Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410140005
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: REVIEWED BY JILL BOWEN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
This latest novel by Elizabeth George is a well written, beautifully organized and perceptive mystery story featuring her two British
investigators, the aristocratic Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his assistant Det. Sgt. Barbara Havers.
Although the book is a long one in comparison with many "whodunits," the story does not lose any of its impetus, and makes compelling reading. All the apparently unrelated parts of the novel are skillfully interwoven into a totally plausible and intriguing finale.
The book opens with a fatal fire in a Kentish cottage, and the discovery of a body upstairs. The local police inspector suspects that arson may be involved. This, and the discovery that the body is that of well known English cricket player Kenneth Fleming, means that New Scotland Yard is called upon to help investigate the suspected case of murder. Enter Lynley and Havers who quickly find themselves trying to solve what appears to be the perfect crime.
The suspects are varied, but it seems to be almost impossible to produce irrefutable evidence against any one of them.
Could it be Fleming's mistress, the provocative and sensuous wife of an important sponsor of the England cricket team, or Fleming's wife, separated from her husband for four years but determined not to give him the divorce he wants, or their 16-year-old son, Jimmy, already in trouble with the police and described as a bit of a lout or yobbo? Also in the list of suspects are Olivia, a college drop out and ex-prostitute with her animal rights movement boy friend, Chris; and lastly Olivia's widowed mother, a retired school teacher, who taught Kenneth in school and who made it possible for him to realize his dream of playing cricket for England.
How this web of personal relationships is untangled makes for fascinating reading. Personal insights into the lives and problems of both Lynley and Havers make them truly three-dimensional people. Elizabeth George gives us provocative insights into all her main characters' innermost thoughts and emotions, so that the reader becomes involved in not only the mystery, but in the characters themselves.
It is interesting to note that Elizabeth George is an American, who was born in Ohio and raised in California where she now lives; and yet all her seven mystery novels have an English setting. Her research into English lifestyles, customs, vernacular and the areas where the action takes place is meticulous. Her knowledge of England is remarkably accurate, unlike some other American authors who have set their novels in Britain.
During an interview George was asked why she wrote about England, and she replied. "The answer lies in my philosophy: Write about what interests you; write about what you love; write about what gives you joy. Writing is such lovely torture, it seems silly to engage in it if it's not directed towards something you love."
Jill Bowen is an English veterinarian who lives in Blacksburg.
by CNB