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hcq's review against another edition
4.0
Oh, thank goodness, George is back on form. The last book was so out-of-character, in so many ways, that reading this one is like meeting up with an old friend who'd had a weird episode, but is now normal again.
The ending was intriguing, in that it leaves a couple of very different possibilities open for the next installment.
My only complaint, and it's admittedly a niggling one, was a bit where the police were tracking places to buy a particular poison: After a page or so of possibilities has been discussed, Lynley is shocked to learn that said chemical is available for purchase over the Internet, freely and with no limitations. Indeed, he's so surprised that he makes a point of telling his colleagues about it, and they also express surprise.
I, however, was surprised by their surprise. This book was published in 2015—of course the stuff's available online! They're modern detectives, and supposedly very good ones; this should not be news to them.
The ending was intriguing, in that it leaves a couple of very different possibilities open for the next installment.
My only complaint, and it's admittedly a niggling one, was a bit where the police were tracking places to buy a particular poison: After a page or so of possibilities has been discussed, Lynley is shocked to learn that said chemical is available for purchase over the Internet, freely and with no limitations. Indeed, he's so surprised that he makes a point of telling his colleagues about it, and they also express surprise.
I, however, was surprised by their surprise. This book was published in 2015—of course the stuff's available online! They're modern detectives, and supposedly very good ones; this should not be news to them.
emmalynn's review against another edition
5.0
4 and 1/2 stars.
Oh my, FINALLY an Elizabeth George book I really enjoyed again, I must admit I was starting to lose faith in her.
This one was close to the perfection of the old days... granted, the introduction is very long, but it's worth it to set up all the characters and circumstances, and once we get going, there's no putting it down (and it's nearly 600 pages long!).
I LOVED all the time dedicated on Havers, I love to see her grow/evolve so much after the Tuscany debacle, but while still remaining the Barbara we know and love.
I could have done with more Deborah/St James (it feels like they've been in the background forever) and less Daidre (I REALLY don't like her and not only because I never remember how to pronounce her name. I get that she's polar opposite of Helen on purpose but I REALLY don't understand what Lynley sees in her, she's so plain, so dull, so practical... agh, I don't like her), but even so the parts about Lynley felt like the good old days too.
The crime plot itself was very well crafted... not a spectacular one, but one that kept me guessing until the very end.
For the first time in quite a while, I'm actually very impatient to get the next installment in this series!
Oh my, FINALLY an Elizabeth George book I really enjoyed again, I must admit I was starting to lose faith in her.
This one was close to the perfection of the old days... granted, the introduction is very long, but it's worth it to set up all the characters and circumstances, and once we get going, there's no putting it down (and it's nearly 600 pages long!).
I LOVED all the time dedicated on Havers, I love to see her grow/evolve so much after the Tuscany debacle, but while still remaining the Barbara we know and love.
I could have done with more Deborah/St James (it feels like they've been in the background forever) and less Daidre (I REALLY don't like her and not only because I never remember how to pronounce her name. I get that she's polar opposite of Helen on purpose but I REALLY don't understand what Lynley sees in her, she's so plain, so dull, so practical... agh, I don't like her), but even so the parts about Lynley felt like the good old days too.
The crime plot itself was very well crafted... not a spectacular one, but one that kept me guessing until the very end.
For the first time in quite a while, I'm actually very impatient to get the next installment in this series!
beasley's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this, with my usual reservation about Elizabeth George's books, which is that I don't enjoy her technique of going on at great length from the point of view of those involved in a crime. Here she made the reader work like a dog to get to the crime, and I wound up knowing an awful lot about characters in whom I had little interest. On the upside, the regularly appearing characters were all in fine form.
jkerski's review against another edition
3.0
Better than her last 2 novels, but I still can't forgive her for killing off Helen Lynley!
judya's review against another edition
5.0
Usually the Inspector Lynley series focuses on people and plot, not gruesome, disturbing detail, but this book is frankly, quite disturbing from a psychological standpoint. Still, it's well-written, as always, and Barbara Havers (one of my favorite fictional characters) is as vexing as ever.
mepitts's review against another edition
3.0
Really wanted to like this book but just couldn’t for a variety of reasons:
—it was way, way too long. Too many of the threads took FOREVER to resolve. How LONG should we wait for the victim characters to start asserting themselves? How long will the “fake victim” continue to control the people around her?
—although the narration did ethnic and class accents well, most of the “standard English” narration was odd and affected—too much artificial pitch change, too “fey.”
—although we’re meant (I assume) to admire Barbara for her skills in spite of her rebellion and unprofessionalism, her “bating” of a minor female character for “doing the dirty” is evidence that she’s someone who grew up powerless and enjoys using her police authority to abuse others. She references the murder as rationale for her behavior but that’s exactly wrong—Given international demonstrations about abuses of police power, the Barbara character is a loose cannon that needs to be spiked—time to be retired or reformed.
Conclusion? Respect to those who enjoyed the book but I was glad when it was over. Not recommended.
—it was way, way too long. Too many of the threads took FOREVER to resolve. How LONG should we wait for the victim characters to start asserting themselves? How long will the “fake victim” continue to control the people around her?
—although the narration did ethnic and class accents well, most of the “standard English” narration was odd and affected—too much artificial pitch change, too “fey.”
—although we’re meant (I assume) to admire Barbara for her skills in spite of her rebellion and unprofessionalism, her “bating” of a minor female character for “doing the dirty” is evidence that she’s someone who grew up powerless and enjoys using her police authority to abuse others. She references the murder as rationale for her behavior but that’s exactly wrong—Given international demonstrations about abuses of police power, the Barbara character is a loose cannon that needs to be spiked—time to be retired or reformed.
Conclusion? Respect to those who enjoyed the book but I was glad when it was over. Not recommended.
penny_literaryhoarders's review against another edition
4.0
Another excellent instalment in the Lynley series by Elizabeth George!
laura_sorensen's review against another edition
2.0
It was a good story but took me forever to read. I felt like it could have been half as long and still been a good novel. Lynley is sort of washed-out, but I enjoyed the parts with Havers, Harriman, and Nkata doing their thang.