A Suitable Vengeance (Inspector Lynley)

Elizabeth George is highly regarded as a writer of the psychological crime fiction. This book, featuring the aristocratically proletarian Inspector Lynley certainly offers a lot of psychological insights into most of the characters. And while these insights are delightfully dexterous, it's not always clear how these contribute to the crime plot itself.

The crime itself is a fairly standard one in British crime writing: a weekend party at the family estate, invitation to a village play (to muddy the alibi waters), and a ghastly murder. However, one murder is not enough to build a simultaneous equation - so more deaths are on the sideboard.

The local police, though competent, quickly get hold of the wrong person, and then forget all about standard police procedure. Till DI Lynley's friends step in to solve the crime.

Lynley is of course neck deep in troubles of his own, a complicated childhood, an addicted brother, a proletarian lover, and a love triangle. We get a ring-side view of his deepest fears - he also seems to be so pre-occupied with these that he doesn't really try to solve the crime. This is left to his friend St James, fretting (endlessly?) about his disability and its general effect on his life. Certainly a fit case for counselling if there ever was one. However, the counselling is at hand, in the lovely shape of Lady Helen, friend, companion, colleague, eternal wit, and part-time sleuth.

As a result of all these distractions, the plot proceeds rather slowly. Everyone is a suspect, except of course, the real suspect who pops up suddenly in the last few pages, to be then replaced by the actual criminal in the last few paragraphs. However, some of you will be happy at this, as you had already pinned the blame on this person early on - even though you were afraid to voice it, afraid that the writer will rearrange the plot just to vex you!

All in all, a fairly decent mystery, though with a lot of psycho-analysis, and a number of blemishes.

BACKGROUND
This is my first EG novel--it was recommended to me by a female cousin who knows I like mysteries. I'm unsure if I'll read another one though other reviews indicate that this particular book is a prequel and differs significantly from EG's other books.

THE GOOD
There is a complex mystery embedded in this book which, as with many good mystery books, slowly unravels to reveal the culprit (s). The supporting character of Lady Helen Clyde, while not extensively utilized, is fun and intelligent and produces some fine observations and quotations (for my collection):
p. 237: Lady Helen Clyde--"If one's going to do anything incognita, one ought to do it well."
p. 355: Lady Helen Clyde--"This moves the definition of tedium beyond my wildest dreams."

THE BAD
Unfortunately, the latter quote also applies to most of the book, particularly the beginning. The book is a long 371 pages, if you get my meaning, as opposed to a Robert B. Parker book which are shorter than the number of pages, so to speak--i.e. this one's a SLOW read. The writing style is generally pretty good, but there are a number of annoying errors such as not indicating who the speaker is, using incognita incorrectly (it's for women, incognito is for men), etc. but these were minor distractions. Strangely, the author doesn't really describe the physical characteristics of the characters very much. She leaves me wondering how beautiful Deborah is that two technical professionals fall madly in love with her when she's a teenager and why the delightful Lady Helen is romantically ignored.

THE UGLY
I believed this was to be a mystery, but in truth, it's more a cross between a gothic or Harlequin romance and a mystery with emphasis on the former. But, even worse, most of the characters are pitiful and/or pathetic--making them difficult to impossible to sympathize (let alone empathize) with. The worst of this is the supposedly main character who describes himself so very well:
p. 236: Tommy Lynley--"I'm supposed to be a professional...I should have..."
p. 363: Tommy Lynley--"I feel like a fool. I should be stronger than this."

Indeed, as a Detective Inspector with London CID you might think he'd have some objectivity and at least SOME ability to deal with his plethora of emotional problems--and childish hangups (he sure hasn't "put away childish things). Interestingly, Simon St. James does the detective work far more than Lynley. It's a bit easier to sympathize with St. James who is a physical cripple than with the many psychological cripples peppering this novel. While St. James has his own internal demons, at least he has some insights (which apply to most of the other characters as well):
p. 251: Simon St. James--"He thought about the energy people expend in seeking to avoid what they most need to face. They fill their lives with distraction and denial, only to find at an unexpected 11th hour that there is in reality no absolute escape." Indeed, the main characters appear to be so self-absorbed that they take their assumptions as facts and make decisions for other people based on those (wrong) assumptions, disallowing the other person to make his/her own decisions. This could be accepted for young Deborah but not for professionals like Lynley and St. James.

