by Elizabeth George
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Product Description
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.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Substantially unsatisfying., 2008-10-16
This book of 560 pages is an indulgence on the part of the author -- who must be enchanted with "hearing herself write." We have the pretentious use of the King's English by an American writer who would do well to attend to simple English usage. Can you believe that, on page 1, the phrase, " ... those who imbibed in anything beyond water" got by the copy editor. "Imbibed IN?" ... Does she mean to say "indulged in?" To imbibe means, simply, to drink. But, then, nothing in this book is simple. Reaching the end of the book, I found the multiple sub-plots, each populated with characters whose life-struggles had been detailed ad nauseum, to amount to very little in a denoument that did not justify the investment in reading. What a disappointment !
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Top notch!, 2008-09-18
I love Elizabeth George. I love how she weaves the stories and history of her characters and her eye for detail. The language is effortless and there's always that little clue that I always miss, and at the conclusion makes total sense.
In Missing Joseph I thought I had the murderer pinned down. Several times, infact. I was wrong.
Chilling page-turner.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Like as the waves..., 2007-12-05
Shakespeare's wonderful sonnet begins "Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore," and when George brought in the character of Barbara Havers in the midst of trying to move out of her parents' house, I thought of the sonnet. Not because the writing compares to Shakespeare's, but because the story proceeds in waves. The wave of the main story -- the murder mystery at the center -- gets to a certain point, and then comes another wave of a different story, the problems in the St. James marriage, perhaps, or the angst of Maggie who is sexually active at 13, or the desperation of the local constable Colin who is romantically involved with Maggie's "Mum." Or Barbara Havers's reluctance to make the transition in her life.
Then, perhaps, comes the main story again, but I've grown impatient while skipping large portions of the novel to get to the main story and find out what's happening with Lynley.
Writing in waves with multiple points of view while developing the stories of several different characters might be an interesting way of structuring a novel, but it doesn't work for me. It impedes the forward motion of the novel, so that the story neither "hastens" nor "all forwards does contend."
I left off the novel where Lynley has called Havers. I may yet finish it. Maybe.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Missing sleep reading this book., 2006-11-10
As usual, Elizabeth George hits another home run with this book. Her natural talent to weave a mystery into the fabric of our favorite detective's increasingly interesting life is fantastic. Couldn't put it down -- but can never put her books down.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Determined, 2006-06-09
Missing Joseph marks the half way point of my determination to read all of the Lynley/Havers George mysteries. Her series is most definitely in the tradition of the English mystery novel (although not as gritty say as Ruth Rendell) with a soap opera melodrama twist. She writes more in the vein of Christie and Sayers-a bit updated of course. They are very easy and pleasurable reads and George writes a palatable mystery. I let her unfold her story and really don't try to outwit the detectives. This novel,however, was pretty obvious from the beginning once you got into the Lanchester village and learned of the main characters. All the detectives did was discover the circumstances.
Now my take on the characters so far. George writes in parallel storylines. It is more and more obvious as I get further and further in the series. I have read ( and I am a bit surprised concerning the dislike of Deborah) that George sees the character of Deborah more like herself. I like Deborah and her husband, Simon. In my opinion their marriage is an examination of contemporary marriage. And I find their entire love story very romantic in that it truly reflects a love based on unselfishness and deep commitment based on the needs of the spouse-trying to achieve a balance of the self with the couple.
The balance between the couples, for me reflects the Shakespearean quote concerning life being a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think. Deborah, the creative artist/photographer, is our feeler. Simon, being a man is a wonderful combination of both-after all men are suppose to be natural problem solvers and that is why the couple conflicts but their mutual love is a strong foundation and what allows to continually search in how to make lemonade out of the lemons they have been handed in their life and marriage.
Their marriage ( and I know Lynley and Helen eventually marry with dire consequences) contrasts greatly with the Lynley and Helen relationship. Both are basically "good" people without a clue as to what they need or what they want or what the whole concept of love is about. Talk about commitment phobics. For some unknown reason mystery writers,in particular,find this continual push/pull type of relationship desirable. George uses it to make the St. James marriage image the deeper one. Deborah chose -and in my mind, wisely-Simon. Lynley's concept of love and relationships and marriage rather unpalatable. Oddly he is a a misguided romantic and a realist-especially in regards to his social position. If he had not broken his engagement with Deborah maybe he would have been a better man and learned something. Instead I think he got the "right" marriage to the "right woman" as his social status would have demanded. Helen, although not without her charms and good heart-is not a romantic and is very much a realist. Throughout the novels when Lynley and Helen say they love each other (besides the hot monkey sex which seems to be a large part of the definition) I wonder what they are talking about. Their discussions are very superficial(except when discussing solving crimes)and seem always at cross purposes. So far In Missing Joseph this dance is very much so. Frankly I think George once she married them off found herself with no where to go and why after the marriage only two books of the four delved into the relationship. Lynley shallow opposed to St James depth.
Maybe I will feel differently after I read a few more,especially With No One As Witness. Nevertheless George spins a wonderful yarn. I look forward to the second half.
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