Elizabeth George: Missing Joseph (Paperback, 2008, Bantam)
Paperback, 592 pages
English language
Published April 15, 2008 by Bantam.
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.From the Paperback edition.
This was not my favourite of the Lynley books. The first half was almost entirely devoted to the goings on in the town where the murder occurred, and everyone was having sex with everyone. Why not just read romance novels? It got a lot better once the focus returned to Lynley, Havers and the St. Johns. By the end I was glad I'd ploughed through, but it required some determination.