They seem more like a female Feeler's (a la the Myers-Briggs Types) interpretation of men--maybe EG should read Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex and Deborah Tannen's significant contributions to male-female communications are relationships: You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation and That's Not What I Meant!: How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships; not that a female author cannot produce a good mystery starring a male detective--just read P. D. James, Margery Allingham, Dorothy Sayers, etc. And, of course, there are some great, current female mystery writers with female detectives such as Marcia Muller and Sue Grafton.

OVERALL
The is basically a melodrama full of psychological cripples with mystery as a subplot or background. It might, however, be useful to read it if you intended to read the Lynley series later as it provides some background for what (I presume) comes later.

Somehow I believe that this should have been book 2 of the Lynley series and it occurs before St. James and Deb got married. The story, however, is excellent. Ms. George is one of the finest mystery writers that I have read. I believe Elizabeth George and Louise Penny are my two favorite mystery writers today. I really love a mystery where I can't guess who did it and both these writers know just how to do this. I'm sorry it took me so long to finally read Elizabeth George, but now that I have started, I can't wait to read everything that she has written.

This is the fourth in the "Inspector Lynley Mystery" series, but it does not pick up where the previous novel left off. It is set a few years earlier in time, and gives us some of the back story of Thomas Lynley, Earl of Asherton, and some of the people closest to him: Simon St. James, Deborah Cotter, and Lady Helen Clyde. All of them--and some important relatives--are together at Lynley's Cornwall estate when a local man is found murdered, and soon thereafter one of Lynley's house guests is found dead under ambiguous circumstances. Although the local police have jurisdiction, Lynley and St. James become involved, not in their official capacities but in effect as private detectives, as people close to both of them become prime suspects. Although the crimes are eventually solved, the main emphasis in this book is on the emotional lives of the principal characters. As Lynley and St. James try to exonerate their loved ones, they must cope with conflicts that arise from the discovery of damaging evidence. Of course the reader expects both of them to "do the right thing"--but the issues are interwoven with the conflicting loyalties arising from their shared history. Both men must ultimately uncover painful truths about themselves that will have implications for the rest of the series.

In structure and emphasis, then, this book is quite different from the three published before it. The sharply-drawn class conflict that is so well done in Elizabeth George's other novels is also mostly absent from this one, except for a masterful depiction of the country life of British aristocrats. An elaborate dinner party at Howenstow is described in such perfect detail that we can almost taste the salmon pastry and smell the post-prandial brandy. In many ways, the scene might have come from a 1930's movie--and that, I think, is the author's point.

With a wink to her existing readers, George brings on Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers for a cameo appearance. The circumstances are unpleasant and there is no hint of her future importance. For that, the reader must hurry to the next book in the series.

A Suitable Vengeance is a back story for the Lynley-Havers series that enriches the following books in the series by exposing the nature of Lynley's upbringing and his relationships with his family, his friend Simon Allcourt-St. James and the two beguiling women who intrigue him, Deborah Cotter and Lady Helen Clyde. In providing much rich perspective, this is clearly a five-star effort.

Ms. George also feels the need to put in a murder mystery. But that part of the book is a lower priority and shuffles off in the background while chests and bosoms heave in the drawing room. The mystery has more than it's share of red herrings and will keep you truly puzzled by what in the world is going on in several places (especially the opening). As I read the mystery, I often felt like I could have described myself as "Clueless in Gaza."

Lynley is engaged to be married to Deborah Cotter, the daughter of Simon's gentleman's gentleman. Simon has always been attracted to her as well, but has kept his distance. Deborah has been away in the United States for several years which is where her romance with Lynley bloomed during brief visits by Lynley. Lynley plans to bring Deborah and her father and old friends, Simon and Lady Helen, to a weekend party to meet his mother at the family's country estate in Cornwall. The backdrop is tense. Lynley doesn't like to play his role as lord of the manor and he seems to want to avoid his mother. What a way to start a marriage!

Circumstances soon impinge on the weekend plans when a local man is found dead in his home while his tiny baby cries on. Lynley is completely undone by having people he knows be part of a homicide, and he acts with uncharacteristic negligence like a normal citizen rather than a DI. The new circumstances prove to be revealing about the relationships of all and sundry to one another, and many tempests are soon revealed. As they do, the mystery grows ever deeper and murkier.

