Rating: 
Summary: More, more more!
Review: This was the first Elizabeth George book I had an opportunity to read. Since then I have eagerly pored through the entire Lynley/Havers series, to the point of waiting for 353 other readers on the list at the library to get through her most recent one. I immediately fell in love with Tommy Lynley and Helen. They are so charming and misguided! The gruff Barbara Havers adds an additional level of poignancy and humor. I check Amazon every day in hopes that Elizabeth George somehow wrote a book that I missed somewhere along the way. If you haven't read one of her books yet, you are definitely in for a treat! She treats her readers with respect, and offers a well-rounded story in addition to a satisfying mystery. George has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I wish I could thank her.
Rating:
Summary: The best one yet
Review: This, basically, normal George. Exactly what we have come to expect from a practioner of some really beautiful english language. Her books are always incredibly involving, centring not just on the lives of the main characters, but featuring lives of all the subisidiary characters heavily. This makes the book feel more realisitc, lifelike. More true. After all, it is more like a proper murder case. The writing is excellent. Sometimes she needs to learn the secret of brevity, though. Also, on occasion she takes the "show, don't tell" rule a bit too far. Nonetheless, her writing is often beautiful, complex, and a joy to read. Her characters are so well developed. Its more like watching a real-life drama than it is reading a book. All their small insecurities, personality traits, personal relationships, interactions with other characters, are brought to the fore, making them jump off the page, and sometimes going a bit over the top. (Which is Elizabeth George's only crime.) This is probably the best book, in terms of plotting, solution, structure, etc. The parrallel tracks the story runs on are done gloriously well, and they finally both converge together brilliantly. The solution is unexpted, and the culprit a surprise. Overall, this is a very good crime novel, but it does suffer a bit from some of George's normal flaws. Her depictions of english life are apt to be a little off and over the top. SHe sometimes takes character development too far. And most of the books are a bit too long. Nonetheless, i can live with all that. After all, this is still a really good mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Love/hate
Review: When the body of Test cricketer Keith Fleming is discovered in a country cottage, he is found to have died from smoke inhalation, following a deliberately set fire. DI Lynley and Sgt. Havers follow the investigation through to a very bitter end, involving a broken marriage,a broken love affair, embittered children and an older woman, tormented by unfulfilled love. Add in a group of animal welfare activists and a young woman who is gradually succumbing to the cruel ravages of a muscular degenerative disease, and ,as usual, M/s George gives the reader a long but fascinating story of love, hate and murder.
Rating:
Summary: more filling and tastes great
Review: With this addition George's series takes up residence in your soul as well as your heart. If you're a new reader, start with A Great Deliverance, rather than the prequel, A Suitable Vengeance. You don't have to read them in order, but it's a good idea. In this book (like the last, Deception On His Mind), it is not Lynley and his friends who provide counterpoint to the mystery. As much as we like them, this is not a bad thing, although it may account for the seemingly slow start. But the several interwoven stories require no familiar backdrop. Once you're engaged, Olivia's tale brings enough beauty, mystery and pathos to etch her story into your soul. Read the other reviews. Even better, read the book.
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