What a surprise from Elizabeth George. She’s turned her usual format -- Inspector Lynley, Barbara Havers, and all -- on its head, and given us a long look at the life of Joel Campbell, the 12-year-old accused of shooting Lynley’s wife Helen, Countess of Ashcroft. It’s compellingly written, dense with detail and fascinating in its view into a world of despari, heartbreak, and narrow choices. Even though we know the outcome in the broadest sense from the first page -- or more precisely, from the last pages of the With No One As Witness -- it’s a page turner that drew this reader further and further into the story, the place, and a terrible sense of fate. Bravely and nicely done.

posted Oct 30, 2006 at 10:37AM

As psychologically intense as Elizabeth George's novels usually are, this book goes deeper. It's not a "whodunit," it's a "Why did he do it?" and the long sad story brings you closer to understanding how a twelve-year-old could kill someone. Hard to read and harder to forget.

posted Jan 4, 2008 at 10:00PM

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