Scan barcode
A review by nonna7
A Place of Hiding by Elizabeth George
3.0
When I read the last Elizabeth George book before this one, I thought I had caught up in the series. Then I found this hidden in the stacks of books. This is, as usual, very long - in this case 779 pages for this particular edition.
This was a page turner in the sense that her books are page turners. There is so much in these books - discussions of marriage, friendship and more.
The book opens in California with a young woman, China, who is a photographer specializing in architecture. Her brother is Cherokee. He's a scammer and ne'er do well, but she IS her brother, and she loves him. She has broken up with her long time boyfriend, Matt, a filmmaker she met when she was 17. She is feeling despondent when Cherokee tells her he has a job that pays $5000 to act as a courier for some architectural plans that need to go from California to Guernsey. Of course China is immediately suspicious. Who wouldn't be? In the end she agrees.
They deliver the goods to the owner, Guy, a wealthy Jewish WW2 holocaust survivor, who lives in a beautiful mansion on the island of Guernsey. He is a benefactor for many on the island including two teenagers - a beautiful young man he calls "My Prince" and an equally beautiful young woman.
Of course he is murdered. China is charged with the murder. It turns out that China and Cherokee were friends with Deborah St James when she was living in California and engaged in a love affair with Lynley.
This is a long and involved book with a cast of characters, nearly all of whom have a motive for murder. Guy may have been a survivor, but he wasn't a particularly nice guy in a lot of ways.
I liked this book right up to the end. It's not that I was rooting for anyone to be the murderer. It's just as if George had decided on one person then couldn't bear for it to be that person so went on to another. There's a lot left unexplained: how did the murderer accomplish all of this? Why such an intricate plot?
Still, it is an interesting book, just not my favorite of the books I've read in the series.
This was a page turner in the sense that her books are page turners. There is so much in these books - discussions of marriage, friendship and more.
The book opens in California with a young woman, China, who is a photographer specializing in architecture. Her brother is Cherokee. He's a scammer and ne'er do well, but she IS her brother, and she loves him. She has broken up with her long time boyfriend, Matt, a filmmaker she met when she was 17. She is feeling despondent when Cherokee tells her he has a job that pays $5000 to act as a courier for some architectural plans that need to go from California to Guernsey. Of course China is immediately suspicious. Who wouldn't be? In the end she agrees.
They deliver the goods to the owner, Guy, a wealthy Jewish WW2 holocaust survivor, who lives in a beautiful mansion on the island of Guernsey. He is a benefactor for many on the island including two teenagers - a beautiful young man he calls "My Prince" and an equally beautiful young woman.
Of course he is murdered. China is charged with the murder. It turns out that China and Cherokee were friends with Deborah St James when she was living in California and engaged in a love affair with Lynley.
This is a long and involved book with a cast of characters, nearly all of whom have a motive for murder. Guy may have been a survivor, but he wasn't a particularly nice guy in a lot of ways.
I liked this book right up to the end. It's not that I was rooting for anyone to be the murderer. It's just as if George had decided on one person then couldn't bear for it to be that person so went on to another. There's a lot left unexplained: how did the murderer accomplish all of this? Why such an intricate plot?
Still, it is an interesting book, just not my favorite of the books I've read in the series.