Like many English country murder mysteries, this one strains credibility by turning the normally tranquil countryside into a hotbed of schemes and murder. The logic doesn't often make much sense, and the mystery seems far-fetched. I was tempted to rate the book as 3 stars . . . but I liked the character development of the on-going characters in the series too much to do that. The tiny cameo role for Havers was a disappointment, though.

"A Suitable Vengeance" starts out extremely slowly, so slowly in fact, that I put the book down after 75 pages of inaction and did not pick it up again for two weeks, having read two books in between. The first third of the book is concerned mostly with personal matters between Deborah, Lynley, and St. James, as well as introducing several characters we will get to know later. It's really quite boring to read, and I think George would have done well to have edited this first section down considerably.

Once the murder actually occurs (around 120 pages in), the story picks up speed and becomes rather enjoyable. I personally have very little interest in George's love triangle, but at least in the last thirds of the novel it takes a backseat to the mystery for the most part, only to reappear again to take the spotlight in the last 20 pages or so. The mystery itself is fairly convoluted and at one point, I stopped trying to figure out who did it and just went along for the ride.

Despite the tedious beginning, "A Suitable Vengeance" is a nice addition to the Lynley series, although I would only read it after having read at least one of the first three books in the series, as events in this book are mentioned in the earlier books.

This was the fourth book in the Lynley-Havers series that I have read (I have read them in order) and am sure it is my last. I am just not a fan of this kind of writing but I think I gave it a fair chance - trying to understand why so many readers seem to adore this author.
I find George's books to be so incredibly overwritten and overwrought that my fingers itch for a red pen when reading them! It is as though she is being paid by the word - and why say something in 10 words if she can say it in 20? This book could easily have been half the length it ended up being.
"A Suitable Vengeance" gives the early background of the characters who populate the later (in time) books. Even after reading this, I still find it hard to believe that men like Simon St. James and Thomas Lynley were so involved with a teen-ager (Deborah) when they were in their late 20s (even before this book took place)! This just seems preposterous to me and George never addresses this issue. In four books I have never really found Deborah to be all that interesting - yet she has had these two very intelligent and attractive men fall head-over-heels for her!
In this book, the main action in Cornwall starts with the murder of a man whom the readers have not yet met and who somehow never seemed very important to me. It seems to be thrown into the book - a clumsy plot device that never really gets the reader involved. I will admit that the "bad guy" was a surprise to me, but not enough to warrant all the pages that it took to find out about him.
I hate to say nothing good about a book, especially one that I finished, as it must have had some redeeming qualities. I would say that the best parts of this book, for me, were the descriptions of the Cornwall coast. George's grim depiction of drug users was probably fairly accurate as well.

A Suitable Vengeance, surprisingly, goes back in time from the previous Elizabeth George book in the Inspector Lynley series and fills in some of the details of the primary characters' complicated relationships. As usual, there are violent verbal exchanges, and the descriptions of various couples make the reader think that George's men and women really don't like each other very much. The plot centers around drugs. Not her best book.

Technically, this fourth entry in the Inspector Lynley series is a prequel, taking place about a year before the events of the first novel, “A Great Deliverance.” Realistically though, this book is placed exactly where it needs to be in the series. After the bombshell that Deborah Cotter St. James laid on her husband, Simon, at the end of the previous book, Elizabeth George takes us back just far enough to get a real understanding of the original dynamics that led every character to that last point in time in that previous book.

Although written in third-person, the primary POV in this novel is that of Simon St. James. A brilliant move on Ms George’s part, Simon is practically the only character, major or minor, who does not wish “a suitable vengeance” on someone. Quite frankly, he hates himself too much to hate anyone else.

As for the others, Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth Earl of Asherton, has sought and achieved vengeance against his mother for fifteen years. At the age of 17, he caught her “in flagrante delicto” with his father’s doctor in the room next door to the dying man. For well over a decade, as the Earl, he has controlled both the property and the purse strings of the extremely large estate in Cornwall. Punishing her with long silences, few visits and absolutely no physical touch, Lynley will not even allow a single portrait or photograph of his father to be displayed at the estate as long as his mother chooses to reside there. Oh, yes – vengeance is mine, sayeth Lynley!

