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Inspector Lynley #15
Careless in Red
From New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George, a stunning mystery featuring Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley that explores the perfect crime—now available as a limited Olive Edition from Harper Perennial.
Devastated by the senseless murder of his wife, Thomas Lynley retreated to Cornwall, where he has spent six solitary weeks hiking the bleak and rugged coastline. But no matter how far he walks, the painful memories do not diminish.
Then, at the base of a cliff near a town better known for its surfing than its intrigue, Lynley discovers the body of a young man who has fallen to his death. First a witness, then a suspect when the hand of a killer is revealed, Lynley remains, above all, a policeman willing to aid the gruff head of an understaffed local constabulary in her investigation. But the secrets in this community run dark and deep—and Lynley must somehow find a way to let go of the past long enough to solve a most devious and dreadful crime.
Devastated by the senseless murder of his wife, Thomas Lynley retreated to Cornwall, where he has spent six solitary weeks hiking the bleak and rugged coastline. But no matter how far he walks, the painful memories do not diminish.
Then, at the base of a cliff near a town better known for its surfing than its intrigue, Lynley discovers the body of a young man who has fallen to his death. First a witness, then a suspect when the hand of a killer is revealed, Lynley remains, above all, a policeman willing to aid the gruff head of an understaffed local constabulary in her investigation. But the secrets in this community run dark and deep—and Lynley must somehow find a way to let go of the past long enough to solve a most devious and dreadful crime.
736 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
848 people are currently reading
4198 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth George
102 books5,460 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Susan Elizabeth George is an American author of mystery novels set in Great Britain. Eleven of her novels, featuring her character Inspector Lynley, have been adapted for television by the BBC as The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.
She was born in Warren, Ohio, but moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when she was eighteen months old. She was a student of English, receiving a teaching certificate. While teaching English in the public school system, she completed an advanced degree in psychology.
Her first published novel was A Great Deliverance in 1988, featuring Thomas Lynley, Lord Asherton, a Scotland Yard inspector of noble birth; Barbara Havers, Lynley's assistant, from a very working-class background; Lady Helen Clyde, Lynley's girlfriend and later wife, of noble birth as well; and Lynley's friends Simon and Deborah St. James.
This Elizabeth George is distinct from the other author named Elizabeth George (Christian author).
Series:
* Inspector Lynley
Susan Elizabeth George is an American author of mystery novels set in Great Britain. Eleven of her novels, featuring her character Inspector Lynley, have been adapted for television by the BBC as The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.
She was born in Warren, Ohio, but moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when she was eighteen months old. She was a student of English, receiving a teaching certificate. While teaching English in the public school system, she completed an advanced degree in psychology.
Her first published novel was A Great Deliverance in 1988, featuring Thomas Lynley, Lord Asherton, a Scotland Yard inspector of noble birth; Barbara Havers, Lynley's assistant, from a very working-class background; Lady Helen Clyde, Lynley's girlfriend and later wife, of noble birth as well; and Lynley's friends Simon and Deborah St. James.
This Elizabeth George is distinct from the other author named Elizabeth George (Christian author).
Series:
* Inspector Lynley
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,321 reviews
June 10, 2008
It’s been four years since we last caught up with Inspector Thomas Lynley and Sgt. Barbara Havers. Four very long years.
Four years made longer by the fact that at the end of With No One As Witness, Elizabeth George left Lynley and the entire series as a cross-roads. Something big happened at the end of the book that left me stunned at the audacity of George to contemplate it, much less pull it off. And it left me eager for more.
And then we got her last book, What Came Before He Shot Her, which was good but didn’t quite satisfy the craving and yearning I had for more Lynley and Havers.
Finally, we get Careless in Red.
And it was worth every last day she made us wait for it.
Careless in Red opens a few months after the events of With No One as Witness. Lynley, in his depression over his wife and unborn child’s death, has gone on a walk and a rather long one. He’s wandering up the British coast, trying to get away from places and things that remind him of Helen and those well-meaning friends and family who are trying to understand what he’s going through. On the forty-third day of his walk, he discovers the body of Santo Kerne on the rocks, apparently killed while cliff climbing. Lynley tries to report the crime and soon finds himself drawn into the murder investigation (early on, he’s as suspect, but soon he’s dismissed as such and made part of the investigation, though his role is entirely unofficial).
As she’s done with the last few Lynley and Havers novels, George expands the focus beyond our two protagonists. George introduces a myriad of characters who knew the deceased, many of which have a very good reason to wish harm to the eighteen-year old boy. Kerne was part of the surfing commuity as well as a ladies’ man and had burned more than his fair share of bridges. Add that to mysterious ties to the past by his parents and you’ve got the usual George tapestry of colorful suspects, all of whom had a very good motive for bumping off Santo Kerne.
All of these lead to a satisfying conclusion to the mystery, which I won’t give away here.
And while the mystery itself is absorbing, it’s the pyschological aspects of the novel that make it compelling. From a literary standpoint, George is head and shoulders above any mystery novelist writing today because she does more than just present the facts of the case. She take the time to get inside the lives of each of the suspects, having them be characters rather than simply suspects. We get to see why they’d each have a myriad of reasons to comit the crime and why they have a myriad of reason to not comit each crime. In Careless in Red, George takes the time to develop each of the people of the setting into something more than just a standard suspect.
But the character development doesn’t stop there. The story is about Thomas Lynley and his journey through the healing process. When we first meet Lynley in Red, he’s still reeling from the death of his wife. The novel provides Lynley with a way to reconnect with the world and become part of it again. Yes, it’s a bit of convienence that Lynley is walking on the coast and happens across a dead body. But that event serves as a catalyst that allows Lynley’s healing process to continue and bring him back to the things of his life that matter–his friends, his family and his work at New Scotland Yard. You can take Lynley out of Scotland Yard, but you can’t take out his essential instincts as a detective. George highlights this in a subplot when Lynley assigned to watch and discover more about a mysterious vet.
And the book includes Havers, who may be my favorite character of the novels. When Lynley calls her for help around page 200, I was literally cheering. Bringing the two together is a delight and it’s always a pleasure to see how others outside of the Lynley/Havers circle react to the give and take of the characters.
In short, Careless in Red is everything that I was hoping for and more. Well-drawn characters, a well-executed mystery and our chance to explore more about Lynley and Havers. I won’t say this is an ideal place for a new fan to step in, but certainly you could if you wanted to. Instead, I’d say if you want to find out why everyone loves Elizabeth George, start with her first novel A Great Deliverance and explore the Lynley and Havers universe from the beginning.
Four years made longer by the fact that at the end of With No One As Witness, Elizabeth George left Lynley and the entire series as a cross-roads. Something big happened at the end of the book that left me stunned at the audacity of George to contemplate it, much less pull it off. And it left me eager for more.
And then we got her last book, What Came Before He Shot Her, which was good but didn’t quite satisfy the craving and yearning I had for more Lynley and Havers.
Finally, we get Careless in Red.
And it was worth every last day she made us wait for it.
Careless in Red opens a few months after the events of With No One as Witness. Lynley, in his depression over his wife and unborn child’s death, has gone on a walk and a rather long one. He’s wandering up the British coast, trying to get away from places and things that remind him of Helen and those well-meaning friends and family who are trying to understand what he’s going through. On the forty-third day of his walk, he discovers the body of Santo Kerne on the rocks, apparently killed while cliff climbing. Lynley tries to report the crime and soon finds himself drawn into the murder investigation (early on, he’s as suspect, but soon he’s dismissed as such and made part of the investigation, though his role is entirely unofficial).
As she’s done with the last few Lynley and Havers novels, George expands the focus beyond our two protagonists. George introduces a myriad of characters who knew the deceased, many of which have a very good reason to wish harm to the eighteen-year old boy. Kerne was part of the surfing commuity as well as a ladies’ man and had burned more than his fair share of bridges. Add that to mysterious ties to the past by his parents and you’ve got the usual George tapestry of colorful suspects, all of whom had a very good motive for bumping off Santo Kerne.
