In the Presence of the Enemy [Audiobook, Abridged] [Audio Cassette]

Elizabeth George (Author), Derek Jacobi (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1996

Elizabeth George has been hailed as "an  outstanding practitioner of the modern English  mystery" and each of her previous seven novels has been  an international bestseller. With In the Presence of the Enemy, her finest work  yet, George once again explores the incendiary  themes of passion and betrayal that have made her a  master of the genre she has made so distinctly her  own--the classic detective story that is also a  richly creative novel.

When a young  girl disappears from the streets of London without  a trace, her mother, a well-respected MP, is  convinced she knows the identity of the kidnapper--the  child's father. But Detective Inspector Thomas  Lynley and Sergeant Barbara Havers soon learn that  nothing in this investigation is what it appears to  be, and that in betrayal and deception, lies  death.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In her previous novels, including the bestselling Playing for the Ashes, George has developed the characters of forensic scientist Simon St. James, Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers to a fine degree. In this, her eighth novel, the secret love child of an ambitious politician and a sleazy tabloid publisher is kidnapped. When Scotland Yard gets involved, Lynley and Havers must elude death as they search for the child and her kidnappers. An insightful and haunting novel of ideals corrupted and retribution visited upon the heads of the innocent. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

After seven outings (the last was Playing for the Ashes), upper-crust Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his stubby, working-class sergeant, Barbara Havers, have formed a comfortable working relationship, which George plays to perfection here. Ten-year-old Charlotte, daughter of Conservative MP Eve Bowen, is abducted after leaving a weekly music lesson not far from her London home. Dennis Luxford, editor for a tabloid-style, decidedly anti-Conservative newspaper, receives a message threatening Charlotte unless he acknowledges her paternity. Bowen, a rising star in the Home Office, chooses to avoid using the police, knowing that disclosure of her brief, long-ago fling with Luxford will ruin her politically. She agrees with Luxford to ask forensic scientist Simon St. James and his assistant Lady Helen (who is Lynley's lover) to investigate undercover. But soon a murder draws in Scotland Yard, allowing Lynley and Havers to lead a complicated investigation to its electrifying and astonishing conclusion. This absorbing tale, in which retribution for the sins of the parents is exacted from-and by-their children, raises questions of parental love and responsibility on several levels. George's fully developed characters will live with the readers long after the last page is turned. Mystery Guild selection; Literary Guild alternate; BDD Audio.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Audio (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553474359
• ISBN-13: 978-0553474350
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,125,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > Books on Cassette > Authors, A-Z > ( G )

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

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A George fanatic, is speechless with this brilliance!, April 18, 1999

By 

Brooke Cale - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Presence of the Enemy (Mass Market Paperback)

I have been an Elizabeth George fan since high school, as she is the wife of my former high school principal. She very simply blew me away, with this one. I was in the Phoenix airport waiting for my plane to take off in bad weather, when approaching the climax of this book. The passengers beside me must have thought me a fright, when I literally gasped a "Oh No!" This book had me so completely caught up in the moment, a freight train could have barrelled through the cab of the plane without a wince from me. I love the way Barbara Havers begins to come into her own here and as always, Detective Thomas Lynley is at his charming and sensual best. I have often said, the idea of a perfect man, is what Lynley possesses. Thank you Ms. George, for another wonderful glimpse into the Britain that I love so dearly.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars George Bounces Back, August 31, 2003

By 

Jeffrey Davenport - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In the Presence of the Enemy (Mass Market Paperback)

After a disappointing turn with Playing for the Ashes, George goes back to the creativity and readability that she showed in Missing Joseph. Equally pleasing is the emphasis on Barbara Havers (for those of us who are fans of the character). The supporting characters are well-drawn and in Eve Bowen, George has designed one of the most coolly evil characters I have ever encountered. Additionally, the careful reader is rewarded with a mystery that, while not simplistic, can be figured out before the perpetrator is revealed. Like most of the Lynley/Havers novels, this one delivers.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars characters, not logic games, make this book compelling, June 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Presence of the Enemy (Mass Market Paperback)

The genius behind Presence of the Enemy is the in-depth and comprehensive character analysis. Too many mysteries are driven by a contrived puzzle or by a shoot-em-up mentality. The real mystery in Presence of the Enemy is not the mechanics of the situation, but is the complicated entanglements of men and women's hearts. Transcending genre fiction, it is a true work of art.