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Summary and Reviews of In Pursuit of The Proper Sinner by Elizabeth George

In Pursuit of The Proper Sinner by Elizabeth George

In Pursuit of The Proper Sinner

by Elizabeth George
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • First Published:
  • Aug 1, 1999, 596 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Oct 2000, 255 pages
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About This Book

Book Summary

Two bodies are discovered in the shadow of the ancient circle of stones known as Nine Sisters Henge.

Calder Moor is a wild and deadly place: many have been trapped in the myriad limestone caves, lost in collapsed copper mines, injured on perilous gritstone ridges. But this time, when two bodies are discovered in the shadow of the ancient circle of stones known as Nine Sisters Henge, it is clearly not a case for Mountain Rescue. The corpses are those of a young man and woman. Each met death in a different fashion. Each died violently.

To Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, brought in to investigate by special request, this grisly crime promises to be one of the toughest assignments of his career. For the unfortunate Nicola Maiden was the daughter of a former officer in an elite undercover unit, a man Lynley once regarded as a mentor. Now, as Lynley struggles to find out if Nicola's killer was an enemy of her father's or one she earned herself, a disgraced Barbara Havers, determined to redeem herself in the eyes of her longtime partner, crisscrosses London seeking information on the second murder victim.

Yet the more dark secrets Lynley and Havers uncover, the more they learn that neither the victims nor the suspects are who they appear to be. And once again they come up against the icy realization that human relationships are often murderous...and that the blood that binds can also kill.

Julian Britton was a man who knew that his life thus far had amounted to nothing. He bred his dogs, he managed the crumbling ruin that was his family's estate, and daily he tried to lecture his father away from the bottle. That was the extent of it. He hadn't been a success at anything save pouring gin down the drain, and now, at twenty-seven years of age, he felt branded by failure. But he couldn't allow that to affect him tonight. Tonight he had to prevail.

He began with his appearance, giving himself a ruthless scrutiny in his bedroom's cheval glass. He straightened the collar of his shirt and flicked a piece of lint from his shoulder. He stared at his face and schooled his features into the expression he wanted them to wear. He should look completely serious, he decided. Concerned, yes, because concern was reasonable. But he shouldn't look conflicted. And certainly he ...

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Reviews

Media Reviews

Richmond Times-Dispatch
Miss George's work continues to amaze...she continues to expand the mystery genre into serious, mind-absorbing fiction.... Powerful and provocative...In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner joins its predecessors in a growing line of dazzlingly brilliant novels.

Richmond Times-Dispatch
Miss George's work continues to amaze...she continues to expand the mystery genre into serious, mind-absorbing fiction.... Powerful and provocative...In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner joins its predecessors in a growing line of dazzlingly brilliant novels.

The Wall Street Journal
Families are a recurring motif in Ms. George's tenth and most absorbing novel blood families, extended families, professional families. No ties are stronger--yet who ever solves the mysteries of these intimate strangers?

Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. An intricate, swiftly paced tale that brings back the popular New Scotland Yard team of detectives Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers....The mulitfaceted surprise ending to the taut, suspenseful plot is the juiciest plum of all in this can't-put-down novel.

Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. An intricate, swiftly paced tale that brings back the popular New Scotland Yard team of detectives Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers....The mulitfaceted surprise ending to the taut, suspenseful plot is the juiciest plum of all in this can't-put-down novel.

Reader Reviews

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Read-Alikes

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