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ruthiella's review against another edition
3.0
OK, I somewhat agree with goodreaders who feel that George redeems herself with this 19th outing with DI Lynley & Co. The previous two books were totally off the rails IMO and this book was to be the litmus test for me and my reading future.
The mystery was pretty good. It certainly kept me guessing. It starts off very slow however. I don’t think the murder takes place until around page 150 or so. What kicks the book off is a very disturbed young man with a mommy-complex who commits suicide. Indeed, it is the reasons for and consequences of his death that introduce the reader to the cast of characters aka list of suspects once the mystery gets going. And the mommy in question, Caroline Goldacre, was believably horrible I thought. The kind of character you wouldn't mind seeing pushed from a moving train.
I think DS Barbara Havers redeems herself for the reader somewhat too in this book, though in general I fear the main characters have become almost caricatures. In particular, how many euphemisms can Barbara have for sexual intercourse? TOO MANY. And Lynley and zoo keeper Dierdre make no sense at all. There is no chemistry at all.
The mystery was pretty good. It certainly kept me guessing. It starts off very slow however. I don’t think the murder takes place until around page 150 or so. What kicks the book off is a very disturbed young man with a mommy-complex who commits suicide. Indeed, it is the reasons for and consequences of his death that introduce the reader to the cast of characters aka list of suspects once the mystery gets going. And the mommy in question, Caroline Goldacre, was believably horrible I thought. The kind of character you wouldn't mind seeing pushed from a moving train.
I think DS Barbara Havers redeems herself for the reader somewhat too in this book, though in general I fear the main characters have become almost caricatures. In particular, how many euphemisms can Barbara have for sexual intercourse? TOO MANY. And Lynley and zoo keeper Dierdre make no sense at all. There is no chemistry at all.
howjessicareads's review against another edition
4.0
Hooray!! I think Lynley and Havers are back on track. I thought this was a really good entry in the series, harkening back to the earlier books.
jgeisler's review against another edition
5.0
It's been awhile since I read one of Elizabeth George's books.....for awhile she seemed to have lost her way. She's clearly back "on her game" with A Banquet of Consequences. it's a long book - 563 pages - and I simply couldn't put it down, reading it voraciously in 4 days. I was sorry when it ended....interesting plot, wonderful character development, and beautiful writing. highly recommended!
etienne02's review against another edition
2.0
Première rencontre avec Elizabeth George et je crains qu’elle soit également la dernière. Ce qui m’a d’abord paru comme un roman intéressant, est rapidement devenu une lecture insipide et ennuyeuse. J’ai bien aimé l’écriture, très descriptive, mais de belles descriptions de paysages et des lieux. J’ai aimé aussi que l’auteur utilise le format policier, mais qu’elle sorte de l’enquête et d e l’enquêteur, pour développer les personnages autour de l’enquête. Par contre, le problème est que tous ces points positifs deviennent en cours de lecture si extrêmes qu’ils deviennent des défauts. L’écriture devient lente, l’histoire n’avance pas, ralentit par ces fameuses descriptions, mais aussi par de nombreux dialogues vides qui tournent en rond pendant des pages et des pages. L’enquêteur est tellement peu présent qu’il est pratiquement un personnage secondaire, si ce n’est un figurant, pour la première moitié en tout cas. L’histoire, voulant s’étendre et se complexifier, se perd finalement dans une série de sous-histoire. Une histoire familiale, sans doute la plus intéressante à mon avis, une histoire d’amour, une enquête bien sûr et un discours d’opinion. C’est ce dernier qui m’a complètement perdu. L’opinion de l’auteur transparaît tellement à travers n’ont pas un, mais une série de personnages que cela déviant lassant. La misandrie est à son paroxysme. Les femmes sont des féministes fortes, alors que les hommes sont soit des lâches, des agresseurs, des adultères, des dépendants affectifs qui ont besoin d’être pris en charge, etc. Cela devient risible et le message féministe qui aurait pu être entendu devient perd toute crédibilité. Il y a aussi de nombreuses erreurs de «chronologie» ou de respect du temps. Au début, lorsqu’on fait un décompte des mois à l’envers, si l’on prend la peine de compter les mois, le décompte ne fonctionne pas… De plus, je me suis rendu compte qu’il s’agit de la 19e aventure de l’enquêteur, alors que celui-ci est encore dans la trentaine… comment est-ce possible si l’on considère qu’une enquête typique de roman, ou le laps de temps entre deux enquêtes, est plus ou moins d’un an, pour assurer une certaine crédibilité. Finalement, l’auteur produit un roman de plus de 750 pages (dans mon édition) qui aurait pu en faire 350. On aurait facilement pu en retrancher la moitié, donc, de grosses et pénibles longueurs. Ceci étant dit, je comprends le succès commercial de cette auteure et la clientèle cible qui la suit, mais je ne serai pas de ceux (celles) là.
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
4.0
I didn’t love the structure of this book. The chapters were incredibly long and the section headings were rather irrelevant but the ending... My god, the ending. I was wholly unprepared. I will be seeking out other novels by George, now that I’ve read this one. I loved that the setting is in London and the dialect was spot-on, which made this a fun read even when it was serious.
adglass24's review against another edition
Two hundred pages in and I have to set it aside. It's not that it's not good...it is. But it's not good enough to warrant me finishing to the end (588 pages) when there are several other books on my shelf I would rather be reading. Sorry Jamie!
cdbellomy's review against another edition
3.0
Better, but after "The Pursuit of the Proper Sinner", in which Lynley did not act in character, I've noticed that this issue has continued with other characters. Disappointing, since I so loved the first books.
I'd love to hear more about St. James & Deborah.
I'd love to hear more about St. James & Deborah.
eileenp59's review against another edition
5.0
Elizabeth George gets right down to business setting the scene developing her characters and I do love detective inspector Lynley and detective Sergeant Havers. I love her technique of taking the reader back and setting up events. Page turner
ldv's review against another edition
3.0
Like PD James, George provides extensive narrative and back story to her murder mystery. This one is about a young man who jumps off a cliff when his girlfriend reads his diary, a feminist author and her editor and assistant, and if course the detectives involved in the eventual murder. It is long and not completely unpredictable, scandalous but still entertaining for it's genre.
canadianbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
http://cdnbookworm.blogspot.ca/2015/12/a-banquet-of-consequences.html