How does it compare to audio works by the same author?
Very good
Advantages:
Strong characterisation
Disadvantages:
No Havers !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Introduction This is the fourth in the Inspector Lynley series and is the book which made me become addicted to the series (at least until I read 'A Traitor to Memory', which cured me), not particularly because of the plot, but because of the in-depth characterisation. For this reason, if you haven't read any Elizabeth George before, don't start with this book - start from the beginning with 'A Great Deliverance'. This book is a great book in its own right, but will make more sense if you are familiar with the characters first. And don't think that having seen the series will help you - the characters on TV are quite far removed from the books - a mistake, I think.
The author Elizabeth George is American, yet sets her books in the UK, apparently because she believes that the sense of history here lends itself to better mystery writing. She has won a number of major prizes for her books. Her books all feature Inspector Lynley, Sergeant Havers and Lynley's friends Helen, Simon and Deborah (although some books feature Lynley without Havers or Havers without Lynley and in one case, Simon and Deborah without either Lynley or Havers), except one, a novella called 'Remember, I'll Always Love You'.
The plot Lynley takes his bride to be, Deborah, to his ancestral home in Cornwall. He is also accompanied by his friends, Helen and Simon and Simon's sister, Sydney. Shortly after their arrival, a local journalist is found viciously murdered, having had his genitals cut off. It seems that the case is relatively simple - the brother and father of the journalist's wife both have strong motives, but after some investigation, it seems that the answer is not that simple after all. Lynley, of course, becomes involved in the investigation, along with Simon, who is a forensic scientist, and the local police.
They are no nearer to finding the solution when Sydney's partner, a drug-user, is found dead at the foot of a cliff. Did he fall, or was he pushed? Links are discovered between Sydney's partner and the murdered journalist, which leads Lynley back to London and a flat next door to Deborah's. Phone numbers discovered in the flat are traced back to Cornwall and have a disastrous affect on Lynley's family.
The characters This is by far the strongest part of the book. We discover that Lynley is estranged from his mother, who Lynley caught sleeping with another man when his father was still alive. Lynley's brother, Peter, is a drug-user and loses his partner to a drug overdose. Simon is in love with Deborah, whom he has known for years (his live-in butler/valet/housekeeper is Deborah's father), and Deborah is clearly confused about her feelings for Lynley and Simon. It is actually this that keeps you reading more that the actual crimes - I really cared about what happened to them. Very very strong, in-depth characterisation, something that is quite unusual in this genre. Unfortunately, this is missing from the TV series - a great shame.
Conclusion A well-written book with excellent characters. A couple of gripes:
1. Havers is missing from this book. Although I love the interaction between Lynley and his friends, I do miss the relationship with Havers - Havers, being of the working class, often has a different viewpoint from Lynley, which causes conflict between the two. 2. It is amazing that Lynley works for the Metropolitan Police, yet manages to get involved in investigations all over the country! Not very realistic, although some artistic licence must be allowed, I suppose.
Definitely a book to recommend, although I would strongly suggest reading one of the earlier books first. At 320 pages, it is one of Elizabeth George's shorter books, which some will prefer to her later ones, which are 400 plus pages long!
The book can be purchased from High Street book retailers for £6.99, or from Amazon for £5.59. Published by Coronet books.
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