All of these lead to a satisfying conclusion to the mystery, which I won’t give away here.
And while the mystery itself is absorbing, it’s the pyschological aspects of the novel that make it compelling. From a literary standpoint, George is head and shoulders above any mystery novelist writing today because she does more than just present the facts of the case. She take the time to get inside the lives of each of the suspects, having them be characters rather than simply suspects. We get to see why they’d each have a myriad of reasons to comit the crime and why they have a myriad of reason to not comit each crime. In Careless in Red, George takes the time to develop each of the people of the setting into something more than just a standard suspect.
But the character development doesn’t stop there. The story is about Thomas Lynley and his journey through the healing process. When we first meet Lynley in Red, he’s still reeling from the death of his wife. The novel provides Lynley with a way to reconnect with the world and become part of it again. Yes, it’s a bit of convienence that Lynley is walking on the coast and happens across a dead body. But that event serves as a catalyst that allows Lynley’s healing process to continue and bring him back to the things of his life that matter–his friends, his family and his work at New Scotland Yard. You can take Lynley out of Scotland Yard, but you can’t take out his essential instincts as a detective. George highlights this in a subplot when Lynley assigned to watch and discover more about a mysterious vet.
And the book includes Havers, who may be my favorite character of the novels. When Lynley calls her for help around page 200, I was literally cheering. Bringing the two together is a delight and it’s always a pleasure to see how others outside of the Lynley/Havers circle react to the give and take of the characters.
In short, Careless in Red is everything that I was hoping for and more. Well-drawn characters, a well-executed mystery and our chance to explore more about Lynley and Havers. I won’t say this is an ideal place for a new fan to step in, but certainly you could if you wanted to. Instead, I’d say if you want to find out why everyone loves Elizabeth George, start with her first novel A Great Deliverance and explore the Lynley and Havers universe from the beginning.
March 30, 2024
This is what happens when someone who knows your favourite authors gives you a gift. This is the fifteenth book in the series and I am only up to book four, but could I resist reading it straight away? No. Never mind I still enjoyed it thoroughly although there were maybe (!) a few spoilers for me.
Because I do not want to spoil anyone else's enjoyment in the series I will just say that Chief Superintendent Thomas Lynley is taking a break hiking in Cornwall, when he discovers a body on the beach. He ends up assisting the Cornish police with their enquiries. I loved the Cornishness of it as Lynley drives all over the countryside and visits so many places I have seen and loved in the past.
For me it was 544 pages of pure pleasure. I will still go back and continue forwards from book four. I may have accidentally found out a major plot point far too soon but I enjoy this author and her characters too much for it to matter. Five stars of course.
Because I do not want to spoil anyone else's enjoyment in the series I will just say that Chief Superintendent Thomas Lynley is taking a break hiking in Cornwall, when he discovers a body on the beach. He ends up assisting the Cornish police with their enquiries. I loved the Cornishness of it as Lynley drives all over the countryside and visits so many places I have seen and loved in the past.
For me it was 544 pages of pure pleasure. I will still go back and continue forwards from book four. I may have accidentally found out a major plot point far too soon but I enjoy this author and her characters too much for it to matter. Five stars of course.
May 20, 2009
Disappointing. For starters, the book was way too long and the build-up was extremely slow. Elizabeth George has enjoyed a successful career, with good reason mostly, and she seems to have reached the point where people are afraid to edit her. It happens to a lot of authors, and it's unfortunate. Even the best authors need editors, especially after they've started believing their own hype.
There were also too many confusing subplots. I kept forgetting which pairs were brother and sister and which were boyfriend and girlfriend, whose father was who, whose father owned the surfing store and whose father was building the extreme sports place and which of them forbade his son to surf, when that son was the murder victim (but which family did he come from again?). There was one subplot in particular which took up a lot of room and was, in my view, completely unnecessary not to mention boring.
Besides this, much of the book was unrealistic and required just a bit too much suspension of disbelief. Inspector Lynley, grieving for his lost wife and extremely vulnerable, is suddenly asked -- rather, compelled -- to participate in a murder investigation, even though he handed in his badge a while back, even though it's not his city, even though his capacity in the investigation is not an official one and he doesn't seem to be on the payroll so his actual level of responsibility is unclear, even though there are growing concerns about his ability to maintain balance in light of his recent loss. Huh? Is this in fact how police forces operate? In a murder investigation? I realize it was a small town with an understaffed police force, but the whole thing seemed just a bit contrived -- a way to get Lynley into the picture and create dramatic conflict around his actions and emotional state at the same time. In addition to being ludicrous in many respects, the plot was even repetitive with all the sociopathic nymphomaniac older women coupling with hormonally driven younger men, all of whom typified lazy, unmotivated, immature adolescents.
I've always enjoyed Elizabeth George's Lynley/Havers series for its psychological complexity and exploration of characters and relationships. Here, I felt she tried for that but didn't quite achieve it. You have this divorced couple where the husband is dying to take her back and she's resisting for bizarre reasons, including an apparently baseless assumption that he spends all his time having cheap affairs with beautiful younger women. You have this other middle-aged couple, married at least 20 years, where the woman has betrayed him repeatedly on a variety of levels and he has chosen to remain with her, with continuing lust (lust which is far more suited to 20-year-old newlyweds than to middle-aged people married 20 years) for her as the only apparent factor in this decision. Finally, one of the murder suspects is hiding her past in a way that appears incriminating. But when that past is finally revealed, it's not only pretty strange (we're talking "The Glass Castle" here) but unclear why she would risk incriminating herself simply because she wants to hide her "Glass Castle" origins.
Sigh. Even Barbara Havers, my favorite Elizabeth George character, doesn't really figure into the story until more than halfway through and seems only faintly her snappy self.
I've been a fan of the series, and I may yet pick up the next one if she writes it. But this one really wasn't worth the 720 pages.
There were also too many confusing subplots. I kept forgetting which pairs were brother and sister and which were boyfriend and girlfriend, whose father was who, whose father owned the surfing store and whose father was building the extreme sports place and which of them forbade his son to surf, when that son was the murder victim (but which family did he come from again?). There was one subplot in particular which took up a lot of room and was, in my view, completely unnecessary not to mention boring.
Besides this, much of the book was unrealistic and required just a bit too much suspension of disbelief. Inspector Lynley, grieving for his lost wife and extremely vulnerable, is suddenly asked -- rather, compelled -- to participate in a murder investigation, even though he handed in his badge a while back, even though it's not his city, even though his capacity in the investigation is not an official one and he doesn't seem to be on the payroll so his actual level of responsibility is unclear, even though there are growing concerns about his ability to maintain balance in light of his recent loss. Huh? Is this in fact how police forces operate? In a murder investigation? I realize it was a small town with an understaffed police force, but the whole thing seemed just a bit contrived -- a way to get Lynley into the picture and create dramatic conflict around his actions and emotional state at the same time. In addition to being ludicrous in many respects, the plot was even repetitive with all the sociopathic nymphomaniac older women coupling with hormonally driven younger men, all of whom typified lazy, unmotivated, immature adolescents.
I've always enjoyed Elizabeth George's Lynley/Havers series for its psychological complexity and exploration of characters and relationships. Here, I felt she tried for that but didn't quite achieve it. You have this divorced couple where the husband is dying to take her back and she's resisting for bizarre reasons, including an apparently baseless assumption that he spends all his time having cheap affairs with beautiful younger women. You have this other middle-aged couple, married at least 20 years, where the woman has betrayed him repeatedly on a variety of levels and he has chosen to remain with her, with continuing lust (lust which is far more suited to 20-year-old newlyweds than to middle-aged people married 20 years) for her as the only apparent factor in this decision. Finally, one of the murder suspects is hiding her past in a way that appears incriminating. But when that past is finally revealed, it's not only pretty strange (we're talking "The Glass Castle" here) but unclear why she would risk incriminating herself simply because she wants to hide her "Glass Castle" origins.
Sigh. Even Barbara Havers, my favorite Elizabeth George character, doesn't really figure into the story until more than halfway through and seems only faintly her snappy self.
