Reviews

What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George

jimbowen0306's review

4.0

I've never been much of a fan of Elizabeth George. In her early books, her usual central characters came across as too stuck up (Linley) or too much of an inverted snob (Havers) for their own good.

In this book, George moves away from Linley and Havers to a book that can be best described as one that examines the 'psychology of a murderer.' In a previous book, Linley's wife was killed by a 12 year old. In this book we find out how the child came to murder someone.

It's a depressing book, if a little far fetched. It deals with the unremitting horrors that some kids have to see, and that's often unpleasant reading. The book is also a little strange, in that it seems to want to excuse the child for what he did, when for most of the book he could have stepped back and said 'No thanks, not for me.'

The twist in the tail is rather clever and was one I didn't see coming, which is a change for me. I can usually spot them coming a mile off these days. The unexpected twist made it worthwhile for me to read the book I think and might cause you to enjoy it too..

dhoofwijk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

joaniesickler's review against another edition

4.0

All of Elizabeth George's series of mysteries are impressive, really. This one took a totally different turn and was a stunning look at single parent, inner city childhood full of heart that turns tragic and fits uniquely into all her other books. She's a remarkable writer - American writing about Brits. Try her and start with hear earliest works.

gracefullypunk's review against another edition

1.0

Couldn't even make it all the way through this book. The fact is, you know what's going to happen if you've read the previous George thriller, and so it's just like watching a downward spiral unfold. Perhaps somewhere in the book there's a bit of hope, a bit of something happy, but the first two-thirds are self-destructive characters or characters getting their lives destroyed by others. Ugh.

mementomoriiv's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is really a close study of how children in an unstable home can fall into more and more struggle, even with the love and support of family and the support of social services. It really exposes how much trust is an element that can so easily be lost, for good reason, yet is so incredibly necessary to keep people safe.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Bullying, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death of parent

marrbarnett's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

missmim's review against another edition

3.0

It was really eye-opening, and kind of hilarious, to read the Amazon reviews of this book, with people vowing never to buy George's books again after this "travesty" and "deception" and blah blah. George isn't the best writer in the world, but she spins a good yarn and I for one was interested in finding out just how this kid ended up where he did. So there's no Lynley or Havers--whatever. I'm sure we'll get them both back in the next book. What I wonder is whether George will leave this story hanging, the way she did in Deception on His Mind (I'm still wondering what happened to that poor girl). I felt for all three of the children in this book, even Ness, and despite its Hardian (not Dickensian, sorry!) descent into depressing incident after depressing incident, I still wanted to know what happened at the end. I kept hoping it wouldn't end the way it did, and that's something.

emu36's review against another edition

5.0

At the end of the last Elizabeth George book ("With No One As Witness") I was a little upset about the death of Helen Lynley who had been one of my favorite characters throughout the series. However this book, while it didn't give a total justification for her murder, at least showed how and why it occurred. I liked this book because it was a little outside of the usual Lynley series recipe and it also delved into the "dark side" a little bit. It was very interesting to see things from the point of view of a black 12 year old boy from a bad area of London and the trouble that he had to deal with. The most interesting part of the book to me was the relationship between the police and the juveniles of the area especially towards the end when Joel is brought to justice. The irony of it all was how corrupt they were, yet how angry they were that "one of their own" had been affected. The story portrayed how a gang shooting like the one that took Helen Lynley's life might have been stopped if the police in the neighborhood had been trying to end the problems that were there to begin with. This is probably true of most cities of course and not just London. Other than that, interesting and an overall good book.

mmsbrooks24's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sjgrodsky's review against another edition

4.0

Be warned. If you're looking fir a Thomas Lynley book, this novel does not star George's well known detective character. It focuses instead on a highly dysfunctional family of west Indians living in present day London. By the last page -- long before the last page -- you'll understand the sociopathology that supplies the motive for the shooting. As the preceding sentence implies, the book isn't a pleasant read. It's a sad story and it's not pure entertainment. If you're still reading this review you might want to read the book.