Reviews

What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George

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

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.

jlady's review against another edition

4.0

Very well written and compelling.


Spoiler (if you haven't read "With no one as Witness"

Hard to read though, because you know from the start that it ends badly.

emjay2021's review against another edition

So strange...I could have sworn I had written a review for this when I read it. Oh well. This novel provides back story for the murder that happens at the end of the previous book in the Lynley series. Therefore, it's not a whodunit but rather a whydunit, and man is it ever grim. I found it quite compelling, if depressingly believable. Joel is a nice kid from a poor family of colour who is enmeshed in the system that will eventually lead to the aforementioned murder. I found it very moving and hard to put down--I read it while travelling and it occupied me through a long train journey. I know some Lynley fans didn't like this one but I thought it was very good.

samstg's review against another edition

I honestly was only reading this book because I was saying at my parent's house and finished the book I had brought with me. Nothing against the book, just haven't gotten around to continuing it and know that I won't bother. 

saidahgilbert's review against another edition

5.0

I cried at the end of this book. Reading this book, you know what is going to happen at the end. The twelve-year-old boy revealed in the book is going to be charged for murder of Inspector Lynley's wife. However, I could not believe the circumstances. The book is written in omniscient third person so we can see where certain decisions can affect the characters but the characters themselves cannot see because they can only consider what they know.