Deborah Cotter has, in her mind and her heart, declared vengeance against Simon St. James. Even though Deborah is eleven years younger than Simon, they basically grew up together as her father was a highly placed employee in the wealthy St. James household. Deborah’s mother died when she was seven and Simon was critically injured and severely disabled in a car accident with Lynley shortly after the mother’s death. Despite their age difference, these circumstances bonded them together tightly. However, when Deborah was seventeen, Simon sent her to America to finish her college studies in photography, despite the fact that he loved her and she had professed her love for him. And for the last three years, Deborah has heard not one word from him, not a letter, not a phone call, nothing. But she has heard from Lynley, Simon’s best friend. He has called her often and has visited her in America multiple times. He has courted her slowly and dearly. She is no longer a woman scorned. She has become Lynley’s lover and she has accepted his proposal of marriage. Now, at age 21, she is returning to London and has made very specific plans as to how she will make Simon pay for the hurt he laid on her. Oh, yes – vengeance is mine, sayeth Deborah!

Peter Lynley is Thomas Lynley’s younger brother. When their mother betrayed their father and then the father died, Thomas, in his hate and his grief, essentially abandoned his pre-teen little brother. With no one to guide him during these critical years of youth, Peter eventually descended through self-pity and depression into an addiction to cocaine. Thomas has the title, the estate, the money, the Bentley, the rank with Scotland Yard. And Peter hasn’t enough for his next fix. Hearing that Lynley is bringing Deborah to Cornwall to celebrate his engagement, Peter heads there too, with plans and announcements of his own. Peter is determined that Thomas will pay for all those years of abandonment, and not all the payment will be in money. Oh, yes – vengeance is mine, sayeth Peter!

And let’s not forget Sergeant Barbara Havers. She is not yet Thomas Lynley’s partner. In fact, she does not even personally know him at this point. She just knows him by reputation – his title, his wealth, his position in the Yard, his purported sexual conquests. And for this, she despises him. When Peter Lynley falls afoul of the law in relation to a murder and her boss is assigned to the case, Barbara is ecstatic. She looks Thomas Lynley straight in the face and telegraphs her glee and her intentions. Oh, yes – vengeance is mine, sayeth Havers!

Unfortunately, the dance card of hate is still not yet filled. One other character feels that he has been humiliated at the hands of his peers. And the plans for vengeance he sets in motion even transcend death.

So where is the murder in all this soap opera? On or about page 115 of the mass-market paperback edition, we find the body of Mick Cambrey, with a fractured skull and sexually mutilated. He is a journalist, son of the Cornwall paper’s owner, the son-in-law of Lynley’s estate manager and reputedly a notorious womanizer. Thus, the sexual mutilation comes across as yet another instance of “a suitable vengeance.”

Mick is just the first of four people who will die within one week, that same week that Lynley has taken Deborah, Simon and Lady Helen Clyde to Cornwall for the engagement festivities. Lynley is out of his jurisdiction from a police standpoint, although he and Simon investigate anyway. However, almost everyone involved is either related to Lynley by blood, employment or emotion. He is really not at the top of his game and he knows it. Simon’s ability to compartmentalize in the face of physical and emotional pain pulls the investigation together. But, basically, Lady Helen is the only principle character without a dog in this fight, so to speak. So she does what she does best, she mediates, she coordinates, and she uses both her high society skills and her acting ability to gain information for Lynley.

Elizabeth George’s writing throughout this novel is rich, full and expressive. Her characters are, for the most part, high born and/or well educated and she writes a vocabulary to match. Her physical descriptions of people and locations are crisp and clear. Her characters are multi-dimensional and she does not paint them by description or dialogue with any particular society’s morality brush. They are who they are, they think and say what they will, and they live with the consequences.

The entries in this series are usually classified as British police procedurals specializing in murder investigations. But this book, in particular, and the series is general, is not really about murder. It is about five intertwined characters: Lynley, Simon, Deborah, Lady Helen and Havers. Murder is only the catalyst that effects changes in these characters’ lives and affects the dynamics between them. This series is about people’s lives, not about people’s deaths.

