Deception on His Mind [Hardcover]

Elizabeth George (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1997

Balford-le-Nez is a dying seatown on the coast of Essex. But when a member of the town's small but growing Asian community is found dead near its beach, his neck broken, sleepy Balford-le-Nez ignites. And working solo, without her long-time partner Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, Sergeant Barbara Havers must probe not only the mind of a murderer and a case very close to her own heart, but the terrible price people pay for deceiving others...and themselves.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Deception on His Mind Sergeant Barbara Havers places herself at the center of an investigation in Essex concerning the mysterious death of a recently arrived immigrant from Pakistan. Although still recovering from the broken ribs and nose (received at the end of In the Presence of the Enemy), Havers convinces herself that she needs to stay on the job in order to help her neighbor Taymullah Azhar and his elfin daughter Hadiyyah who have a familial connection to the dead man. As is typical with Elizabeth George's novels (this is the 10th in a popular and powerful series), the murder and its investigation are the central feature of the story. But in this case they are also the means by which she explores the Pakistani experience in a foreign and not always friendly culture. As Havers herself notes, the food may well have improved in Britain with an increasingly diverse population, but that same population has "engendered a score of polyglot problems." Whether or not the dead man is a victim of a racially motivated crime is only one of the questions Havers tries to sort out. The result, with George's typically complex characterizations and deft plot turns, is a deeply satisfying novel. Fans of Havers's superior officer, Thomas Lynley, and his lady love Helen Clyde will be disappointed as the two are off on their honeymoon. But with Lynley out of the picture, Havers, with her prickly personality, caustic tongue, and sound investigative skills, comes well and truly into her own. Nitpickers might question one aspect of the final denouement--motive and opportunity are securely in place but the means are on the outskirts of unbelievable. Still, the book is a rich and enjoyable one that continues to tickle the imagination well after it has been shelved amidst other favorites. --K.A. Crouch --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

YA?Detective Barbara Havers is now on her own. Her partner, the glamorous Lord Lynley, and the even more glamorous Lady Helen are off on their honeymoon and the decidedly less-than-glamorous Havers is to recuperate from extensive wounds suffered in their previous case. She declines an invitation by her neighbor and good friend, eight-year-old Hadiyyah, to join her and her somewhat remote professorial father on a trip to the seaside. Somewhat to her chagrin, however, Havers finds herself worrying about the ostensibly naive father as she hears disturbing news of murder and racial unrest in the same coastal town. She goes to Balford only to land in the middle of a tangled web woven around the murder of the fiance of the young daughter of a wealthy Pakistani business man. The plot is well developed, the red herrings many and varied, and the social commentary on the racial unease in England is well handled. Havers emerges as a more sympathetic character here, and readers get the feeling she is beginning to "get a life." YAs will enjoy the engrossing mystery with deft characterizations.?Susan H. Woodcock, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 624 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; 1ST edition (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553102346
• ISBN-13: 978-0553102345
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #776,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elizabeth George is the New York Times bestselling author of fourteen novels of psychological suspense, one book of nonfiction, and two short-story collections. Her work has been honored with the Anthony and Agatha awards, the Grand Prix de LittÉrature PoliciÈre, and the MIMI, Germany's prestigious prize for suspense fiction. She lives in Washington State.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, like all of its predecessors, June 8, 2000

By 

Stan Vernooy (Henderson, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deception on His Mind (Hardcover)