I've been a fan of the series, and I may yet pick up the next one if she writes it. But this one really wasn't worth the 720 pages.
April 18, 2020
Okay, I think we’ve got the train back on track. We have Lynley, we have Havers. Whew. This should go without saying, but after the dreck that was "What Came Before He Shot Her", you cannot take these things for granted.
Other than the presence of Lynley and Havers, though, I’m not that crazy about this installment. I didn’t like any of the other (secondary) characters, and actively disliked most of them. The few that I did like eventually ended up annoying me too.. And, after the first third of the book , even the characters’ names bugged me: Dellen, Jago, Santo … do you suppose Elizabeth George ran some sort of contest (Name the Character) and ended up with this baffling assortment but was forced by contract to use them?
I read the whole thing, but it took me three weeks, which is usual for E. George. I usually can’t put her novels down, you know? And to be very honest, I think my antipathy is entirely personal. I’m still aggrieved at George for killing off Helen*, (pointlessly, I might add) and then forcing me, her loyal reader, to wade through the joyless mulch of "What Came Before…." Elizabeth George OWES me, and this one didn’t cover it.
*My theory is that George wrote herself into a corner – what drama comes from a happily married protagonist with a baby on the way? None, that's what. So how to inject maximum drama with minimum effort? Murder, of course. With the added pathos of a pregnant, beloved victim. Man, it still annoys me. Not so much that Helen is dead, but that I think it was a cheap trick, authorial-ly speaking.
Other than the presence of Lynley and Havers, though, I’m not that crazy about this installment. I didn’t like any of the other (secondary) characters, and actively disliked most of them. The few that I did like eventually ended up annoying me too.. And, after the first third of the book , even the characters’ names bugged me: Dellen, Jago, Santo … do you suppose Elizabeth George ran some sort of contest (Name the Character) and ended up with this baffling assortment but was forced by contract to use them?
I read the whole thing, but it took me three weeks, which is usual for E. George. I usually can’t put her novels down, you know? And to be very honest, I think my antipathy is entirely personal. I’m still aggrieved at George for killing off Helen*, (pointlessly, I might add) and then forcing me, her loyal reader, to wade through the joyless mulch of "What Came Before…." Elizabeth George OWES me, and this one didn’t cover it.
*My theory is that George wrote herself into a corner – what drama comes from a happily married protagonist with a baby on the way? None, that's what. So how to inject maximum drama with minimum effort? Murder, of course. With the added pathos of a pregnant, beloved victim. Man, it still annoys me. Not so much that Helen is dead, but that I think it was a cheap trick, authorial-ly speaking.
September 4, 2011
Isn't Elizabeth George terrific?! I love her books and just wish she's crank them out more regularly and quickly. It isn't as if the woman isn't productive, either. It's just that fans want more, always more. Of course then they wouldn't be the same books, would they?
Here we have DS Lynley mourning the loss of his wife. Lynley takes mourning very, very seriously. He's been wandering the coast of Cornwall for weeks, living rough and not especially well. Just walking. Naturally he finds a body. It seems a young climber has fallen from a cliff. Accident? Or something else? Well, this is Elizabeth George, so you can guess.
The local police range from the cold, hard Bea Hannaford to her bumbling officers. There are too few investigators with too little experience, and Hannaford's unwillingness to listen to what anyone has to say does not help matters.
There are many plot lines, but George keeps them from tangling up, so a reader is intrigued rather than lost; such is her skill with plot. And this is a great mystery. Of course she sends a reader off on false leads, convincing false leads. And even though you know that at least some of them must be false, they are part of such a rich story that you almost forget that basic of mystery fiction. This is a feast of friendship, relationship, family, small town, and emotional intrigues.
As for character, this might be her best yet. George really gets a reader inside the heads of her characters in a way few can; such is her art. Perhaps the best example of this is early on, while Lynley is walking the coast and as he slowly, very slowly, emerges into the world. Here George manages to convey that he is so lost in grief as to be barely there inside his head. It's an amazingly eloquent bit of writing.
Someone just liked this review, leading me to reread it. This reminded me of how much I liked the book. Now I must re-read the book.
Here we have DS Lynley mourning the loss of his wife. Lynley takes mourning very, very seriously. He's been wandering the coast of Cornwall for weeks, living rough and not especially well. Just walking. Naturally he finds a body. It seems a young climber has fallen from a cliff. Accident? Or something else? Well, this is Elizabeth George, so you can guess.
The local police range from the cold, hard Bea Hannaford to her bumbling officers. There are too few investigators with too little experience, and Hannaford's unwillingness to listen to what anyone has to say does not help matters.
There are many plot lines, but George keeps them from tangling up, so a reader is intrigued rather than lost; such is her skill with plot. And this is a great mystery. Of course she sends a reader off on false leads, convincing false leads. And even though you know that at least some of them must be false, they are part of such a rich story that you almost forget that basic of mystery fiction. This is a feast of friendship, relationship, family, small town, and emotional intrigues.
As for character, this might be her best yet. George really gets a reader inside the heads of her characters in a way few can; such is her art. Perhaps the best example of this is early on, while Lynley is walking the coast and as he slowly, very slowly, emerges into the world. Here George manages to convey that he is so lost in grief as to be barely there inside his head. It's an amazingly eloquent bit of writing.
Someone just liked this review, leading me to reread it. This reminded me of how much I liked the book. Now I must re-read the book.
May 14, 2018
Qualcuno ha detto che se in un romanzo c'è una pistola, prima o poi sparerà (è stato Cechov? ho un vago ricordo di qualcosa del genere, ma mi sembra una frase più da americano che da russo. Comunque, scusate la mia ignoranza). E' una questione di logica, di coerenza, forse addirittura di correttezza intellettuale dell'autore.
Bene: in questo romanzo ci sono parecchie pistole che non hanno sparato. Peggio ancora: che si sono esibite in tutta la loro potenzialità esplosiva, e poi non hanno neanche sputato la bandierina con scritto "bang" che si vede nella sigla della signora in giallo.
Di che cosa si tratta lo dico qui , ma se leggerete questo libro (non che io lo consigli più di tanto) converrete che ci sono almeno due temi - ma facciamo anche tre - che dopo essere stati ripetutamente sbandierati non hanno poi avuto nessun peso nello scioglimento del mistero. E questo mi dà molto ma molto fastidio.
Per il resto, è la solita George: non scrive male, ma scrive troppo e molte pagine hanno tutta l'aria di essere un riempitivo; in più i personaggi si assomigliano tutti. In questo libro si era prefissata di parlare di rapporti fra genitori e figli, e zacchete, troviamo la bellezza di quattro famiglie, del presente o del passato, in cui tutto ruota intorno a padri che non comprendono, figli che non si fanno comprendere, madri degeneri, fratelli in competizione. Poi c'è anche la storia del passato che ritorna, ma anche di questa non posso dire molto perché sarebbe uno spoiler, quindi fidatevi di me se dico che è una storia un po' tirata per i capelli.
Bene: in questo romanzo ci sono parecchie pistole che non hanno sparato. Peggio ancora: che si sono esibite in tutta la loro potenzialità esplosiva, e poi non hanno neanche sputato la bandierina con scritto "bang" che si vede nella sigla della signora in giallo.
Di che cosa si tratta lo dico qui , ma se leggerete questo libro (non che io lo consigli più di tanto) converrete che ci sono almeno due temi - ma facciamo anche tre - che dopo essere stati ripetutamente sbandierati non hanno poi avuto nessun peso nello scioglimento del mistero. E questo mi dà molto ma molto fastidio.
Per il resto, è la solita George: non scrive male, ma scrive troppo e molte pagine hanno tutta l'aria di essere un riempitivo; in più i personaggi si assomigliano tutti. In questo libro si era prefissata di parlare di rapporti fra genitori e figli, e zacchete, troviamo la bellezza di quattro famiglie, del presente o del passato, in cui tutto ruota intorno a padri che non comprendono, figli che non si fanno comprendere, madri degeneri, fratelli in competizione. Poi c'è anche la storia del passato che ritorna, ma anche di questa non posso dire molto perché sarebbe uno spoiler, quindi fidatevi di me se dico che è una storia un po' tirata per i capelli.