Even being about people’s lives, these entries, particularly this one, are not capable of being classified as romantic suspense either. Even if there are intimate relationships involved and there are mysteries and murders, the emotional, as well as the investigative, content is dark and sometimes quite stressful to absorb. There are no overt or erotic sexual scenarios. While much is alluded to or implied, nothing is gratuitous or sensationalized. And, if you need an HEA at the end, don’t look here. In this particular entry, Prince Charming does not get Cinderella, justice is not served, and every one of our characters reaches the last page grappling with some form of a personal living hell.

Admittedly it was interesting to have an excursion back into their pasts. But this is not the best of the bunch so far. Elizabeth george is great at coming up with interesting characters and Agatha Christie-ish plots. But this one lacked something...i can't quite put my finger on it. I did enjoy it very much, but it wasn't really as good as some of her others. At times it was a bit overcomplicated. and it was a bit overlong. We don't even get to hear one line spoken from the dead man, even when his demise comes about 100 pages in. So you can't really feel for him at all, and because george gives the impression that he was an unpleasant man, we don't care as much as we might about his death had we formed some sort of connection with him. Also, the drugs side of it....i know i'm being naive here, but it didn't really seem to fit with the setting. That's a totally stupid thing to say, but it just didn't seem to sit right with me.
Nevertheless, this is a good detective novel from a writer who can create great characters, and never fails to deliver some elegant prose. Worth a read, yes, but not quite as good as some of the others.

*****Perfect for all: old fans and New to Elizabeth George,too: This could be read as the "first" in the series, although it wasn't written first.
*****It is definitely one of her best.
This book, in time sequence, "happened" before any of the "Lynley/Havers" mysteries. Excellent for those Lynley fans who want to know: What did happen between Thomas and Deborah? Simon and Deborah?
----AT the start, Deborah has just returned from college, home to her father (living with Simon). She announces her engagement to Tommy Lynley. They are going to his ancestral home, bringing a reluctant Simon, and a grimly cheerful Lady Helen as guests. Meanwhile Simon's young sister Sydney,has troubles with an abusive man. Tommy's younger brother may be using drugs. Why are Tommy and his mother alienated? Who's the mysterious woman that disappears without a trace?
****
When murder happens on the estate, all these story lines converge and intertwine in a way that explores the relationships, old and new of this extended "family" .
The resolution of the mystery was one of George's most inspired. As usual, the story is so intricate, it's difficult to imagine the difficulty of spinning this web.
Even more important to me, was the resolution of, at least some of the interpersonal conflicts.
*****ok I admit, I cried at the "happy" ending***********
This is an outstanding book for all mystery fans.

For fans of the Lynley-Havers series, Elizabeth George offers an episode that occurs a few years prior to the time of the first book, A Great Deliverance. In this installment, she provides back-story that illuminates some of the complex inter-relationships between Lynley, Simon, and Deborah. Absent (but for a brief cameo) are Havers and her sharp words for the privileges of the upper classes -- which were in great need here. George, who is among mystery writers a master of characterization, here devises a mystery that seems not just secondary to the personal stories of her characters, but even incidental. In fact, the solution to the mystery seems a bit facile. Hopefully, in her subsequent novels George will return to the approach that worked well in the first three novels, wherein she spins a marvelous mystery that any observant reader could solve and, along the way, continuously deepens the reader's understanding of some very likable characters.

I have been a fan of Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley novels for years. When I picked up this book, I was expecting her usual excellent plotting and character development. I was particularly interested in why "Tommy" Lynley is a person who has trouble with relationships, especially with women. Although this question and others are answered in "A Suitable Vengeance," unfortunately the book is something of a potboiler. It is tediously plotted and the story is melodramatic and uninvolving. Although George tends to write long novels, in the case of "A Suitable Vengeance" the novel ran out of steam well before the last page. I lost interest somewhere in the middle and plodded on to the end. George's recent books are quite a bit better than this one, I am happy to say.

I really enjoyed this fourth book in the Lynley/Havers series (although Havers appears only very briefly). In an earlier book, you are clued in that Thomas had feelings for Deborah earlier in time. In this book, you will receive the details regarding how Deborah ended up marrying Simon rather than Thomas. As well, the mystery of Lynley's past is unveiled. I was appreciative of George's writing, as I have been with the previous three books and, just as much, appreciated the history provided as I had been curious as to that storyline.
Looking forward to beginning the 5th in the series!

