Scan barcode
catzeyez's review against another edition
2.0
I did not enjoy this book at all. At first I thought perhaps the 'session' sections were triggering things in me, but realised it was just the book itself. The sections on the sessions were way too long and rambling, even disjointed to the point I was waiting to discover they weren't even real, until toward the end of the book when they were shortened. The police work was minimal, character development was poor, and it just seemed all over the place and until the last 100 pages it was a hard plod to keep going to the finish. Not at all up to the usual standard I have found in this series so far.
karolinatx's review against another edition
3.0
I've read all of Elizabeth George's Thomas Lynley/Barbara Havers series, and I must say that this is the weakest of the bunch. One of the aspects that I've always enjoyed in this mystery series is the attention that the author paid to the lives of the two main characters. In A Traitor to Memory, that seems to have flown by the wayside, and Havers and Lynley are given rather slipshod treatment. The small sections devoted to their private lives seem perfunctory and forced.
In addition, I felt that the mystery itself wasn't as strong in this novel. The timeline for one character's novel is not in sync with the other chapters, which I found to be quite confusing when I realized what was going on. The ending comes out of nowhere and leaves many questions unanswered, which, in itself isn't a crime, but these questions needed to be answered in order for the book to make sense.
Overall though, A Traitor to Memory kept me glued to its pages. Regardless of the book's weaknesses, Ms. George is a fantastic British mystery writer. I look forward to her next book, hoping that she'll take time and care with it, and especially to the BBC adaptation of the first book in her series, to appear on PBS some time in early 2002.
In addition, I felt that the mystery itself wasn't as strong in this novel. The timeline for one character's novel is not in sync with the other chapters, which I found to be quite confusing when I realized what was going on. The ending comes out of nowhere and leaves many questions unanswered, which, in itself isn't a crime, but these questions needed to be answered in order for the book to make sense.
Overall though, A Traitor to Memory kept me glued to its pages. Regardless of the book's weaknesses, Ms. George is a fantastic British mystery writer. I look forward to her next book, hoping that she'll take time and care with it, and especially to the BBC adaptation of the first book in her series, to appear on PBS some time in early 2002.
hisdarkmaterials's review against another edition
5.0
Love it. Lengthy but gripping. And no, I never saw the ending coming!
mccosgrove's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
nonna7's review against another edition
5.0
This is the last book I've read in this series in catch up mode. There is actually one more, but it starts with someone being buried alive. I'm not going there. This book was as usual in an Elizabeth George novel very long, detail and very involved. The version I read is a 1006 page paperback. The book starts out with a very overweight woman being intentionally run over by a speeding car. Then the book opens to a psychiatric session with Gideon, a young violinist, who has suddenly lost the ability to play the violin. He was a child prodigy who, once he picked up a violin, approached it with single minded devotion. Then an older woman is run down in a particularly vicious hit and run. We soon learn she is the mother of the violinist, but he doesn't realize that until much later in the book. As the book goes on we learn that Gideon had a little sister who was drowned by her nanny who got 20 years. Now she's out. There is so much going on in this book that if I wrote much more, it would give the ending again. Suffice it to say that this book is, as usual, both incredibly complex and interesting with that twist at the end that the author makes famous.
marystevens's review against another edition
4.0
Another brilliant British police procedural featuring Lynley and Havers. Gideon Davies' estranged mother is the victim of a vehicular homicide. She is a quiet woman beloved by everyone so the range of suspects is pretty sparse. But there's a daughter's death in her past so Lynley and Havers are soon tilling the earth around all her friends and relations. Gideon was a child prodigy with a brilliant career who at 28 just stopped playing and no one knows why. His diary, addressed to his therapist, is interspersed with the investigation. The story centers on all the complex relationships among all those related in any way to the victim and I found it fascinating.
artysubu's review against another edition
2.0
It was supremely long winded and if I wasn't invested in this series by now in probably wouldn't have finished it. Anyhow. Finally got through it thank goodness.
elinevandm's review against another edition
4.0
"Ik ben alvast fan van haar boeken en laat me niet zo snel tegenhouden door een aantal bladzijden meer of minder." https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2021/12/30/verrader-van-het-verleden-van-elizabeth-george-4/
dontmissythesereads's review against another edition
2.0
Book #64 read in 2013
This was my least favorite of there series so far. There is little to move the characters along in personal lives. Plus it took about two-thirds of the 1,000 page book for the story to really get going. If I wasn't so invested in the characters, I would have put this aside.
This was my least favorite of there series so far. There is little to move the characters along in personal lives. Plus it took about two-thirds of the 1,000 page book for the story to really get going. If I wasn't so invested in the characters, I would have put this aside.
balden4325's review against another edition
I definitely agree with others comments that his book is the hardest to get through. Lynley, Havers and the St. James characters have all but disappeared in this storyline. The plot is interesting but convoluted. I'm glad I saw it through to the end but it was a struggle!