August 3, 2009
I am a real fan of Elizabeth George's novels, and am very hopeful, as I begin Careless in Red, that she has regained the touch she lost so badly in What Came Before He Shot Her.
I'm about 400 pages in, and very pleased. The plotting is meticulous, as always with George. There were enough characters that I made a list; I guess if I did that, perhaps she should have.
There is a very touching process going on in this book. Thomas Lynley, who George has "lived with" through 14 other novels, has been devastated by the murder of his wife Helen (two books ago). George is carefully and tenderly nursing her character back to life. It's nice to watch, as an important sub-plot to the solution of the current crime. Or maybe it's the main plot.
Finished. It's a long book, which allowed me to savor the plot and the characters. The ending was unusual (I won't say what, of course) but George shows she's willing to take risks in her writing, and she pulls it off.
I'm about 400 pages in, and very pleased. The plotting is meticulous, as always with George. There were enough characters that I made a list; I guess if I did that, perhaps she should have.
There is a very touching process going on in this book. Thomas Lynley, who George has "lived with" through 14 other novels, has been devastated by the murder of his wife Helen (two books ago). George is carefully and tenderly nursing her character back to life. It's nice to watch, as an important sub-plot to the solution of the current crime. Or maybe it's the main plot.
Finished. It's a long book, which allowed me to savor the plot and the characters. The ending was unusual (I won't say what, of course) but George shows she's willing to take risks in her writing, and she pulls it off.
July 8, 2019
Nachdem im letzten Band Inspector Lynley komplett außen vor gelassen wurde, weil die schlimmen Ereignisse, die ihn aus der Bahn geworfen hatten, aufgeklärt wurden, ist er jetzt wieder mit von der Partie.
Er hat sich noch nicht wirklich gefangen, aber sein Spürsinn wenn es um Mord geht, packt ihn wohl einfach - ob er will oder nicht.
Die Autorin holt hier wieder sehr weit aus und verstrickt einige Figuren gekonnt in die Sparte der Verdächtigen, was es nur umso spannender gemacht hat. Ich hatte zwar schon relativ früh gewisse Ahnungen, aber das hat mich nicht gestört. Vor allem sind ihr wieder die Charaktere wunderbar gelungen, die alle etwas zu verheimlichen haben und die oftmals jegliche Moral vergessen lassen: wie eben auch im richtigen Leben.
Unterhaltsam, fesselnd, etwas weniger spannend - trotzdem wieder eine gute Fortsetzung.
Er hat sich noch nicht wirklich gefangen, aber sein Spürsinn wenn es um Mord geht, packt ihn wohl einfach - ob er will oder nicht.
Die Autorin holt hier wieder sehr weit aus und verstrickt einige Figuren gekonnt in die Sparte der Verdächtigen, was es nur umso spannender gemacht hat. Ich hatte zwar schon relativ früh gewisse Ahnungen, aber das hat mich nicht gestört. Vor allem sind ihr wieder die Charaktere wunderbar gelungen, die alle etwas zu verheimlichen haben und die oftmals jegliche Moral vergessen lassen: wie eben auch im richtigen Leben.
Unterhaltsam, fesselnd, etwas weniger spannend - trotzdem wieder eine gute Fortsetzung.
March 28, 2020
Yikes. This was bad. I don't even know what else to say. I mean...you have Lynley wanting a sexual relationship or something with a woman who he meets not more than 2 months after his wife was murdered. Also, what was George even thinking with fridging Helen? The murder story-line was interesting, but the resolution was a freaking let-down. I don't even know what else to say here. This book felt like a waste of time.
"Careless in Red" finds Thomas Lynley walking in Cornwall. He has been on his own for 6 weeks at the start of this story trying to outrun memories of his dead wife. When he comes to a cliff he sees a body and finds himself thrust in the middle of a murder investigation. The local investigator calls on Lynley to investigate a woman who is hiding something. Lynley eventually calls up Havers who is sent to Cornwall to help, but to also bring Lynley back to New Scotland Yard.
I got nothing on Lynley. He's like a shadow of his former self and his whatever it was with the vet made zero sense and actually made me despise him.
Havers was great and the only reason why I gave this 1 star.
The local investigator had a whole backstory that I did not care about at all. So did the vet and it made zero sense when we get to her reveal. It was so dumb and I just threw up my hands.
I can't say much about the other people in this story, the lot of them had a lot of issues and there's not really anyone that I ended up liking. At one point I wondered how everyone in this story was so miserable and unhappy. Some of the characters, read as caricatures.
The writing was dry and the flow was awful.
The ending was a letdown. Readers and the police know who did it, but I really wish the book had ended differently. Lynley holds a massive resolution to a murder case that occurred 25 years earlier and it made no sense that he didn't tell anyone about it, or at least to tell what he knew to the person behind this murder. The whole book felt like a rough draft.
"Careless in Red" finds Thomas Lynley walking in Cornwall. He has been on his own for 6 weeks at the start of this story trying to outrun memories of his dead wife. When he comes to a cliff he sees a body and finds himself thrust in the middle of a murder investigation. The local investigator calls on Lynley to investigate a woman who is hiding something. Lynley eventually calls up Havers who is sent to Cornwall to help, but to also bring Lynley back to New Scotland Yard.
I got nothing on Lynley. He's like a shadow of his former self and his whatever it was with the vet made zero sense and actually made me despise him.
Havers was great and the only reason why I gave this 1 star.
The local investigator had a whole backstory that I did not care about at all. So did the vet and it made zero sense when we get to her reveal. It was so dumb and I just threw up my hands.
I can't say much about the other people in this story, the lot of them had a lot of issues and there's not really anyone that I ended up liking. At one point I wondered how everyone in this story was so miserable and unhappy. Some of the characters, read as caricatures.
The writing was dry and the flow was awful.
The ending was a letdown. Readers and the police know who did it, but I really wish the book had ended differently. Lynley holds a massive resolution to a murder case that occurred 25 years earlier and it made no sense that he didn't tell anyone about it, or at least to tell what he knew to the person behind this murder. The whole book felt like a rough draft.
April 22, 2020
I haven’t read any Elizabeth George in years. It took me a little while into this to realize I had read it some time ago. Still, it was worth another read to catch-up with the characters. I plan to embark on a catch-up with this series.
February 4, 2009
I have one word for this book horrendous! I used to be a huge fan of her books. I gave up on her two books ago. A friend of mine gave me this book and told me that she had heard that the author was back to writing the way she used to…… compelling, multilayered good stories. Why oh why am I such a trusting soul???? I should have smelled a rat when she sent it to me to read first……. ( Actually I do still think she did it out of the goodness of her heart) Halfway through the book, I almost stopped reading it, but I finished it for two reasons. 1. I wanted to see where on earth she was going to take this slow moving uninteresting plot and 2. I have been at home sick on the couch and it seemed like a good way to torture myself. The characters were ridiculous from a BMX bike rider with a constant companion of a parrot on his shoulder to a married nymphomaniac who’s family knows she is going to “light up the town” by the layers of red accessories that she dons to a murder suspect that, come to find out the only thing she was really hiding was that she was born to gypsies….. Sounds more like a Tom Robbins book than an Elizabeth George. Don’t get me wrong, I love quirky characters in books; however E. George did not write this book I don’t think with that sort of intention. The only possibly compelling character ( other than the main character Lynley) was the gypsy story, however it was placed way too late in the story and then it was just dropped and seemed a useless addition other than the fact that the character was a red herring. This story ended up having a lot of loose ends and silly connections between the characters. She pretty much lost me in the beginning when the main character of many of her books (an Earl who works for New Scotland Yard and recently lost his wife and unborn child in a horrible way) someone who drove a Bentley and always neat and tidy, never what you could call and outdoorsman…… is on a mission for months to walk this path on a cliff that goes on probably for the entirety of Britain living like a homeless man……. whatever…… don’t read this book.
