Careless In Red (original 2008; edition 2009)

This well-written mystery is all about who killed the surfer, and it’s a page turner. Occasionally it’s irritating, as its characters tend to speak elliptically. They seem a bit coy in the way they hide their secrets. But it definitely draws you in, more and more as you keep reading. There’s a great cast of suspects, and an interesting solution to the puzzle. If you’re already emotionally invested in George’s Inspector Lynley, this novel will cinch that. ( )

A few weeks after the murder of his wife Thomas Lynley is walking the Cornish coast in something of a daze when he stumbles across a body at the base of a cliff. His walk has been a solitary affair but the discovery of the body requires him to engage with society once more and he is drawn, somewhat against his will, into an investigation although it is DI Bea Hannaford who is in charge of it.

I struggled through this book primarily because of its length. At 23hours and 15 minutes it’s a lot longer than the average audio book which in itself wouldn’t be a bad thing but there is not 23 hours and 15 minutes worth of story to be told. The body Lynley finds is that of a young man called Santo and the book reveals not only who killed him and why (eventually), but also the back story of nearly everyone he ever encountered in his short life. The pasts of his parents, sister, acquaintances and lovers are all revealed in rather excruciating detail. I think if George had chosen one or two of the characters to delve into more deeply the book might have been more successful but I felt like she made a rod for her own back by trying to give everyone a ‘windswept and interesting’ story. Because of their quantity and what felt almost like competitiveness to be more quirky or perverse than the next one, these characterisations grew tiresome for me.

The plot’s many tangents accounted for the rest of the word count and, most of them failed to add much value or enjoyment. There were tangents about a mis-identified surfer’s pictures on the Internet and one about a woman wanting to become a nun and more than a few about the sex lives of the various players. Again, a couple of these tangents might have been interesting but their sheer volume made them all a bit like an amorphous, dull blob to me. The main plot was actually resolved quite satisfactorily although, annoyingly, the ever-brilliant Lynley managed to provide the essential clue even with his mind occupied elsewhere.

As always with this series there is much made of the fact that Thomas Lynley is an Earl. I have long thought this element of the series probably reflects the author’s nationality as Americans do seem to have a ‘what-might-have-been’ fascination for the inherited nobility they eschewed when establishing their more egalitarian country. As Maxine remarked in her review of this book the ridiculous levels of gratitude displayed when Lynley speaks to a ‘commoner’ with anything resembling decency becomes increasingly grating and incredible.

I imagine this book would be a completely different reading experience for someone who isn’t familiar with the series (I have read all of the previous books). That reader would, I think, struggle to understand the Lynley character as I thought a lot of prior knowledge of him and his life events was assumed (particularly towards the beginning of the book). However apart from Lynley and a relatively minor role for his faithful sidekick Barbara Havers, none of the regular characters (including my favourite, Simon) make an appearance so a reader new to the series wouldn’t have spent the whole book with the same annoyed anticipation that I did.

I know I would never have finished the print version of this book because I would have felt I was wasting my time. Walls and throwing would have entered into the equation long before the end. Being able to ‘read’ it while doing other things made it, just, bearable. The most irritating thing of all is that George showed she can still tell a story and create characters to care about. Daidre Trahir, the woman whose cottage Lynley breaks into to find a phone to report the body he found, is a charming and interesting character and her story is beautifully unwrapped. Unfortunately though there is so much detritus surrounding these good parts of the book that they tend to look like rubbish by association. I sincerely wish some serious editing had been able to tease out the good book buried inside the one that was published. ( )

I managed to finish reading before going away. Liked the book, although I was sometimes puzzled by Lynley's behaviour and the way his thought went.
Seems I was not the only one, the local inspector also had her thoughts about it :-)
The desciption of the way that the death of a young boy has reasons in the past, how people have difficulties with forgetting / forgiving / moving on is what made this book so nice for me to read, apart from the 'who-dunnit'-part of course.
A very logical outcome that was concealed (for me) for quite some time because I couldn't follow Lynley. ( )

another great read by George. She gets better and better, full stop. ( )

After a disappointing read in “What came before He Shot Her” which centered around the life of Helen’s killer and left out our beloved protagonist , I was pleased to see his return in “Careless in Red”.

The story picks up several weeks after Helen’s death. Lynley overwhelmed by the death of his wife and his unborn child begins a solo walking tour of the Cornish coast. After several weeks wondering and looking like a homeless bum he stumbles across a dead body who appears to have fallen off a cliff while rock-climbing. With no one else in sight he seeks help from Daidre Trahir, a solitary woman who owns a cottage nearby.

As the story goes on, Lynley and Daidre develop a friendship, one born of mutual pain, tragedies they are both trying to put behind them. The pacing is very leisurely, with oodles of colourful pages describing the upcoming tourist season and the activities of a resort area including the personal side of a large cast of characters.

The story does pick up when we get into the nitty-gritty details of the rock-climber’s fate and Lynley’s involvement, his questions and theories raise alarm bells. Although Bea Hannaford is in charge of the investigation, she realises Scotland Yard has to be notified, guess who shows up, Barbara Havers, Lynley’s long-time colleague. The plotting does eventually burst to life with Lynley digging up old history and conducting interviews. All along Lynley struggles with his personal loss but he eventually realises Scotland Yard is his second love.

If you don’t mind Ms. George long winded style of writing you will probably enjoy this one. The plotting has many red herrings to stretch the suspense and keep you captivated from front to back. The cast of characters is very large, each one has their own peculiarity and I found it a mental challenge keeping track of them all. The core of the plot is love and revenge and great detail goes into describing how cunning and manipulative the perpetrator was.

Part of my attraction to this series is the relationship between Lynley and Havers and we finally have them back together and I can’t wait to see which direction they will take next ( )