace.' People 'George provides [a] sumptuous, all-out reading experience.' Los Angeles Times Recent UK quotes: 'An excellent drama of life and death in an enclosed society' Mail On Sunday 'She writes extremely well, plots brilliantly and reaches an emotional level deeper than most ... Captivating' The Times 'the best plotter in the mystery game, [her] elegant literate flow puts many Brits to shame' Time Out 'An excellent grasp of current cop vernacular, a sharp eye for small-town detail and a sadistically convoluted plot.' Good Book Guide (Feb 99) DECEPTION ON HIS MIND: 'Elizabeth George's gripping detective novels should come with a warning: "This book could prove addictive. Do not start it if you have deadlines to meet or need an early night". ... It is crime writing at its very best, with painstaking attention to detail ... But manipulates her readers as competently as she does her characters ... Worth giving up sleep for.' Pat Meakin, Cambridge Evening News 'An excellent grasp of current copy vernacular, a sharp eye for small-town detail and a sadistically convoluted plot.' The Good Book Guide, London (Dec '98) '[A] rich, multi-layered novel ... All the important contemporary themes are covered and handled with a skill and sureness of touch that only years of practice can achieve ... it all feels so right and real' Guardian 'She can compete with the best ... a book worthy of her immense talent' The Times 'George is excellent at slowly unfolding plot and atmosphere ... fine writing and sensitive handling of relationships' Independent 'The ideal book with which to laze away those summer days ... a clever contemporary twist to a classic murder mystery' New Woman 'A gripping detective story ... George builds up a complex picture of racial struggles and cultural differences' Woman & Home 'Totally gripping' Essentials 'Immensely satisfying, gripping and highly readable' U Magazine 'George is a talented tale-spinner ... few can hold a candle to her' Yorkshire Post 'George has produced a teasing, page-turning whodunit' Liverpool Daily Post 'A brilliantly realised murder mystery' Edinburgh Evening News 'Well crafted, tense, and at times almost grisly' Birmingham Post 'There are wrenching stories here and George conveys them with exceptional grace ... The passions that build up are hauntingly real' People Magazine 'so much fun to read, it's criminal' Newsday '[a] rich blend of crime, culture and class' USA Today 'one of George's best - an insightful, tense, compassionate look at two cultures' Entertainment Weekly 'Ms George's novel is admirable - elegant in its architecture and satisfying in its resolution' Wall Street Journal 'Elizabeth George has the gift of bringing her characters to life' Brisbane Sunday Mail 'Marvellous range of characters ... [The] book has taken over my life' Perth SuQuotes for Elizabeth George In her 10 novels, Ms George has proved herself a master of the English mystery, with an ear for local language and an eye for the inner workings of Scotland Yard. With each book, she moves up in the ranks of a team headed by PD James and Ruth Rendell, in a tradition that stretches back to Agatha Christie and Dorothy L Sayers. The New York Times Quotes appearing on the US edition of IN PURSUIT OF THE PROPER SINNER: 'Elizabeth George reigns as queen of the mystery genre. The Lynley books constitute the smartest, most gratifyingly complex and impassioned mystery series now being published.' Entertainment Weekly 'It's tough to resist George's storytelling, once hooked.' USA Today 'Ms. George proves that the classiest crime writers are true novelists.' The New York Times 'The multi-faceted surprise ending to the taut, suspenseful plot is the juiciest plum in this can't-put-down novel.' -- Publishers Weekly on In Pursuit 'She writes extremely well, plots brilliantly and reaches an emotional level deeper than most ... Captivating' -- The Times on Deception 'The best plotter in the mystery game, [her] elegant literate flow puts many Brits to shame' -- Time Out on Deception 'Elizabeth George reigns as queen of the mystery genre.' -- Entertainment Weekly on Deception 'It's tough to resist George's storytelling, once hooked.' -- USA Today on Deception 'She is a great storyteller. The totality is a big fat, satisfying book.' -- Frances Fyfield, Sunday Express on In Pursuit 'A compelling mystery,intricately plotted, with multiple twists and a satisfyingly devious finale. George is brilliant at juggling so many motives and so many suspects, keeping the reader enthralled, and coming up with such a clever solution.' -- Marcel Berlins, The Times on In Pursuit 'George's nine best-selling novels of psychological suspense are burnished with the internationalism that is a result of dividing her time between California and London' -- Times