I make a pledge today to NEVER read another E. George book unless Gail Snow tells me I should because she has already read it and loves it….. (Which I know will never ever happen)
I make a pledge today to NEVER read another E. George book unless Gail Snow tells me I should because she has already read it and loves it….. (Which I know will never ever happen)
July 28, 2008
I picked this book up because I have watched Thomas Linley on Mystery (on PBS) and they were okay. The last one I had seen was where his pregnant wife (why do they always have to be pregnant) had been killed. They had also just gotten back together after being separated. (All the elements to make it truly tragic.) She was killed by a 12 year old with no motive, just a senseless killing. On TV they had a different storyline about what happened. Anyway, he is dealing with that tragedy by walking along the coast with only a backpack to carry small amounts of food. So of course he finds a body and the story progresses from there. This book was irritating in a number of ways, but I think the worst was in the portrayal of families and how dysfunctional all of them are. Worse, Lynley isn't that compelling of a character. Maybe he is if you have read other books in the series, but he is boring and predictable in this book. Of course he meets a woman who is hiding something and it is all a tragic past and he wants her to call him Tommy (his wife did), which she refuses to do and I didn't really understand the full implications behind this, but the author seemed to think it was a fairly big deal. All the people are unhappy, selfish and don't talk to each other. Also, as a veteran mystery reader, it is really frustrating when the police don't ask good questions, or they don't ask the questions all at one time and they have to keep going back to ask obvious ones. For example when they went to talk to the family, they didn't even ask about a girlfriend, who would want to hurt the person, how he had gotten a black eye or things like that. It just draws the novel out even longer, which this one did not need to do. One redeeming part was that one of the women decided to trust and marry her boyfriend. One subplot that was dropped was a character's binge drinking, but in the end he goes back to work for his terrible father. I don't understand all these English novels where one child is favored above another and the rest are treated so terribly. The character of Havers (Lynley's partner) is the only one with a sense of humor and she has some clever lines. The book has some vulgar talk (that doesn't seem needed) and some sensuous descriptions of intimate moments. The mystery was weak also, I guessed who the murderer was and why about a third of the way through. I also think Careless in Crimson would have been a way better title. Everyone is just so unhappy in this book. And then I was really unhappy reading/skimming it as well. I, like the characters in this book, would have an occasional chuckle and smile from Havers comments, but then would revert back to moroseness. Also it may not be fair to rate this book considering it is one of a really long series, but good authors seem to make even individual books within a series stand alone in entertainment value.
April 21, 2012
I think we have seen all the episodes of the TV series. I recently started reading the books, actually it's a multimedia experience. I check out the audio and the book from the library, listen on my commute and read at home. The books are so much richer than the show. I love how she thoroughly researches her subjects. Very engaging series!
This is my favorite. My only complaint was that I had trouble reconciling the affable Jago Reeth with the obsessed John Parsons.
My heart ached in the scene where Daidre introduced Lynley to her family. What a wrenching life decision!
The book wrapped up all the story lines well and I didn't feel that the solutions were contrived.
I really cared about the young people especially in this book.
This is my favorite. My only complaint was that I had trouble reconciling the affable Jago Reeth with the obsessed John Parsons.
My heart ached in the scene where Daidre introduced Lynley to her family. What a wrenching life decision!
The book wrapped up all the story lines well and I didn't feel that the solutions were contrived.
I really cared about the young people especially in this book.
March 10, 2025
In wankel evenwicht van Elizabeth George is het vijftiende deel al in de reeks rond inspecteur Lynley en brigadier Barbara Havers. Voor mij was het al een hele tijd geleden dat ik nog iets gelezen had in deze serie, dus ik moest er wel weer even inkomen. Ook in het feit dat dit boek niet op één dag uit te lezen valt (ook niet in een week trouwens voor mij). Met bijna 600 bladzijden zal dit waarschijnlijk het dikste boek zijn dat ik las in 2025. Lynley is hierin bezig aan een heuse marteltocht na het overlijden van een dierbare. Hij treft er een jongen dood aan op de rotsen en aangezien hij als eerste ter plekke was, verdenken de lokale politiemensen hem ervan iets te maken te hebben met de misdaad. In het verhaal komen de personages die een motief hebben, uitgebreid aan bod. Dat is de sterkte van George’ verhalen. Voor sommigen een kwelling, anderen houden ervan. Ik behoor tot de laatste categorie, hoewel het soms misschien iets te vergaand is en het gerust wel wat korter kan. Bepaalde passages hebben niet echt veel toegevoegde waarde voor het verhaal en konden dus gerust geschrapt worden. Uiteindelijk was de misdaad zelfs een beetje ondergeschikt aan alle relaties en personages die er in het boek passeren. Niet het slechtste boek van George over Lynley, maar ook zeker niet het beste. Gezien het al enige tijd geleden was dat ik iets las van Lynley en Havers heb ik ervan genoten, maar een volgend deel zal nog niet voor meteen zijn. Eerst even deze zware pil laten inzinken. Ik geef dit verhaal graag 4 sterren.
https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2025...
https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2025...
October 13, 2016
Finished reading: August 30th 2016
DNF at page 80
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
June 1, 2008
Thomas Lynley, mired deeply in his grief, comes across the body of a young man at the bottom of a cliff during his hike along the South-West Coastal Trail. Soon enough, he gets involved in the investigation into the boy's death, which, of course, has been determined to be a murder.
Enter Ben and Kerra and Daidre and Santo and Dellen and Aldara and Jago and Selevan and Madlyn and Max and Lew and Cadan and Bea and Ray and Pete and Alan and Will and Tammy and yes, Sergeant Havers, too.
Phew.
The biggest problem I found with this book is, as you may have guessed, there are too many characters. Not all of them are necessary to the plot and many of them are simply there to help Tommy find his way back to his life. To me, Elizabeth George was trying to do too many things at once.
The story was good enough - a young man killed, but not for the reason you think, with suspects aplenty. Who did it? Was it the scorned girlfriend? Her dad? The boy's dad? His sister? The young man who had a thing for the boy's girlfriend? They all had a reason to kill him, of course.
The local Inspector is a hard woman (why are all female cops borderline masculine, huh?) with personal issues that she allows to cloud her judgment. She's in charge and wants things done her way or no way at all. She forces Lynley to become involved in the investigation even though he tries to explain he's not a cop, not anymore at least. He's given it up. She, of course, wants none of it, because she plans to use him to get close to the woman she considers the prime suspect.
In the end, the killer is revealed, but there is no real justice. Tommy is still trying to find a reason to go on, but there are hopeful signs of life. He promises Havers he'll make his way back to London after he's finished his journey up the Cornish coast.
When I saw this book at the store, I was so excited. I had been dying to see what happened to Tommy after the deaths of his wife and son. And while it was great to "see" Tommy again and heartwrenching to discover what he's been going through, the book failed to reach my expectations.
However, to be fair to Ms. George, those expectations were exceedingly high and probably unattainable anyway.
A good book, not a great one, but I still can't wait for the next installment of this terrific series.
Enter Ben and Kerra and Daidre and Santo and Dellen and Aldara and Jago and Selevan and Madlyn and Max and Lew and Cadan and Bea and Ray and Pete and Alan and Will and Tammy and yes, Sergeant Havers, too.
Phew.
The biggest problem I found with this book is, as you may have guessed, there are too many characters. Not all of them are necessary to the plot and many of them are simply there to help Tommy find his way back to his life. To me, Elizabeth George was trying to do too many things at once.
The story was good enough - a young man killed, but not for the reason you think, with suspects aplenty. Who did it? Was it the scorned girlfriend? Her dad? The boy's dad? His sister? The young man who had a thing for the boy's girlfriend? They all had a reason to kill him, of course.
The local Inspector is a hard woman (why are all female cops borderline masculine, huh?) with personal issues that she allows to cloud her judgment. She's in charge and wants things done her way or no way at all. She forces Lynley to become involved in the investigation even though he tries to explain he's not a cop, not anymore at least. He's given it up. She, of course, wants none of it, because she plans to use him to get close to the woman she considers the prime suspect.
In the end, the killer is revealed, but there is no real justice. Tommy is still trying to find a reason to go on, but there are hopeful signs of life. He promises Havers he'll make his way back to London after he's finished his journey up the Cornish coast.
When I saw this book at the store, I was so excited. I had been dying to see what happened to Tommy after the deaths of his wife and son. And while it was great to "see" Tommy again and heartwrenching to discover what he's been going through, the book failed to reach my expectations.
However, to be fair to Ms. George, those expectations were exceedingly high and probably unattainable anyway.
A good book, not a great one, but I still can't wait for the next installment of this terrific series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 17, 2015
Well-written, good characters, good plot. Even though I had read a few of hers earlier, I had somehow forgotten about the series. This book (a Christmas gift) was a real reminder of how good Elizabeth George is in her genre and I re-read the whole series following this read. I'm sure I'll do that again!
August 11, 2016
Careless in Red is all about relationships between parents and their child/children. Elizabeth George creates numerous plots and sub-plots all depicting this theme and spins them round and round in the readers head whilst trying to work Thomas Lynley and DS Havers into the story somewhere.
It’s a chaotic and inappropriate mess, barely a police procedural that is very difficult to maintain interest in. I can only assume that something was going on in the author’s life at the time that stimulated this and numerous editors and publishers were at a loss to know how to put a stop to the notion of publishing it (or were simply wanting to gain from it).
The book is set in Cornwall in England where numerous families, past and present have the sort of inter-generational relationships only typified in American soap operas…. All shouting, screaming and slamming doors.
It seems that almost all the characters were named by a committee consisting of, I imagine, Annie Proulx and Charles Dickens amongst others. These characters we learn are named to show respect to England’s multi-cultural society, all Polish consonants with a smattering of redundant vowels thrown in for good measure. With the possible exception of one Cardigan Anorak, George doesn't make Annie Proulx’s mistake of naming her characters after household objects, but we do get Edreck Udy, Jago, Santo and Selevan all sounding like they have just stepped out of a J K Rowling wizard-fest.
So, you have these 6 or 7 or possibly 8 sub-plots swirling round in a dervish manner with lots of aforesaid hysterics and theatrics, some of which are actually related to the main plots, others are there just to add colour and confusion to the proceedings or help George through whatever it is she’s going through.
Pretty soon we start to learn about their sex lives, in a manner that would impress Jung and Freud. As for the rest, if they are not getting it, they are discussing it, often loudly, often with kids in ear shot. The language used is nasty, tedious and belittling.
Now let me make it entirely clear, I am no prude….. I can enjoy reading about sex, watching it enacted in a good movie, or whatever, along with anyone else. But this book goes too far. I want to find a Cornish village where the entire population is so badly named, full of soap-opera angst and obsessed with observing and discussing each other’s sex lives in this manner. This is not the England where I grew up and lived for the first 40 years of my life.
Young’uns are having if off with young’uns and old’uns with old’uns and in numerous subplots, young’uns with old’uns to the point where you suspect the whole village has had Viagra added to its water supply. The language used to talk about this through the characters, police included is crude and just not real in England other than in school playgrounds. Even then, it’s a stretch.
But what about the plot? The detective story? There isn’t one!
Lynley’s in there, as is Havers but that’s about it. There is a local DI who’s angst against her ex-husband we get to learn all about in glorious detail (as well as her relationship with their child of course), but not much else. There is a murder, yes of course, but no one gets convicted and we only feel we have the killer nailed, we’re left unsure.
There are a number of inaccuracies that will annoy a regular reader of English crime fiction never mind English people. Apart from the over portrayal of familial disharmony the book makes its characters use speech mannerisms familiar to Americans but unfamiliar to Brits other than from imported TV shows. In addition there is the use of the word gaol that George insists on slipping in every book in her belief that her regular readers enjoy finding it like the elusive character in where’s Waldo/Wally books.
I could go on…….. but I think by now you have got the message. I like Elizabeth George, I like British police novels (Rankin, Peter Robinson, Reginald Hill) but this book is a disaster. Regrettably…….
It’s a chaotic and inappropriate mess, barely a police procedural that is very difficult to maintain interest in. I can only assume that something was going on in the author’s life at the time that stimulated this and numerous editors and publishers were at a loss to know how to put a stop to the notion of publishing it (or were simply wanting to gain from it).
The book is set in Cornwall in England where numerous families, past and present have the sort of inter-generational relationships only typified in American soap operas…. All shouting, screaming and slamming doors.
It seems that almost all the characters were named by a committee consisting of, I imagine, Annie Proulx and Charles Dickens amongst others. These characters we learn are named to show respect to England’s multi-cultural society, all Polish consonants with a smattering of redundant vowels thrown in for good measure. With the possible exception of one Cardigan Anorak, George doesn't make Annie Proulx’s mistake of naming her characters after household objects, but we do get Edreck Udy, Jago, Santo and Selevan all sounding like they have just stepped out of a J K Rowling wizard-fest.
So, you have these 6 or 7 or possibly 8 sub-plots swirling round in a dervish manner with lots of aforesaid hysterics and theatrics, some of which are actually related to the main plots, others are there just to add colour and confusion to the proceedings or help George through whatever it is she’s going through.
Pretty soon we start to learn about their sex lives, in a manner that would impress Jung and Freud. As for the rest, if they are not getting it, they are discussing it, often loudly, often with kids in ear shot. The language used is nasty, tedious and belittling.
Now let me make it entirely clear, I am no prude….. I can enjoy reading about sex, watching it enacted in a good movie, or whatever, along with anyone else. But this book goes too far. I want to find a Cornish village where the entire population is so badly named, full of soap-opera angst and obsessed with observing and discussing each other’s sex lives in this manner. This is not the England where I grew up and lived for the first 40 years of my life.
Young’uns are having if off with young’uns and old’uns with old’uns and in numerous subplots, young’uns with old’uns to the point where you suspect the whole village has had Viagra added to its water supply. The language used to talk about this through the characters, police included is crude and just not real in England other than in school playgrounds. Even then, it’s a stretch.
But what about the plot? The detective story? There isn’t one!
Lynley’s in there, as is Havers but that’s about it. There is a local DI who’s angst against her ex-husband we get to learn all about in glorious detail (as well as her relationship with their child of course), but not much else. There is a murder, yes of course, but no one gets convicted and we only feel we have the killer nailed, we’re left unsure.
There are a number of inaccuracies that will annoy a regular reader of English crime fiction never mind English people. Apart from the over portrayal of familial disharmony the book makes its characters use speech mannerisms familiar to Americans but unfamiliar to Brits other than from imported TV shows. In addition there is the use of the word gaol that George insists on slipping in every book in her belief that her regular readers enjoy finding it like the elusive character in where’s Waldo/Wally books.
I could go on…….. but I think by now you have got the message. I like Elizabeth George, I like British police novels (Rankin, Peter Robinson, Reginald Hill) but this book is a disaster. Regrettably…….
March 25, 2011
I was so upset when Elizabeth George had Thomas Lynley's pregnant wife killed in the book before this one, that I swore I would never read another one of her books. And I kept this promise until I started reading "Careless in Red" - I was hooked in 6 pages, but, unfortunately, this was not a permanent state. As I slogged along, the book would briefly become interesting, then taper off into nothingness. In the past, until she killed off "Tommy's" wife, I loved her complex, creative plots. The plot here was very intricate, almost too intricate, and at the same time, very dull and ordinary. There was just too many subplots being piled on top of the main plot, that at the end of the book, contributed nothing to the story. Oh, and by the way, Tommy has become very boring. Although, a love affair with a gypsy would've spiced things up if it had happened (a couple of months after his wife died). And Havers was well-behaved. BORING!
