Payment in Blood (Inspector Lynley) (1989)

My blog post about this book is at this link. ( )

Superb

A solid followup to "A Great Deliverance." I enjoyed reading the second Inspector Lynley installment, though there were a handful of side story lines which I think would make excellent books as well. It felt slower than AGD at points, but still had me hooked enough to read within two days. Bravo to Ms. George on another good read. ( )

Closed-room English-style murder mystery set in a Scottish inn. A vast number of characters; I needed notes to keep them straight. Further develops George's interest in the prejudices of class, which this time both help and hinder the investigation. Both Lynley and Havers fall victim to their blind spots, but manage together to solve the case. The love story and its complications are less interesting, as usual. Good Masterpiece Theatre treatment as well, with a very young James McEvoy and (surprise!) Idris Elba. ( )

Payment in Blood is an excellent second outing for Lynley and Havers. George does a great job at setting up a good mystery with many twists and turns, numerous suspects, and a test not just for Lynley but Havers as well. In Payment in Blood, both Lynley and Havers each find themselves determined to prove that their suspect is the right one and it is only through working together that the reader can see why they are a perfectly matched pair of partners. Their different backgrounds and way of looking at things help to make them a formidable pair to any murderer caught in their crosshairs. I really liked how this particular case and the people involved helped to make Lynley/Havers stronger partners and better friends. George does an excellent job with developing her two main characters and their partnership leading this reader to look forward to more adventures with these two. I actually had read a later book in this series first so I saw this friendship already established and going back and starting with book one showed the beginnings of a partnership. However this book showed me a real glimpse at their friendship that I really enjoyed. I also liked seeing some great secondary characters like St. James, Deborah, and Helen return. Overall this was a great read that I would definitely recommend to any mystery lover. ( )