In the Presence of the Enemy

In the Presence of the Enemy
by Elizabeth George

In the Presence of the Enemy
List Price: $14.00
Our Price: $7.99
You Save: $6.01 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Elizabeth George
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-04-15
ISBN: 055338550X
Number of pages: 640
Publisher: Bantam

Book Reviews of In the Presence of the Enemy

Book Review: Made Me a Havers Fan...Finally!
Summary: 5 Stars

I listened to the unabridged audiobook of this story narrated by Davina Porter who was excellent. After starting the Lynley/Havers series backwards with "No One As Witness" (didn't know it was a series) I got a list of titles and began with the first story. Liked Lynley and the other characters from the start but had mixed feelings about Sgt. Barbara Havers. She was a bit overbearing when first introduced and her pairing with Lynley seemed a bit strange but it worked. Their work relationship has grown throughout the series and they are now a great team. Funny as heck at times too! However, Barbara still was a bit annoying at times.In this story, she really comes across as a courageous, heroic and dedicated professional and I was rooting for her all the way. If this had been a movie, I would have been on the edge of my chair towards the end. Must say I never guessed who the villian was and it caught me completely by surprise.Elizabeth George is a terrific writer and has created a very satisfying series filled with complex characters and solid stories. I look forward to reading or listening to the remaining stories and will then look at the TV series based on the books that PBS periodically airs.

Summary of In the Presence of the Enemy

Hailed as the "king of sleaze," tabloid editor Dennis Luxford is used to ferreting out the sins and scandals of people in exposed positions. But when he opens an innocuous-looking letter addressed to him at The Source, he discovers that someone else excels at ferreting out secrets as well.

Ten-year-old Charlotte Bowen has been abducted, and if Luxford does not admit publicly to having fathered her, she will die. But Charlotte's existence is Luxford's most fiercely guarded secret, and acknowledging her as his child will throw more than one life and career into chaos. Luxford knows that the story of Charlotte's paternity could make him a laughingstock and reveal to his beautiful wife and son the lie he's lived for a decade. Yet it's not only Luxford's reputation that's on the line: it's also the reputation-and career-of Charlotte Bowen's mother. For she is Undersecretary of State for the Home Office, one of the most high-profile Junior Ministers and quite possibly the next Margaret Thatcher.

Knowing that her political future hangs in the balance, Eve Bowen refuses to let Luxford damage her career by printing the story or calling the police. So the editor turns to forensic scientist Simon St. James for help. It's a case that fills St. James with disquiet, however, for none of the players in the drama seem to react the way one would expect.

Then tragedy occurs and New Scotland Yard becomes involved. Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley soon discovers that the case sends tentacles from London into the countryside, and he must simultaneously outfox death as he probes Charlotte Bowen's mysterious disappearance. Meanwhile, his partner Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, working part of the investigation on her own and hoping to make the coup of her career, may be drawing closer to a grim solution-and to danger-than anyone knows.

In the Presence of the Enemy is a brilliantly insightful and haunting novel of ideals corrupted by self-interest, of the sins of parents visited upon children, and of the masks that hide people from each other-and from themselves.


From the Paperback edition.
In her previous novels, including the bestselling Playing for the Ashes, George has developed the characters of forensic scientist Simon St. James, Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers to a fine degree. In this, her eighth novel, the secret love child of an ambitious politician and a sleazy tabloid publisher is kidnapped. When Scotland Yard gets involved, Lynley and Havers must elude death as they search for the child and her kidnappers. An insightful and haunting novel of ideals corrupted and retribution visited upon the heads of the innocent.

Suspense Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Break a Leg, No Crack a Book Instead
The Indian Bride (Inspector Sejer Mysteries) ImageThe Indian Bride (Inspector Sejer Mysteries)
by Karin Fossum
Harvest Books; Published: 2008-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.49
Price in other shops: $14.00
The Talented Mr. Ripley ImageThe Talented Mr. Ripley
by Patricia Highsmith
W. W. Norton; Published: 2008-06-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.27
Price in other shops: $13.95
Special Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin (Erast Fandorin Mysteries) ImageSpecial Assignments: The Further Adventures of Erast Fandorin (Erast Fandorin Mysteries)
by Boris Akunin
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2008-02-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops: $14.00
The Interior: A Red Princess Mystery (Red Princess Mysteries) ImageThe Interior: A Red Princess Mystery (Red Princess Mysteries)
by Lisa See
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2007-12-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.44
Price in other shops: $14.95
In the Presence of the Enemy ImageIn the Presence of the Enemy
by Elizabeth George
Bantam; Published: 2008-04-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.29
Price in other shops: $14.00
The Reapers: A Thriller ImageThe Reapers: A Thriller
by John Connolly
Atria; Published: 2008-05-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.48
Price in other shops: $26.00
Payment in Blood (Inspector Lynley) ImagePayment in Blood (Inspector Lynley)
by Elizabeth George
Bantam; Published: 2007-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.42
Price in other shops: $13.00
The Girl of His Dreams (A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery) ImageThe Girl of His Dreams (A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery)
by Donna Leon
Atlantic Monthly Press; Published: 2008-05-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.00
Price in other shops: $24.00
Well-Schooled in Murder (Inspector Lynley) ImageWell-Schooled in Murder (Inspector Lynley)
by Elizabeth George
Bantam; Published: 2007-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.66
Price in other shops: $13.00
Protect and Defend: A Thriller ImageProtect and Defend: A Thriller
by Vince Flynn
Atria Books; Published: 2007-10-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.79
Price in other shops: $26.95
Similar Books and other products
A Traitor to Memory ImageA Traitor to Memory
by ELIZABETH GEORGE
Published: 2001-06-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.98
Price in other shops: $26.95
With No One as Witness (Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers Novels) ImageWith No One as Witness (Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers Novels)
by Elizabeth George
Harper; Published: 2006-03-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops: $7.99
Payment in Blood (Inspector Lynley) ImagePayment in Blood (Inspector Lynley)
by Elizabeth George
Bantam; Published: 2007-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.51
Price in other shops: $13.00
Well-Schooled in Murder (Inspector Lynley) ImageWell-Schooled in Murder (Inspector Lynley)
by Elizabeth George
Bantam; Published: 2007-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.60
Price in other shops: $13.00
In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner ImageIn Pursuit of the Proper Sinner
by Elizabeth George
Published: 1999-08-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops: $25.95
A Suitable Vengeance ImageA Suitable Vengeance
by Elizabeth George
Bantam; Published: 1992-03-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops: $7.99
For the Sake of Elena ImageFor the Sake of Elena
by Elizabeth George
Bantam; Published: 1993-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.03
Price in other shops: $7.99
Missing Joseph ImageMissing Joseph
by Elizabeth George
Bantam; Published: 1994-05-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.48
Price in other shops: $7.99
Deception on His Mind ImageDeception on His Mind
by Elizabeth George
Bantam; Published: 1998-10; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.64
Price in other shops: $7.99
Playing for the Ashes ImagePlaying for the Ashes
by Elizabeth George
Bantam; Published: 1995-08-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.90
Price in other shops: $7.99
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories