In The Presence Of The Enemy

A high-stakes, personal case in the bestselling series that inspired BBC's Lynley

'The tension is high and unrelenting' _____ Reader review
'Excellent; a real difficult-to-put-down read' _____ Reader review
'The perfect description of psychopathology' _____ Reader review
'Gripped me from page 1!' _____ Reader review
'Truly gripping, at times funny, but in general very moving' _____ Reader review

As the editor of a popular tabloid, 'King of Sleaze' Dennis Luxford has made a career out of scandal. But the tables turn when he receives a ransom letter concerning his illegitimate daughter.

To save the life of his child, Luxford must expose the girl's mother - Eve Bowen, now Under Secretary of State for the Home Office. Convinced that Charlotte's disappearance is just one more shabby tabloid ploy, Eve refuses to involve the police.

Only when events take an unbearable turn is New Scotland Yard brought in, in the guise of Inspector Thomas Lynley and his partner, Barbara Havers. And as their investigations move from Westminster to Wiltshire, Lynley and Havers discover that treachery and betrayal lie perilously close to home.

Praise for In the Presence of the Enemy

'A page-turning treat'
Sunday Times

'Plenty of chill factor . . . This story is gripping from start to finish'
Daily Mail

'George is a superb purveyor of fear, malevolent atmosphere and warped minds . . . So cleverly does she manage the narrative threads, so convincingly do her characters behave on the edge of their emotions, so startling are the twists to her tale that I could have read more'
The Times

'A superb novel with a twist in the tale worthy of Agatha Christie'
Daily Express

'A highly astute psychological thriller . . . It has more twists and turns than a mountain road'
OK

; Die zehnjährige Charlotte ist verschwunden. Die Mutter, eine prominente Politikerin, glaubt an eine Entführung und verdächtigt den Vater des Kindes, Dennis Luxford, Chef einer nicht gerade seriösen Boulevardzeitung. Nach einer hitzigen Affäre hat sie inzwischen jeden Kontakt zu ihm abgebrochen.
Zu spät wird Inspektor Lynley eingeschaltet: Es findet eine weitere Entführung statt. Bei seinen Ermittlungen in höchsten politischen und gesellschaftlichen Kreisen wird er konfrontiert mit Affairen, Lügen, schmutzigen Geschäften und den skrupellosen Machenschaften gewisser Presseorgane.