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whitneyborup's review against another edition
2.0
I just got a new puppy, so I was looking for something easy and absorbing when I knew I would be distracted by other things. I liked the first three in this series so much, I thought this would be that, so I think I'm being harsh because it was not what I wanted. As a general rule, I don't like prequels. Plus, this one was less about the crime and way too much about melodramatic rich-people love.
nonna7's review against another edition
5.0
I am working my way through the early Elizabeth George books. This one is particularly interesting because it explains a LOT about the later ones. In this book, Deborah Cotter, daughter of Simon St James' valet, who grew up in St James home has returned to England after 3 years in the United States studying photography. She has won some prize money, enough to buy a new camera and lens collection. She is also engaged to Lynley, close friend of Simon's. Simon has been unable to express his love for Deborah. When she left England she was only 17. He was 28. Now she is back. Lynley has visited a number of times and has proposed marriage which she has accepted. So now they are making a trip to Cornwall where Lynley's home as Lord Atherton is located. He announces that they will marry and make their home in Cornwall. In the meantime, he has to deal with his younger brother who is a drug addict. Then a local journalist who is married to a young woman who does some work on Lynley's estate is murdered and castrated after his death. He is known to have been a womanizer so the theory is that that he has crossed someone's husband/lover. However, it's far deeper than that. What a story! We learn about Lynley's deep estrangement from his mother, his brother's problems and so much more. This was a really excellent book with a lot of twists and turns as well as a lot of emotion. Fans know he does NOT marry Deborah.
mfeibel's review against another edition
2.0
Read for book club, it took me a long time to get into it. The first body doesn't even fall until about 100 pages in. I found myself far more intrigued by the Lynley/Deborah/St. James triangle than the actual mystery. And even that didn't seem like it was up for debate until the last few pages. And since this is a prequel, anyone reading it knows that Deborah and St. James end up together. So it wouldn't be a surprise if you read them in publication order. I felt George spent too much time on flowery and dramatic description than she did on making the mystery interesting and exciting. I frequently forgot aspects of the crime because so much time was spent analyzing the personal lives of the characters.
And in the end, it was so nicely convenient that the killer was the man Lynley hates all along.
All this being said, I might give her other books a chance as I've heard they're better. And I do like the characters (especially the fact that Deborah and Simon ended up together), I just wanted a more exciting mystery.
And in the end, it was so nicely convenient that the killer was the man Lynley hates all along.
All this being said, I might give her other books a chance as I've heard they're better. And I do like the characters (especially the fact that Deborah and Simon ended up together), I just wanted a more exciting mystery.
ashak's review against another edition
3.0
An enteraining read. Amazing to see the intial stages of these characters particularly when you know how they have developed in the later series.
http://onerightword.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/a-suitable-vengence-elizabeth-george.html
http://onerightword.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/a-suitable-vengence-elizabeth-george.html
finsternuss's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
falconerreader's review against another edition
3.0
Great fun to go back in time with them, but seriously, Deborah is only 20? She's just a kid! Yet she's a professional photographer and woman of the world.
bucherca49's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting to read the backstory of Deborah and Simons's relationship and to learn more about Tommy's family. George pulls together the various threads of the murders fairly well at the end. I was surprised to discover how different the novel is from the dramatization in the TV series.
elinevandm's review against another edition
4.0
"Als lezer dien je hier dus eigenlijk een beetje te vergeten wat je eerder al las, want de verschillende relaties zitten hier heel anders in elkaar dan we gewend zijn." https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2019/03/08/mij-is-de-wrake-van-elizabeth-george/