I love settling into reading good, long books (the operative word being GOOD), but about 400 pages of this 700 page book could have been deleted and the story would not have suffered (wouldn't have improved, either). And after slogging through all 700 pages of the book, the ending was banal, boring, predictable and much too drawn out. There was not one unpredictable, interesting sub-plot finale. Right now, I am scratching my head wondering what her motivation for writing the book was. An obligation to her publisher? A need for money? It certainly was not a story screaming to be written.
I love settling into reading good, long books (the operative word being GOOD), but about 400 pages of this 700 page book could have been deleted and the story would not have suffered (wouldn't have improved, either). And after slogging through all 700 pages of the book, the ending was banal, boring, predictable and much too drawn out. There was not one unpredictable, interesting sub-plot finale. Right now, I am scratching my head wondering what her motivation for writing the book was. An obligation to her publisher? A need for money? It certainly was not a story screaming to be written.
December 7, 2008
I've read all the Thomas Lynley novels and found them all to be a cut above most detective series, partly because George develops complicated characters who lead complex lives. Careless in Red, despite the somewhat trite title, is more of a sprawling family novel than it is a mystery. Several family sagas are played out, incorporating the intergenerational conflict that binds individual family members to each other and intertwines them for good and ill with other families involved in the story. Lynley, who is still trying to come to terms with his wife's senseless murder, gets drawn into the drama by accident, but his reluctance is overcome by his natural instincts.
One thing Elizabeth George does well is set a scene. The denizens of Cornwall and the countryside are concrete and unique. I've never been to England, but I have a sense that after reading George's book, I would have a familiarity with the place. I wouldn't feel right at home, however, because George manages to create a Cornwall that is as strange and foreign as if it were the ends of the earth.
I'm looking forward to the next Lynley book.
A side note: I watch the Masterpiece Theater version of this series, and I enjoy the episodes, but the books and the TV shows are two different creations. So much is left out of the TV version that it's difficult to recognize it as the same work.
One thing Elizabeth George does well is set a scene. The denizens of Cornwall and the countryside are concrete and unique. I've never been to England, but I have a sense that after reading George's book, I would have a familiarity with the place. I wouldn't feel right at home, however, because George manages to create a Cornwall that is as strange and foreign as if it were the ends of the earth.
I'm looking forward to the next Lynley book.
A side note: I watch the Masterpiece Theater version of this series, and I enjoy the episodes, but the books and the TV shows are two different creations. So much is left out of the TV version that it's difficult to recognize it as the same work.
June 14, 2008
Elizabeth George at her very best! You begin to feel that the characters are people you know well, and the dead body, the person who committed the murder, had me fooled to the very end!I can usually figure out "whodunit" quickly, so this was a great surprise. The only problem with any of her books, when you're finished with it, you feel a sense of loss because the story is over, and the characters are now no longer a part of your life. I wish she would write the novels quicker, but then, they wouldn't be as good or as involved. I've read every one of her Thomas Lynley books and I anxiously await her next one!
April 18, 2020
This long, rich mystery does several things, all well. First, although well into the Inspector Thomas Lynley series, it opens shortly after the detective suffers a horrific and wrenching loss that in some sense serves as a reboot for the character. This is the first novel I've read by Elizabeth George, and so came to the novel without personally missing the characters killed off in the previous volume, but I still found the subplot of Lynley's grieving quite powerful, and very well done.
Second, the plot is emotionally complex, with at least six major strands of interactions between characters - relationships that are not in good shape at the beginning of the book, reach some kind of breaking point, and then either find a reconciliation or are beyond repair by the close. The book explores the ways the dead hand of past events shapes the choices and futures of young people starting out, and also how aging characters come to terms with (or instead double down on) their past bad decisions and failures. A third key theme is sexual promiscuity: how it works, whether it can be pursued with integrity, and how other people react to it.
The suspension of disbelief only broke down for me a couple of times -- once, when a chapter closed before two policewomen had realistically reached the conclusion of their interview with a key suspect; and one other time, when a grandfather-grand-daughter conversation derailed for the third time, unnecessarily. But that's pretty amazing, for a 626 page murder mystery filled with strongly drawn, idiosyncratic characters with a wide range of ages. I was also satisfied by the ending, which wove tragedy for some characters together with reconciliation and hopeful freedom for others.
Second, the plot is emotionally complex, with at least six major strands of interactions between characters - relationships that are not in good shape at the beginning of the book, reach some kind of breaking point, and then either find a reconciliation or are beyond repair by the close. The book explores the ways the dead hand of past events shapes the choices and futures of young people starting out, and also how aging characters come to terms with (or instead double down on) their past bad decisions and failures. A third key theme is sexual promiscuity: how it works, whether it can be pursued with integrity, and how other people react to it.
The suspension of disbelief only broke down for me a couple of times -- once, when a chapter closed before two policewomen had realistically reached the conclusion of their interview with a key suspect; and one other time, when a grandfather-grand-daughter conversation derailed for the third time, unnecessarily. But that's pretty amazing, for a 626 page murder mystery filled with strongly drawn, idiosyncratic characters with a wide range of ages. I was also satisfied by the ending, which wove tragedy for some characters together with reconciliation and hopeful freedom for others.
May 11, 2016
Elizabeth George has a wonderful way of creating sympathetic characters out of horrible people. Her grasp of the human condition and all that entails lends her books a real richness that make them about more than the body found at the beginning and the resulting murderer revealed at the end.
Despite not being a reader of murder mystery, I find myself drawn back to her books again and again and I think that's why.
Careless in red is no different. Though a mystery in name, it is in reality a study of family and the many ways they can screw you up, or be screwed up by them. It's also a study of grief, although, were I to look for flaws in the book, it might be the handling of Lynley's recent loss. Although it's clear the book isn't about him, I would still have liked more exploration of how he was dealing with his wife's death.
Highlights for me include the horrendous, heartbreaking story of Ben and Dellen, so easy to imagine and portrayed in painful detail. Havers, as always, is a welcome addition too.
A great book, compelling and hard to put down, with the kind of denouement few authors would have the courage or skills to pull off. Highly recommended.
Despite not being a reader of murder mystery, I find myself drawn back to her books again and again and I think that's why.
Careless in red is no different. Though a mystery in name, it is in reality a study of family and the many ways they can screw you up, or be screwed up by them. It's also a study of grief, although, were I to look for flaws in the book, it might be the handling of Lynley's recent loss. Although it's clear the book isn't about him, I would still have liked more exploration of how he was dealing with his wife's death.
Highlights for me include the horrendous, heartbreaking story of Ben and Dellen, so easy to imagine and portrayed in painful detail. Havers, as always, is a welcome addition too.
A great book, compelling and hard to put down, with the kind of denouement few authors would have the courage or skills to pull off. Highly recommended.
June 17, 2008
Another satisfying read by Elizabeth George. I was glad to see her return to her mystery roots after the last book, which was too depressing for me. Great character development of the main suspects caught up in this latest murder mystery.
I could have used more Barbara Havers, but overall a nice addition to her series. As always, looking forward to the next one.
I could have used more Barbara Havers, but overall a nice addition to her series. As always, looking forward to the next one.
February 15, 2022
Abandoned about 1/4 the way through. Big disappointment. A slog which I kept forcing myself to keep on with until I could take no more. Extremely slow. I couldn't keep the different characters straight, who was the relative of whom? Much too talky. Thank goodness I don't own this novel.
May 14, 2017
After the senseless killing of his wife Helen, Thomas Lynley quits the police force, goes home to Cornwall and decides to walk the coast pathway. After more than 40 days of walking, he sees a body on the beach below and attempts to contact the police from the nearest house. Due to the lack of detectives in the local area, he is drawn into the investigation. Barbara Havers is sent down from London to assist, and although Lynley insists he's no longer a policeman, we know he'll be back.
The dead body was that of an 18 year old climber and surfer. His equipment had been sabotaged, but by who? His family is very messed up, as are some others in this story, but the story of Lynley was more interesting to me than the case.
The dead body was that of an 18 year old climber and surfer. His equipment had been sabotaged, but by who? His family is very messed up, as are some others in this story, but the story of Lynley was more interesting to me than the case.
