Product Description

An isolated Scottish mansion is the venue for a reading of a controversial new play by a West End theatre company. But on the very first evening, the playwright is savagely murdered, and Inspector Thomas Lynley faces the most testing case of his career. For one of the suspects is Lady Helen Clyde, the woman Lynley loves. And as he attempts to untangle the family scandals, fierce theatrical rivalries and long-buried secrets that beset the case, Lynley struggles to balance the clinical detachment of his job with the intensity of his feelings.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42884 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Colin Dexter
'A treat – splendidly plotted and beautifully written'

Review
'A treat – splendidly plotted and beautifully written' (Colin Dexter )

'If Agatha Christie were writing today, this is how she'd do it. Good plot, credible characters and a very perceptive and observant female eye' (Ted Allbeury )

About the Author
Elizabeth George is the author of highly acclaimed novels of psychological suspense. She won the Anthony and Agatha Best First Novel awards in America and received the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière in France. In 1990 she was awarded the prestigious German prize for international mystery fiction, the MIMI. Her novels have now been adapted for television by the BBC. An Edgar and Macavity Nominee as well as a New York Times and international bestselling author, Elizabeth George divides her time between Washington and Kensington, London.

Customer Reviews

Love + Jealousy + Murder = A Very Complex Investigation
Elizabeth George takes the cool Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley and turns his world upside down. For unknown and possibly public relations reasons, Scotland Yard sends Lynley outside of his jurisdiction to Scotland to take over an investigation after a fetching playwright is found murdered in her bed.

But, the guest in the adjoining room is Lynley's much beloved Lady Helen Clyde. To Lynley's chagrin, it turns out that Lady Helen has been sharing her boudoir. Naturally, she must be interrogated. How will Lynley bear up?

Lynley is clearly distraught by dealing with the situation and is soon making big mistakes. How will that affect the investigation? Well, it's not good . . . but fortunately Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers is on duty with Lynley.

Although this is a mystery, the book succeeds more as an investigation into the English class system and its weaknesses. With Barbara Havers standing in for every person in her role as skeptical seeker after truth, we see the rotten underpinnings of having a hereditary elite in place. How far has the rot spread? Well, you'll just have to read the book to find out.

The mystery itself takes some tangled turns that will provide much entertainment.

I graded the book down a bit. Some scenes didn't resonate with my impressions of this character from the last book. I thought that Ms. George had Lynley's head spinning a bit more than seems likely from what we learned about him in A Great Deliverance.

The book is a very important one in the series though. Frequent references in future books are made to the events in this one. You will enrich your enjoyment of future books if you read Payment in Blood.

overcomplicated and incredible
Unlike other Elizabeth George books, this one seems to be no more than a vehicle to show how unnecessarily complicated a plot can be. Coupled with more than a few unbelievable points - would a police inspector and his forensic expert friend really interview a woman (Lady Helen) who was an "ex" for both of them?? The complex ramifications of the relationships between the characters eventually leave you not caring about any of them. If you must read this, I recommend making notes and preferably drawing up a diagram on the way or you will be as lost as I was! One of very few books that I have not bothered to finish. Please try again, Ms George!

Old-fashioned but still damn nice
In an interview I read, Elizabeth George confesses that the first crime novel she wrote was a real Agatha Christie-style mystery, where the detective gathers his suspects in the library for the denouement. Her publisher kindly told her to introduce sex, violence and darkness - which she did and went on to become the new queen of crime. She really does produce a page turning plot, as well as complex, likeable characters.

And yet, and yet... I still wonder if the woman is not born in the wrong decade. No matter how much she tries to be modern, she still comes off as your old-fashioned auntie. No young people in Scotland speak like the ones in this book, for example - actually, I don't think they EVER did. It's like Monarch of the Glen, only worse.

And why on Earth is Helen Clyde supposed to be uncultured because she likes lightweight music like Strauss and Thai food instead of haute cuisine? I mean, the girl is in her early thirties, apparently. In the modern world, liking Strauss IS cultured, though a bit unprobable for a supposed It Girl. Shouldn't that be liking Dido?

OK, glad to have that off my chest. I feel a bit ashamed of being so grumpy, since the book really is a great read. What's wrong with being old-fashioned, after all? You go, auntie Elizabeth.