Havers stops by for a moment, but Elizabeth George's A SUITABLE VENGEANCE is pure backstory for the complex relationship of Linley, St. James and Deborah. The mystery is insignificant and secondary to the story.
The time frame is set a few years prior to the story line of THE GREAT DELIVERANCE where we first met these extraordinary characters and well worth the read.
Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS.

I didn't understand the chronology of the subject matter of this book. Book 4 is actually a prequel to the whole series, establishing relationships, etc, but why here?? I kept waiting for it to be a flashback, or some explanation for the story line and it didn't happen. It ended too abruptly and I concluded that I just didn't like it.

The most interesting thing about this book is not the murder plot but the wonderfully repressed and English longings that Deborah and St James have towards eachother and how their feverish lust for eachother heats up towards the end. I sometimes wonder why George writes mystery books - her plots tend to be pretty thin, relying heavily on coincidence. What she does so terrifically is write about human emotion, love, hate and all the shades in between.

This is the second Elizabeth George book I have read. [A GREAT DELIVERENCE was the first, fortunately.] Had I read this first I would not have bought any more of her books. The first third of the book is way too long. Usually, I love descriptions of characters and they, become people I get to know and like. If I look forward to "being with" the characters, I buy more of the series. Always, I try to read a series in order, letting the author build the characters. Here, I knew several characters and still had trouble following who was talking, walking, acting, etc. On more than one occasion I was forced to go back a few pages to find out who was who. I seldom put down a book unfinished and came close here. It took me a month to read it, having stopped to read several others. In the last third, the book picked up and she seemed (to me) to return to her original style and I liked the plot. It explained a great deal more about the characters and I have ordered two more of the series to be fair. However, I still think this could have just as well been a short story!

In A SUITABLE VENGEANCE by Elizabeth George, the author explores the back-story between Inspector Lynley, St. James, Deborah and Lady Helen. During a rare weekend visit to his estate in Cornwall to celebrate his engagement to Deborah Cotter, Lynley becomes involved in the vicious murder of the local newspaper publisher. During the course of solving the crime, Ms. George delves into the history of St. James' accident, the relationship between St. James, Lynley, Deborah and Lady Helen, and the reason for the estrangement between Lynley and his mother and brother. While Ms. George always makes sure that her mysteries are solved, she does not always have happy resolutions for her characters. Reading this book only makes some of the later books in the series more poignant as it deepens the reader's understanding of all the characters. This is a fine book that will definitely touch your heart.

I read "Deception on His Mind" and " In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner", both pretty entertaining (although a bit verbose). This book, however, is a big disappointment. The dialog is melodramatic soap opera junk. The characters are so whiney and self absorbed that I wanted them all to be murder victims.I kept reading because I thought it was going to get better. It didn't. I really wonder what kind of editor thinks this tripe is worth publishing. Do yourself a favor and skip it.

This is the second Elizabeth George book I have read. [A GREAT DELIVERENCE was the first, fortunately.] Had I read this first I would not have bought any more of her books. The first third of the book is way too long. Usually, I love descriptions of characters and they, become people I get to know and like. If I look forward to "being with" the characters, I buy more of the series. Always, I try to read a series in order, letting the author build the characters. Here, I knew several characters and still had trouble following who was talking, walking, acting, etc. On more than one occasion I was forced to go back a few pages to find out who was who. I seldom put down a book unfinished and came close here. It took me a month to read it, having stopped to read several others. In the last third, the book picked up and she seemed (to me) to return to her original style and I liked the plot. It explained a great deal more about the characters and I have ordered two more of the series to be fair. However, I still think this could have just as well been a short story!

In A SUITABLE VENGEANCE by Elizabeth George, the author explores the back-story between Inspector Lynley, St. James, Deborah and Lady Helen. During a rare weekend visit to his estate in Cornwall to celebrate his engagement to Deborah Cotter, Lynley becomes involved in the vicious murder of the local newspaper publisher. During the course of solving the crime, Ms. George delves into the history of St. James' accident, the relationship between St. James, Lynley, Deborah and Lady Helen, and the reason for the estrangement between Lynley and his mother and brother. While Ms. George always makes sure that her mysteries are solved, she does not always have happy resolutions for her characters. Reading this book only makes some of the later books in the series more poignant as it deepens the reader's understanding of all the characters. This is a fine book that will definitely touch your heart.

