Rating: 
Summary: Absorbing, Intense, Live in the narrator's shoes!
Review: . . . .~ ~ - ~ ~
~ - ~ One of Elizabeth George's strengths as a mystery writer is her ability to create complex intriguing characters, who can alternate between winning our sympathy and earning our intense dislike. She creates people in intolerable situations that bring out the best and even more strongly illustrated - the absolute worst parts of the character's personality. ~ - ~ This book may be the most intense of all. A young woman, alienated from her family, who is writing a journal, narrates most of the story. We understand from the beginning that her tale will somehow come to reveal important information about the death of a Cricket star, Kenneth Fleming.
Although, in the beginning, her story seems to have little to do with the murder, it is still the fascinating tale of her life. It is very intense and gritty reading about the wrongs committed by her mother and herself. She certainly doesn't paint herself in a rosy light.
It's only because she has reached some maturity of understanding, that we can dislike the actions she took in the past, and still have sympathy for her in the present. ~ - ~ Inspector Tommy Lynley and Sergeant Barbara Havers are investigating the murder. However, unlike the other books in this series, very little of the book is devoted to their lives. The story really belongs to the detestable and loveable narrator. ~ - ~ This is an absorbing and fascinating story, with an unexpected ending. Like all of George's books, you won't be able to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Absorbing, Intense, Live in the narrator's shoes!
Review: . . . .~ ~ - ~ ~
~ - ~ One of Elizabeth George's strengths as a mystery writer is her ability to create complex intriguing characters, who can alternate between winning our sympathy and earning our intense dislike. She creates people in intolerable situations that bring out the best and even more strongly illustrated - the absolute worst parts of the character's personality. ~ - ~ This book may be the most intense of all. A young woman, alienated from her family, who is writing a journal, narrates most of the story. We understand from the beginning that her tale will somehow come to reveal important information about the death of a Cricket star, Kenneth Fleming.
Although, in the beginning, her story seems to have little to do with the murder, it is still the fascinating tale of her life. It is very intense and gritty reading about the wrongs committed by her mother and herself. She certainly doesn't paint herself in a rosy light.
It's only because she has reached some maturity of understanding, that we can dislike the actions she took in the past, and still have sympathy for her in the present. ~ - ~ Inspector Tommy Lynley and Sergeant Barbara Havers are investigating the murder. However, unlike the other books in this series, very little of the book is devoted to their lives. The story really belongs to the detestable and loveable narrator. ~ - ~ This is an absorbing and fascinating story, with an unexpected ending. Like all of George's books, you won't be able to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Poignant, complex, believable
Review: As with all of her books, George not only exhibits her mastery of the mystery genre, she also shows her keen understanding of the human heart, of family dynamics across the social classes, of the power of jealousy and revenge. She also continues to build the relationships between her recurring characters by weaving them into the story in a way that will not confuse readers who haven't read her books before, which is a feat until itself. A great, sad, brilliant, satisfying story, well written and well crafted
Rating:
Summary: Chilling!
Review: As with all the other books of the Linley/Havers-series this isn't just a mystery. The theme of this book is love between parent and child (and vice versa), but also its rejection and the revenge taken. It's a fairly easy to read tale but underneath very chilling. Elizabeth George's work can be recommended witout reservations!
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing Mystery
Review: As with other George novels, this one does slow occasionally and could be improved with more careful editing. However, the overall effect is that Playing for the Ashes is an intriguing mystery that keeps the reader engaged. Elizabeth George successfully intertwines two story lines and an imaginative variety of characters into a book that entertains and holds its suspense to the end.
Rating:
Summary: The best of her series. Perhaps her masterpiece.
Review: Before reading this book, I had read all the previous books in the series, and loved them. As I began reading this novel, I was at first a little put-off by the sudden change in the author's style. With this novel, Ms. George had a adopted a new method of narration...the simultaneous telling of two stories. Both stories are completely compelling. However, the character Olivia quickly became one of the most vivid and well defined characters I've ever encountered in a novel of this type. The telling of her story left me stunned. On occasion I've had to remind myself that Olivia is a character in a novel and not a real person. Her impact on me was that great. In my opinion, the challenge now facing Ms. George is attempting to surpass with future novels, the heights she's attained with this one. I'm actually reluctant to read the subsequent novels. Playing for the Ashes has left some very big shoes to fill.
Rating:
Summary: Tremendous writing
Review: Elizabeth George is the poetess of detective writers!! This book takes a differenet turn than the previous ones though. Whereas the others are almost puritanical in their expression (A Great Deliverance had only two curse words tha I remember) this one explores a seamy side with
stunning effect. E George is the absolute master of integrating
disparate, seemingly unrelated events into a single coherent story while developing the most realistic characters in fiction. The clues are
always present, the motives once again are
deep, psychological, and the conclusion the startling yet perfectly logical wrapup we've come
to expect. This is a dark, brooding tour de force
Rating: 
Summary: Not as Good as the Prior Two
Review: George has made the error of focusing our attentions upon a non-recurring character, who is neither sympathetic nor interesting. One half of the story is consumed with a subplot that is only obliquely related to the mystery. If George wants to develop central non-recurring characters, she would do better to take as an example her character Elena in "For the Sake of Elena". I hope that her subsequent books do not repeat this error.
Rating:
Summary: Overall, a good read
Review: George reprises her strong characterization and plot lines in this book. The ending is particularly satisfying, suspenseful, and believable. I especially enjoyed the continuing developments between Havers and Lynley. The one drawback: the chapters alternate between narrative and a first-person viewpoint from a major character. It's harder to follow than some of George's previous work, but worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe the Best Thus Far?
Review: Having read the previous Lynley/Havers mysteries by Elizabeth George, I have come to expect nothing but the best from her and this book did not disappoint. I am always amazed at Ms. George's ability to weave multiple storylines into a coherent, fascinating, enjoyable story. Another thing that occurred to me while reading this book is that all of George's characters have some redeeming quality(ies), even the murderer, because she understands that nothing and no one is simply good or bad, but rather varying shades of grey. And so it is in this compelling mystery involving a mother/daughter separated for years, a husband/wife also separated and a mother dealing with a verbally abusive teenage son. For each of the characters, you feel empathy, sympathy, dislike (at times bordering on loathing), love, and compassion. I have already bought the remaining books in this series and am now trying to figure a way to stop myself from reading them too quickly!
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