• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2021 December #1
  "Abso-bloody-lutely" good! That would be DS Barbara Havers' verdict on this one. The metaphor-mixing detective alternates between red high-tops and leopard-print trainers as she continues to subsist on junk-food fixes from her spacious purse. DI Thomas Lynley, meanwhile, continues in his quest to fill the void left by his wife's death. Havers and Linley are working a case involving a vexing problem within London's Nigerian community: despite having been made illegal in England, the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) persists. When a female detective on a special FGM task force is murdered, Havers and Lynley investigate, along with DS Winston Nkata. This is the twenty-first entry in the series, following The Punishment She Deserves (2018), and it offers another artful entanglement of multidimensional characters. Alice Nkata, Winston's mother, stands out among the cast and provides a sharp contrast to the rest, most of whom are dysfunctional, each in his or her own way. The ending may not quite surprise the reader, but it is startling even so. A sad conclusion to an unsettling and thoroughly involving narrative. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

Elizabeth George is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty psychological suspense novels, four young adult novels, one book of nonfiction, and two short-story collections. Her work has been honored with the Anthony and Agatha awards, two Edgar nominations, and both France's and Germany's first prize for crime fiction, as well as several other prestigious prizes. She lives in Washington State.