August 2008: Mystery Books

Careless in Red

By Elizabeth George

Fans of Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series will be thrilled to discover that, after two disappointments, she's back with a winner. Careless in Red opens with detective inspector Thomas Lynley still grieving over the senseless murder of his pregnant wife, Helen. Unable to come to terms with his loss, Lynley has left his job, friends, and family in London to hike in solitude along the Cornish coast. Readers are drawn into the story from the first line: "He found the body on the forty-third day of his walk."

The body in question is that of 18-year-old Santo Kerne, who appears to have fallen to his death due to malfunctioning climbing gear. Santo's death is quickly discovered to be murder, and Lynley, being first on the scene, is a suspect. It doesn't take the local authorities long to rule him out and take advantage of his Scotland Yard expertise to help in the investigation. As the mystery unfolds, and more and more characters surface with a motive to kill the handsome n'er do well. All the things that make George's books so engrossing are here -- the highly developed characters (yes, Lynley's beloved partner Barbara Havers appears on the scene from London), wonderful writing, and a plot that keeps you guessing up until the final page.

If you haven't read previous Elizabeth George books, you could read this as a stand-alone. But knowing the back story of Lynley's romance with Helen, and his complicated relationship with Havers certainly adds a lot. And newcomers won't have the experience of hanging out with characters they already know and adore.
-- Kate Kelly

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