With No One As Witness (2005)

Thomas Harris casts a long shadow over any contemporary mystery writer who dares to try a serial-killer plotline, and at first, With No One as Witness, Elizabeth George's 13th novel featuring British cops Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers, this time investigating a string of pedophilia-related murders, seems to nod in particular to Red Dragon. But George's appetite for unerring detail, complex plotting, and probing attention to issues of class, race, character, and disenfranchisement has always made her an original, and Witness confirms her mastery. Although George unravels the case at hand with customary skill and elegance, the real shocker for longtime fans is a stakes-raising, stunningly effective plot twist that changes the entire series in a heartbeat.