Elizabeth George (1) (1949–)

It’s been a few years since I’ve read a new Elizabeth George DCI Lynley novel, so I was more than ready for this one. George is no stranger to the “shot-to-the-gut” slam-bang ending, so I was prepared for that too. No one does this like Elizabeth George does so effortlessly. This partly describes the impact of her novels. But she is a force to be reckoned with. Her novels are deceivingly understated at the beginning, and then slam-bang something else happens. I loved this book. It show more was wonderful to see how the Havers/Lynley relationship has morphed over the years. The book takes us in its meandering way from London to Cornwall and back again, with many stops along the way. It starts with the death of a local Cornwall tinsmith. He was found stabbed in his own workshop. Through the differing points view including the tinsmith’s own words we are taken back a number of years to the beginning of this story where Michael Lobb meets the person that changes his and his family’s lives forever. We are introduced to a land-grabbing mining company trying to buy up Cornwall real estate, to some thoroughly loathsome males and to some money-grabbing humans. We don’t see Havers and Lynley at all until the middle of the book, but by that time we have a pretty good grip on all the protagonists’ motives, actions and machinations. That puts us ahead of this super crime fighting duo, which, if you’ve read any of these books, doesn’t happen very often. I love Havers and Lynley. My favourite sleuths by far. The book is a master stroke, written by a true Pro. show less

As with all Thomas Lynley books, this one is a tome. Some 690 pages, but it actually does read fairly fast. And also, as with other Elizabeth George books, this one causes the reader to do a lot of soul-searching, and it made me shake my head at how "spot-on" she is with her characterizations. She made me contemplate just how far some people will go to protect their child. She made me read in amazement at how she portrayed an alcoholic's downward spiral. She made me realize just how real all show more her characters are, but especially Lynley, and most especially, Barbara Havers. Barbara and Lynley are in the small college town of Ludlow. A suicide has occurred in custody in that town, and the man who was found dead in the police station was a deacon of the local church. His father is determined that his son did not commit suicide, so through his MLA and his lawyer he has tasked the Met to determine what really happened. At first go, when Havers is there with the impeccable DCS Ardery, and as the animosity between these tow is well-known and palpable, Barbara finds she can't strike out on her own to get to the bottom of things. She knows that something is definitely not right, but is thwarted at every turn when she tries to follow yet another lead. As it turns out, the first investigation is overturned and she is sent back to Ludlow with Lynley, and once there, they uncover secret after secret, and lie after lie. Underneath the quiet exterior of Ludlow there has been rape, sodomy, murder, police corruption and evidence tampering going on for months. it's a deep and complex story about small-town life that you will not soon forget. Highly recommended. show less

"A Banquet of Consequences," by Elizabeth George, is the 19th novel in her Detective Inspector Lynley series, which began way back in the late 1980s or early 1990s. When a troubled young man commits suicide, nobody thinks too much about it, but when several years later a famous feminist is poisoned and it turns out that her assistant was the mother of that young man, possible connections begin to occur. Barbara Havers, currently under great scrutiny for her penchant for doing things her own show more way, hopes that she can be exonerated if she is able to solve the crime, but Lynley must keep her on a very short leash indeed if her career can be salvaged…. I’ve loved the Lynley series since I first came across them decades ago - I think George had gotten up to the fourth novel by the time I discovered her and so I had to go back to read the series from the beginning, but since then I’ve faithfully bought each new novel (in hardcover!) as soon as it comes out. Sadly, that only appears to happen every 2-3 years these days, which means I’m more eager than ever to gobble it up when a new novel does arrive. This one feels more centered and calmer than the previous few books; Lynley had been going off the rails in the events after "With No One As Witness," I felt, but he finally seems to be coming back to himself with this novel. As always, underlying the novel is a very interesting study in human psychology, pathology and the way we lie to ourselves and each other, while at the same time there’s a fairly clued mystery to solve. I think one can read this without knowing the entire series, but of course it’s that much richer for the reader if s/he does know all the history. Highly recommended! show less

From Amazon:

To this day, the low, thin wail of an infant can be heard in Keldale's lush green valleys. Three hundred years ago, as legend goes, the frightened Yorkshire villagers smothered a crying babe in Keldale Abbey, where they'd hidden to escape the ravages of Cromwell's raiders. Now into Keldale's pastoral web of old houses and older secrets comes Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth earl of Asherton. Along with the redoubtable Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, Lynley has show more been sent to solve a savage murder that has stunned the peaceful countryside. For fat, unlovely Roberta Teys has been found in her best dress, an axe in her lap, seated in the old stone barn beside her father's headless corpse. Her first and last words were "I did it. And I'm not sorry." Yet as Lynley and Havers wind their way through Keldale's dark labyrinth of secret scandals and appalling crimes, they uncover a shattering series of revelations that will reverberate through this tranquil English valley—and in their own lives as well.

My Thoughts:

I have watched the TV series for years and loved it but had never read any of the books. This was my Blind Date With A Book for the "Grab a Book and Pull Up A Seat" group recommended by one of my Shelfari friends...and I thank her a thousand times for this recommendation. Thomas Lynley is the golden boy, the eighth Earl of Asherton, who doesn't even need to work . . . but who sees work as his obligation. Barbara Havers is a loose cannon of emotions, instincts and prejudice . . . but who's brilliantly and doggedly determined to find the answers to any crime. How they develop their relationship with one another, and how Haver's attitude and concepts run from hot to cold is quite intriguing. The only thing that I found hard to believe would ever happen was Haver's outburst to Lynley about his personal life. No underling would have spoken to their superior like that and kept their job...but it had it's place in the story line. Lynley's laid back calming personality makes the story come full circle to a stunning conclusion. 5 big stars and on to the next one featuring these two characters. show less