A Place of Hiding

by Elizabeth George

Book Overview

An isolated beach on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel is the scene of the murder of Guy Brouard, one of Guernsey's wealthiest inhabitants and its main benefactor. Forced as a child to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553801309
• ISBN13: 9780553801309
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Bantam Books
• Length: 514 Pages
• Weight: 1.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Excellent mystery

After what I consider to be the brilliant panoramic psychological masterpiece that was A Traitor To Memory, Elizabeth George here shifts the focus back to a more traditional story of crime and more onto her main characters once more, in a book that is sure to please all her fans immensely, despite their opinion of her last book.Here, she takes the story to the Channel Island of Gurnsey, an enclosed community very much with its own individual identity, which she evokes very well indeed. One morning, Guy Brouard, millionaire and generous benefactor of many projects on the island, is killed on the beach after his morning swim, and his death will send disastrous ripples through not only his own fractured family, but the fragile community too.A plethora of evidence is discovered that clearly implicates someone in the China, one China River, an American staying on the island for a few days after couriering a package for Guy over from the USA., and she is swiftly arrested. Desperate to prove his sister?s innocence, and having found no aid at the American embassy, Cherokee River (their mother was a hippie, of course) rushes to England to enlist the help of the only person he can think of: Deborah St James, China?s old friend from youth. Maybe there is something she can do, perhaps? However, when even a word from friend in the Metropolitan Police Thomas Lynley has no influence upon the Gurnsey police, Deborah (with Cherokee and husband Simon in tow) hurries to the island to help save her friend, and to atone for past failings. Fans of Elizabeth George will love this, If they don?t mind that Deborah and Simon take the lead rather than the usual partnership of Lynley and Havers (if you are at all reasonable, you shouldn't). Certainly I found it refreshing and rather nice that she?s brought these two characters out of the shadows a little more and given their relationship an almost incredible amount of depth all in a single book. George is adept at creating realistic and engrossing relationships between her main characters. But, then, character has always been George?s strong point. There are very few writers today who can create so many completely rounded and whole and human characters, make them all equally interesting and give them all equal shrift and importance within a single novel. And it?s not as if she skimps on plot here, either. It?s developed, multi-stranded, paced very well indeed, has a very good solution and is wholly satisfying. She tells her story with beautiful and incredibly rich prose, and in my mind is probably the finest American exponent of this type of traditional British mystery (even if she doesn?t always get it 100% right, but that doesn?t matter.) Existing fans will love this book and may think it her strongest in a while, and I would also encourage anyone whose never read her before and likes this kind of book to begin with A Place Of Hiding as soon as possible.

Riveting, Robust-George Back in Form!

Elizabeth George delivers another wonderful edition of her British mystery series.This time, two characters-Simon Allcourt-James and his red haired, moody wife Deborah-who have always been supporting players, take center stage. The book pays tribute to George's many strengths in character development-any of the characters that she has written about over the years could easily become the focus of a book.The plot: Cherokee River,a California friend from Deborah's past, shows up on the doorstep of the Allcourt-James' in London. His half-sister, China River (there mother was a child of the 60's), has been arrested in Guernsey on charges of murder. He enlists the help of the Allcourt-James' and their promise to travel to Guernsey.The murder victim is Guy Brouard, a wealthy hotelier, who escaped the Nazis as a child. He lived with his sister Ruth in a mansion on Guernsey. His life was--and the book is--filled with an assortment of wives, mistresses, children, hangers-on, local friends. Plenty of evidence points to China: however, she is the only one who has no motive.George's book explores human relationships and dynamics in a way unknown to most mystery authors. The passionate yet challenging marriage of Simon and Deborah--with her numerous insecurities (she can't bear children due to an abortion, her father is his servant)and his embarassment over his crippled legs--is explored in depth. The loyalty that Ruth, the murder victim's sister, feels to her brother-despite her knowledge of his weaknesses--is woven masterfully throughout the book. Several other family relationships are also presented and worked through in the pages. Of course the mystery itself is great: plenty of twists and turns, a Nazi or two from the past, lots of atmosphere. I would recommend this book to fans of the mystery genre ( particularly English mystery), fans of Elizabeth George (she's back in form-I, Richard was a disappointment), fans of "english books" (A Place of Hiding is more than just a mystery). I would caution die hard George groupies-her two main characers, Barbara Havers and her partner, the aristocratic and dashing Inspector Thomas Lynley, are not featured in this book. (Lynley makes one or two perfunctory appearances but that's it.) Don't let that stop you-the book is still wonderful without them.

Devotion and Betrayal

I've just returned from a trip to the island of Guernsey in the English Channel, and I'm still lost in the world I found there. I was in the company of a couple that has remained fascinating through most of the books this author has written: Deborah and Simon St. James. They introduced me to a new set of acquaintances that proved challenging. The author gave me the human condition --- the lies we live; the masks we wear; the sorrows, triumphs, accomplishments and disasters we humans encounter. This trip into the pages of "A Place of Hiding" was less about a police investigation, less about a murder, and more about the "why" of murder. This story is not a techno-thriller, no police procedural, nor a non-stop, page-turning chase. It is about what people do and why they do it......It's a great book. I loved it....

Mystery at its finest!

This is the tale of the life and death Guy Bourard, benefactor to many, bain to more, who escaped the Nazis in Paris in his youth and is about to build a memorial to the locals who fought the German Occupation of the island of Guernsey during World War II. And that is how the story unfolds. No one paints characters to tell a story like Elizabeth George and what an excellent one this is. A thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish that you won't be able to put down. "A Place of Hiding," differs slightly from her others in its focus on Deborah and Simon Allcourt-St.James, proving that all of George's characters are so strong anyone of them could take the lead. After a brief journey to Southern California, the island of Guernsey is the setting, and I can still smell the sea air and see the inhabitants in my head. What a wonderful treat!