Scan barcode
marrbarnett's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
we_are_all_mad_here26's review against another edition
4.0
My favorite so far, which is weird because I was kind of dreading this prequel to the Inspector Lynley series - right or wrong, I always think a prequel can only be boring. I want to know what happens next. I do not care what happened before.
I'm not even sure what made this one better. It still contained words like "glaucous" and "furcate" and one word (which I have thankfully forgotten) had no dictionary entry at all on Kindle. It also outdid itself in the "Lords and Ladies ignore horrific crimes because they are Lords and Ladies and thus feel they have that option." On the bright side the pacing was good, the mystery was interesting and the angst struck me as less extreme than in previous books.
Had I lost my patience with this one I might have ended my engagement with Inspector Lynley immediately. As it stands he has been redeemed somewhat but is still on book probation, so to speak. On to #5.
I'm not even sure what made this one better. It still contained words like "glaucous" and "furcate" and one word (which I have thankfully forgotten) had no dictionary entry at all on Kindle. It also outdid itself in the "Lords and Ladies ignore horrific crimes because they are Lords and Ladies and thus feel they have that option." On the bright side the pacing was good, the mystery was interesting and the angst struck me as less extreme than in previous books.
Had I lost my patience with this one I might have ended my engagement with Inspector Lynley immediately. As it stands he has been redeemed somewhat but is still on book probation, so to speak. On to #5.
kaadie's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Meh. This book delivered what it promised. Someone was murdered and someone else figured out the how, why and when.
melindamoor's review against another edition
1.0
Wow, there's only one interesting mystery about this book and it is: WHERE HAS MY REVIEW GONE?
2 days ago it was here on GR, black and white, and now it's just gone without a trace.
Hmm.
Question is, could the Lynley and Havers duo solve the crime?
Possibly, but only after 400 pages of
- mind numbing navel-gazing and self-absorption
- all kinds of relationship-angst that could credit at least 4 YA novels
- immature behaviour in their relationships to other, very unappealing and uninteresting people.
And maybe my review will reappear ... or .. not?
2 days ago it was here on GR, black and white, and now it's just gone without a trace.
Hmm.
Question is, could the Lynley and Havers duo solve the crime?
Possibly, but only after 400 pages of
- mind numbing navel-gazing and self-absorption
- all kinds of relationship-angst that could credit at least 4 YA novels
- immature behaviour in their relationships to other, very unappealing and uninteresting people.
And maybe my review will reappear ... or .. not?
reader_one's review against another edition
3.0
So, I thought the characters spent undue amounts of time anguishing over their own lives in the last book in the series-clearly I was underestimating each of their own capacities to make it all about themselves. Again the mystery was ok-one of the central plot points was pretty obvious early on, but getting to the resolution was entertaining. The backstory here is clearly important, but I missed the interplay between Lynly and Barbara. I mostly read this impatiently so I could get to the next book that wasn't a prequel.
sarah_liest's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
auntieg0412's review against another edition
4.0
When I started reading I didn’t realize this is a prequel to the first three books. The characters were so self-absorbed and whiny that I might not have continued if I had read this one first, though. Excellent plot that kept me going to the finish.
ncrabb's review against another edition
3.0
The lovely and talented photographer, Deborah Cotter, has come back to England from her years studying in the U.S. Simon St. James, a forensic scientist, has been in love with her since she was 17. No less ardently in love with Deborah is Inspector Tommy Lynley, who is about to announce his engagement to her at his family home in Cornwall. Awkwardly enough, everyone has been invited to the estate for the announcement, including Simon St. James. It is a diffident and civil love triangle, but a love triangle just the same. Deborah clearly loves them both.
But before the weekend party can break up, the usually peaceful Cornwall countryside is riddled with murder, and everyone’s a suspect from St. James’s sister, Sidney, to Tommy Lynley’s brother. A journalist has been savagely murdered—a journalist whose wife grew up on the Lynley estate—a journalist with plenty of secrets, any one of which could get him killed.
Sidney St. James’s boyfriend also soon turns up dead, and Lynley and others must discover whether his death was accidental.
Almost as suspenseful to me as were the efforts to solve murders was Deborah Cotter’s decision as to which man she would ultimately select. (Because I’ve flounced about through the series, I knew how it would turn out, but watching it unfold in this book was fascinating indeed.
But before the weekend party can break up, the usually peaceful Cornwall countryside is riddled with murder, and everyone’s a suspect from St. James’s sister, Sidney, to Tommy Lynley’s brother. A journalist has been savagely murdered—a journalist whose wife grew up on the Lynley estate—a journalist with plenty of secrets, any one of which could get him killed.
Sidney St. James’s boyfriend also soon turns up dead, and Lynley and others must discover whether his death was accidental.
Almost as suspenseful to me as were the efforts to solve murders was Deborah Cotter’s decision as to which man she would ultimately select. (Because I’ve flounced about through the series, I knew how it would turn out, but watching it unfold in this book was fascinating indeed.
lilias's review against another edition
3.0
I had been putting this one off over and over since I’d heard it was a sort of prequel to the series and didn’t have Havers as much of a character. But it turned out to be better than I was afraid it would be. The love triangle was boring beyond, but it was nice to be able to get to know these characters better. The mystery itself wasn’t thrilling, but Elizabeth George is so readable. In short, this was a solid book.