Book Review - Just One Evil act by Elizabeth George

This is an Inspector Lynley story but it truly belongs to his sidekick DS Barbara Havers. Barbara, the shambolic, Barbara the determined and Barbara the passionate are all invoked her as she desperately tries to help her friend and neighbour Azhar, who is trying to get his daughter back. Barbara will be pushed to the limit of her professional ethics and her unacknowledged love for Azhar and for his daughter, Haddiyah, the nine year-old at the centre of the plotting and counter-plotting. This is a dense and complex novel yet immensely readable. At 700 pages, you need to set aside some decent time but you will be rewarded. George knows her characters intimately and she introduces the Italian countryside and some marvelous Italian characters in weaving this story. I was going to say it contains many shades of grey rather than just being black and white – I think I will anyway and try to reclaim the phrase! Wendy