Missing Joseph

The Reverend Robin Sage is dead in a Lancashire village, victim of an apparently accidental poisoning at the hands of a local woman whose relationship with the investigating constable complicates everything. Deborah and Simon St. James arrive on holiday and find themselves drawn into a mystery that the local investigation seems determined to close too quickly. Elizabeth George's sixth Inspector Lynley novel is unusually atmospheric, using the winter landscape of northern England as an active pressure on everyone trying to maintain comfortable explanations.

Donada Peters's narration of the village setting brings the social claustrophobia of rural English crime fiction to life with precision — the community's investment in particular answers is as palpable as the cold. Her handling of the St. James marriage, strained by grief and geographic distance, adds the personal dimension that George always weaves into the professional investigation. At just under 18 hours, Missing Joseph rewards the patience it demands.