February 8, 2023
Unfortunately this is another DNF for The lynley and Havers series.
The progression of this is painfully slow, the characters are many and arent very interesting. I have crossed 200 pages and yet to find it worth reading. Seems Ms. George is didnt in my opinion do the series any justice by this book. Granted there are many 3 n 4 stars for it. It doesnt measure up to the earlier books.
1 star.
The progression of this is painfully slow, the characters are many and arent very interesting. I have crossed 200 pages and yet to find it worth reading. Seems Ms. George is didnt in my opinion do the series any justice by this book. Granted there are many 3 n 4 stars for it. It doesnt measure up to the earlier books.
1 star.
August 25, 2008
Elizabeth George is rightfully recognized as one of the most literary and literate of police procedural writers, but this latest entry in her Thomas Lynley series is too literary for its own good. Instead of creating an intriguing mystery, George chooses to explore a rather obscure subculture -- middle-aged surfers in Cornwall, England -- and their conflicts with their children over whether or not they should surf or rock-climb.
Tommy Lynley literally wanders into this world -- he is on a long walk following the death of his wife -- and is on the scene when a mysterious local veterinarian discovers the body of a teenage Lothario whose parents are renovating a hotel. There are plenty of people who would have liked to see the boy dead (mostly cuckolded husbands and vengeful ex-girlfriends) and he's sporting a recent black eye. But the story spends more time exploring various familial relationships, a long-ago accidental death, and the expected number of shady pasts, most of which involve sexual promiscuity. The murder investigation is being handled by a local D.I., having her own family problems, who unconvincingly corrals Lynley into aiding her investigation, and manages to get his partner, D.S. Barbara Havers, assigned to the case. It's all too contrived by half, and when the ultimate revelations come, they feel unearned and not terribly convincing. George is skillful enough that red herrings abound.
I think it was a mistake to include Lynley and Havers in this. It has the flavor of a one-off story, with its own set of characters. Waiting around for the stars to show up, you have to spend time getting to know characters and a village you know are just going to turn out to be background, and ultimately she has to focus on her recurrent characters' stories, rather than to fully commit to making something fully fleshed in her Cornish town.
Tommy Lynley literally wanders into this world -- he is on a long walk following the death of his wife -- and is on the scene when a mysterious local veterinarian discovers the body of a teenage Lothario whose parents are renovating a hotel. There are plenty of people who would have liked to see the boy dead (mostly cuckolded husbands and vengeful ex-girlfriends) and he's sporting a recent black eye. But the story spends more time exploring various familial relationships, a long-ago accidental death, and the expected number of shady pasts, most of which involve sexual promiscuity. The murder investigation is being handled by a local D.I., having her own family problems, who unconvincingly corrals Lynley into aiding her investigation, and manages to get his partner, D.S. Barbara Havers, assigned to the case. It's all too contrived by half, and when the ultimate revelations come, they feel unearned and not terribly convincing. George is skillful enough that red herrings abound.
I think it was a mistake to include Lynley and Havers in this. It has the flavor of a one-off story, with its own set of characters. Waiting around for the stars to show up, you have to spend time getting to know characters and a village you know are just going to turn out to be background, and ultimately she has to focus on her recurrent characters' stories, rather than to fully commit to making something fully fleshed in her Cornish town.
February 1, 2024
Careless in Red takes the reader to Cornwall in the off-season, to a fictional seaside resort, a paradise for surfers in the summer. The first pages announce the plot in a concentrated way, introducing eventually recurring themes, even symbols: a surfer on the dark sea of a cold and wet early spring, grey cliffs, persistent rain and strong wind, but also a red patch at the foot of the coastal path where New Scotland Yard Superintendent Thomas Lynley, devastated by the murder of his wife Helen just a few weeks before, is walking for the 43rd day and discovers a young man dead at the foot of the cliff.
As soon as it is established that this is a murder, local Detective Inspector Beatrice Hanaford is put in charge of an investigation that proves to be more complex than expected. With few resources at her disposal, she enlists the help of Lynley, who is joined by Barbara Havers when the investigation seems to be stalling. A special mention to this heteroclite detective team - an original Bea with flashy red hair, an overly sensitive and bruised Lynley, a local constable obsessed with surfing, while Barbara Havers is just herself and very keen on Cornish Pasties.
Overall, the novel is a success, thanks to the change of scenery of the London based detectives to Cornwall, where the author wonderfully described the places and landscapes with great skill, and also thanks to the many masterfully analysed suspects, all of whom, in their own way, leave us in doubt to the last.
Still, there are a few flaws to be lamented: an at times too colloquial spoken style, some protagonists with voyeuristic forced features.
However, the well-constructed plot is gripping, leaving the reader to work out their own conclusions in the course of the novel.
As soon as it is established that this is a murder, local Detective Inspector Beatrice Hanaford is put in charge of an investigation that proves to be more complex than expected. With few resources at her disposal, she enlists the help of Lynley, who is joined by Barbara Havers when the investigation seems to be stalling. A special mention to this heteroclite detective team - an original Bea with flashy red hair, an overly sensitive and bruised Lynley, a local constable obsessed with surfing, while Barbara Havers is just herself and very keen on Cornish Pasties.
Overall, the novel is a success, thanks to the change of scenery of the London based detectives to Cornwall, where the author wonderfully described the places and landscapes with great skill, and also thanks to the many masterfully analysed suspects, all of whom, in their own way, leave us in doubt to the last.
Still, there are a few flaws to be lamented: an at times too colloquial spoken style, some protagonists with voyeuristic forced features.
However, the well-constructed plot is gripping, leaving the reader to work out their own conclusions in the course of the novel.
August 10, 2008
Thomas Lynley, still coming to terms with the murder of his wife Helen, has retreated to Cornwall where he is hiking the bleak, rugged coastline alone with his thoughts, memories and demons.
On the forty-third day of his walk, he finds the body of a young man who appears to have fallen to his death. As the first person on the scene, Thomas Lynley himself is under suspicion.
Thus begins one of the most interesting mysteries I have read for some time. Can Thomas Lynley overcome his inner demons (and does he want to?) to assist the undermanned local police to solve what appears to be a carefully planned murder? Almost everyone in the local town appears to know something that might be relevant and almost no-one wants to volunteer any information. There are plenty of secrets and an abundance of red herrings to engage and distract the reader. Even if you do work out who did it, and why, before the end of the book as I did there are other aspects of the story which kept me interested to the end.
Barbara Havers is sent to assist the investigation. So we have a version of the old partnership between Lynley and Havers in operation together with a new partnership between Havers and Detective Inspector Bea Hannaford. There are plenty of interesting characters here and some complex (and not so complex) motivations come into play.
So, why four stars instead of five? Some aspects of the story worked brilliantly for me, others less so. But overall, this is an engaging novel which has me hoping that we’ve not seen the last of Lynley and Havers (and some of the other characters introduced, as well).
On the forty-third day of his walk, he finds the body of a young man who appears to have fallen to his death. As the first person on the scene, Thomas Lynley himself is under suspicion.
Thus begins one of the most interesting mysteries I have read for some time. Can Thomas Lynley overcome his inner demons (and does he want to?) to assist the undermanned local police to solve what appears to be a carefully planned murder? Almost everyone in the local town appears to know something that might be relevant and almost no-one wants to volunteer any information. There are plenty of secrets and an abundance of red herrings to engage and distract the reader. Even if you do work out who did it, and why, before the end of the book as I did there are other aspects of the story which kept me interested to the end.
Barbara Havers is sent to assist the investigation. So we have a version of the old partnership between Lynley and Havers in operation together with a new partnership between Havers and Detective Inspector Bea Hannaford. There are plenty of interesting characters here and some complex (and not so complex) motivations come into play.
So, why four stars instead of five? Some aspects of the story worked brilliantly for me, others less so. But overall, this is an engaging novel which has me hoping that we’ve not seen the last of Lynley and Havers (and some of the other characters introduced, as well).
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