From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Acting Supt. Thomas Lynley and Det. Constable Barbara Havers face their most challenging and perilous case yet—the linked murders of four youths, three of black or mixed parentage—in bestseller George's absorbing 13th British police procedural (after 2003's A Place of Hiding). Crime fans will find plenty of forensic minutiae and details of police bureaucracy and politics, but it's characterization at which George really excels. The up-and-down career of Havers is at low ebb following her demotion from sergeant to constable, and her rocky personal life doesn't make that easier to bear. Lynley's professional life has become more difficult due to the continued absence of Supt. Malcolm Webberly and the need to deal directly with Asst. Commissioner David Hillier. The tension builds as the brutal serial killings continue and the pressure to solve them mounts. George expertly uses every device in the book from red herrings to blind alleys, from subtle twists to swift shocks. This is an outstanding and explosive addition to a popular series. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Issues of racism within the police are brought to the fore when the ritualistic murder of a teenage boy is linked to the deaths of three other youths. It's clear there's a serial killer at work, and New Scotland Yard is called in to solve the case and quell accusations of police prejudice. Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley has his hands full----not only with finding the murderer but also with ensuring that volatile Barbara Havers doesn't further damage her career. Then there's the matter of keeping an eye on a tabloid reporter and a profiler whom intractable Assistant Commissioner Hillier has foisted on the team. Veteran thriller writer George, an American, is as at home with the social dynamics of the seedier parts of London as she is with the multidimensional personalities of Lynley and his colleagues (Winston Nkata, in particular, really comes into his own here). This is a riveting installment in a superb series--far more than just plain good. It's also a turning point for the series as George makes some bold, surprising decisions that permanently change the lives of the characters her fans have come to know. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Elizabeth George's popular detective pair, Lynley and Havers, are together again, working to catch a brutal serial killer in With No One as Witness.

New Scotland Yard's aristocratic Acting Superintendent Thomas Lynley and working-class Constable Barbara Havers (she's been reduced in rank, basically for sheer bloody-mindedness) of first suspect a serial killer is at work when the corpse of a teenage boy is found on top of a tomb. Their hopes of preventing a second death are shattered when a review of open cases finds three similar crime scenes. The first three victims, however, differed from the fourth in being nonwhite. When Lynley's antagonistic superior realizes that the department will be accused of racism for failing to solve the earlier crimes, his method of damage control infuriates Lynley and impedes work on the case.

One of Lynley's best investigators, who is black, is diverted to handling press conferences and replaced by a profiler Lynley doesn't want. And, worst of all, a reporter is embedded with the team￯﾿ﾽand his feature about Lynley almost draws a map to the house Lynley shares with his pregnant wife. Struggling to keep their focus on the crimes, Lynley and Havers find a disturbing connection to an organization named Colossus that serves troubled youths. Despite a cover-up by the director, they learn that all four of the dead boys spent time there. Then there is a fifth similar death, although closer investigation reveals that it deviates from the previous pattern in several disturbing ways. Is the killer changing his habits in an effort to stump the police, or has someone else stepped beyond the bounds of justice and humanity? New York Times￯﾿ﾽbestselling author Elizabeth George's story of police work in London is a taut tale of dogged perseverance and brilliant intuition. Sue Stone

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley
takes on the case of his career.

When it comes to spellbinding suspense and page-turning excitement, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George always delivers. As the Wall Street Journal raves, "Ms. George can do it all, with style to spare."

In With No One as Witness, Elizabeth George has crafted an intricate, meticulously researched, and absorbing story sure to enthrall her readers. Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley is back, along with his longtime partner, the fiery Barbara Havers, and newly promoted Detective Sergeant Winston Nkata. They are on the hunt for a sinister killer.

When an adolescent boy's nude body is found mutilated and artfully arranged on the top of a tomb, it takes no large leap for the police to recognize this as the work of a serial killer. This is the fourth victim in three months but the first to be white.

Hoping to avoid charges of institutionalized racism in its failure to pursue the earlier crimes to their conclusion, New Scotland Yard hands the case over to Lynley and his colleagues. The killer is a psychopath who does not intend to be stopped. Worse, a devastating tragedy within the police ranks causes them to fumble in their pursuit of him.

About the Author:

Elizabeth George is the New York Times bestselling author of twelve novels of psychological suspense, one book of nonfiction, and two short-story collections. She lives in London and Huntington Beach, California.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Acting Supt. Thomas Lynley and Det. Constable Barbara Havers face their most challenging and perilous case yet-the linked murders of four youths, three of black or mixed parentage-in bestseller George's absorbing 13th British police procedural (after 2003's A Place of Hiding). Crime fans will find plenty of forensic minutiae and details of police bureaucracy and politics, but it's characterization at which George really excels. The up-and-down career of Havers is at low ebb following her demotion from sergeant to constable, and her rocky personal life doesn't make that easier to bear. Lynley's professional life has become more difficult due to the continued absence of Supt. Malcolm Webberly and the need to deal directly with Asst. Commissioner David Hillier. The tension builds as the brutal serial killings continue and the pressure to solve them mounts. George expertly uses every device in the book from red herrings to blind alleys, from subtle twists to swift shocks. This is an outstanding and explosive addition to a popular series. Agent, Robert Gottlieb. 9-city author tour. (Mar. 15) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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