Missing Joseph

Inspector Lynley, Book 6

By: Elizabeth George

Narrated by: Donada Peters

Deborah and Simon St. James have taken a holiday in the winter landscape of Lancastershire, hoping to heal the growing rift in their marriage. But in the barren countryside awaits bleak news: The vicar of Wimslough, the man they had come to see, is dead - a victim of accidental poisoning.

Unsatisfied with the inquest ruling and unsettled by the close association between the investigating constable and the woman who served the deadly meal, Simon calls in his old friend Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley. Together they uncover dark, complex relationships in this rural village, relationships that bring men and women together with a passion, with grief, or with the intention to kill.

Peeling away layer after layer of personal history to reveal the torment of a fugitive spirit, Missing Joseph is award-winning author Elizabeth George's greatest achievement.

©2008 Elizabeth George (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"[George] proves that the classiest crime writers are true novelists." (The New York Times)

"Layered, intricate...deftly plotted, highly atmospheric." (Publishers Weekly)

"A totally satisfying mystery experience." (Denver Post)

Interesting mystery but a few too many coincidences this time.

Meanwhile, what keeps me coming back is the continuing development of the five main characters. I also enjoy the ongoing British travelogue.

Slow but interesting

A little on the slow side but still interesting. Could have done without Sir James and his wife’s issues.

whiney

could be the era it was written but women are so whiney and insufferable, this one was more of a slog than the others. some beautiful writing here and there as always.

Chapter numbers

A good deal of confusion with the chapter numbers seems very careless to me A A competent copy editor would have been able to fix that problem

Not what I expected but quite good

To me this was definitely not a typical Inspector Lynley novel considering the rather explicit sex scenes. For awhile I thought I was reading a pornographic novel. I was also worried about the absence of Barbara Havers throughout most of the story. I was quite relieved when she helped wrap up the mystery.
I did find the narrator annoying at first, but she grew on me and I found the entire plot riveting with the final outcome just out of reach till the end!
I’m just hoping to see more of Sergeant Havers in the next mystery.

Something wrong w the sound

This narrator is very able and famous, but I found the sound mix too shrill. It was a struggle and tainted the listening experience.

Disappointing

I love Elizabeth George’s inspector Lynley series. This one left a lot of lose ends.

Too much explicit sex.

None of the other books had this kind of explicit language. I really love Linley and the Sgt. but this book really was a shocker. The story was convoluted and hard to follow. I hope the rest are NOT like this one.

Too much explicit sex

I have been reading this series in order and this is the first time I was totally turned off. I finished because I wanted to know The Who and the why but it was too much sex. I often listen without headphones but could not do that at all.

Disappointing

Well, I love this authors work generally, this book was disappointing because you never ended up really caring about any of the characters. There was violence and deeply revealing character flaws, which makes her dynamic character development. she made her point about motherhood and sexism and the sources of violence. Good but ultimately I'm really sorry I started this book. Great performance intriguing.