I consider Elizabeth George to be the best living writer of mysteries, by a wide margin. In this book, Barbara Havers goes more or less "solo" by getting involved in a case outside of London where she is supposed to be on vacation. In addition to being a superb mystery, this book examines the racial friction generated by the influx of Pakistani immigrants into a seaside resort town in England. I can't speak for the accuracy of her analysis, but her portrayals of the cultural misunderstandings between the police and the immigrant community ring true to my ears. I don't recommend this book as your introduction to Elizabeth George's mysteries. The previous books introduce both of the main characters, Havers and her boss, Inspector Lynley. This book makes several references to the things she learned from Lynley, and to their partnership. The reader will understand those references much better if (s)he has read at least one of the previous books. However, I want to vehemently disagree with a couple of previous reviewers who downgraded this book on the grounds that Havers is a less interesting character than the absent Lynley. I think Havers is a MUCH more interesting character than the pampered and superficial Lynley. I didn't miss him at all in this book. As always, George's writing, characterizations, and plotting put her in a class of her own among mystery writers. This is not a little paperback for an afternoon; it's a real novel. If you love mysteries or if you simply love well-written, thought-provoking fiction, you should read every one of Elizabeth George's books.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Cultural and Religious Errors Detract from Story too Much, November 1, 2009

By 

D. Beatty "otowi" (colorado springs, CO, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deception on His Mind (Mass Market Paperback)

I generally like Elizabeth George novels, but this one needed more research, apparently. Her story has at its heart Pakistani Muslims living in the UK, yet George displays shocking ignorance of the culture she spends so many wordy pages writing about. first of all, Pakistani Muslims by and large speak Urdu, not Arabic. Secondly, the dowry in Islam is required to be given from the man to the wife, not the other way around. It is primarily a Hindu, not Muslim, practice for the dowry to go from woman to man, although many Muslim families do prepare their version of a "hope chest" for their daughters to start her out in married life. She misrepresented the roles of women, arranged marriage, and even homosexuality. And she introduced some essential but strange concept of cutting off family that is 100% contrary to Islamic teachings. I wonder if she got her ideas from some amalgamation of Indian Hindu culture and popular media representation of Asians? In any case, it is so wrong on many points that it became impossible to overlook, confusing, and detracting from the story. I think Ms. George didn't try to be insulting by any means, but her lack of proper research is alarming, and it is more alarming that it was published with such inaccuracies, even as a work of fiction.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I knew we had problems...but obviously so do the British!, September 3, 2001

By 

K. L Sadler "Dr. Karen L. Sadler" (Freedom, Pa. USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deception on His Mind (Mass Market Paperback)

First off, I didn't know Elizabeth George was an American writing about the English. Previous exposure to authors writing about other nations makes me a little bit nervous. I sure hope she knows what she is talking about. From her background material it looks like she talks to the right people to get information. In this case, the information needed to be about racial problems in Britain. As Americans, we often think that we are the only ones with the big problems between the races and with civil rights...but unfortunately this is a problem throughout the world. Prejudice is obviously something that all nations have to deal with. The only thing that changes is who is being discriminated against and why.

George writes very complex stories. Her characters are never simple, the plot is never straightforward. I don't think I have ever picked up one of her books and known before her ending who the actual 'culprit' was, and I am always wrong about what the true situation is.

This time her female protagonist, who for a change is more like us normal people (rather than the athletic women we see in American mysteries/PIs) is dealing with the aftermath of a brutal attack and her being 'put out to pasture.' She becomes involved in a neighbor's problem because of her concern for a child, and this problem involves what appears to be a racially-motivated killing of a Pakistanian man in another town. Barbara just happens to know the investigator in charge in this case, and respects her from a previous encounter. Wishing to be of help to all concerned, she involves herself into a situation without fully disclosing her previous knowledge of her neighbor or her own concernes and biases.

Like many of us in the real world, Barbara relunctantly comes to understand that her former mentor (another woman) may be a good cop, but she also has feet of clay. The investigation revolves around race, not just because it looks like a race-based crime, but because the primary investigator has racial prejudices herself and brings those prejudices to her work. This happens all too often in the real world, in all fields of work.

George is an excellent writer. My only complaint is again, the language used tends to be more colorful then I would like it. I know I am deaf, but surely people do not speak like that constantly. I am being naive, I guess...but maybe we need to put ratings on books to indicate language, violence, and sex for those who prefer not to be exposed to this stuff all the time? Just a suggestion!
Karen Sadler,
University of Pittsburgh