I read "Deception on His Mind" and " In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner", both pretty entertaining (although a bit verbose). This book, however, is a big disappointment. The dialog is melodramatic soap opera junk. The characters are so whiney and self absorbed that I wanted them all to be murder victims.I kept reading because I thought it was going to get better. It didn't. I really wonder what kind of editor thinks this tripe is worth publishing. Do yourself a favor and skip it.

I enjoyed reading the first three books in this series. Each was an improvement on the previous one. But this book is awful. The fact that this book is a prequel to the series does not affect my review. But the writing is just terrible. The characters make the most outlandish and hyperbolic statements. No one talks like these characters! Their behavior is often at odds with their characters. Written in the style of a harlequin romance; there is absolutely nothing subtle about emotions or reactions. I think that the book was plotted in advance and the characters were written to meet the requirements of the plot. Never mind that none of the characters behave in a realistic manner. Never mind that the characters are only caricatures. I cannot recommend this book to anyone.

I belive that E. George fans would be pleased having some character development of the bonds between the characters of Linley, The St. James, and Lady Helen. Although I gave this review the highest marks, my criticism of George lies within the third person point of view. The main characters themselves are shrouded in mystery within the mystery of the story unfolding. I never have the feeling that I truly know any of these characters (even after reading five mysteries based upon their interactions). The characters are as elusive as the murders that they chase. Perhaps this is part of the appeal.

Also I always chuckle at the fact that all these victims seemed to be dying around these main characters with alarming frequency with alarming connections to the main characters. Even after considering the nature of Linley's and St.James' chosen profession, I believe that the characters would be afraid of being murdered themselves with all these crimes being committed on Linley's property. Just statistically speaking, this would bare out!!

This book goes into Lynley family and reveals quite a few deep, dark secrets. It also tells a lot about St. James which I didn't expect, but I was pleasently surprised. I have enjoyed all of Georges books but this is a bit of a swarthy comedy. I think the plot is very good and had unexpected twists and turns. A good read which I would recommend.

Written in the early 90's ...who would believe an entire household playing head games with attempted rape, addiction, violence and deceit, not to mention marital abuse, and murder most foul? There is an elephant in the middle of the room in every scene. Painful to watch everyone pretending that everything is just fine. A bunch of royal misfits who are pathetic. Surely a murder mystery could have SOME minor characters with a bit of spine. I have run out of patience to see if anyone will eventually behave in an interesting or authentic manner. Think I will return my copy half-read. Ms. George does seem to stress the down and dirty and violent. I loved the PBS series, Inspector Lynley.

One of the best Elizabeth George novels - contains humor, romance, mystery, and superb story-telling. For those of us who read her more recent Inspector Lynley novels before reading this one, A Suitable Vengeance is a must; it ties up so many loose ends.

I love reading books by Elizabeth George. She manages to set each of her stories in different areas of England and yet keep the same characters. The reader is drawn into the lives of Inspector Lindley and Detective Havers. Each story develops their characters a bit more. There is a core group of characters who are developed as well. These characters are interesting and compelling.
As in most detective novels the evil side of man is studied. Interestingly some of the most decent people have serious flaws, in the most surprising ways.
Elizabeth George is one of my favorite authors. I have read the entire series and now I am reading them again.
This book is well worth the effort of reading.

Then this is definitely the book for you.

This time a murder mystery gets really personal for Lynley.

We finally learn the entire story behind Lynley's relationships with his friends and family. And its all wrapped up in a complex and gripping story set in his native Cornwall.

Well crafted mystery with familiar characters that the author continues to develop. Plot and sub plots entertain. Always like author's willingness to explore social themes - in this case, unrequited love; drug abuse; the use of experimental drugs; family relationships; and the complexities of brotherly love.

Technically, this fourth entry in the Inspector Lynley series is a prequel, taking place about a year before the events of the first novel, “A Great Deliverance.” Realistically though, this book is placed exactly where it needs to be in the series. After the bombshell that Deborah Cotter St. James laid on her husband, Simon, at the end of the previous book, Elizabeth George takes us back just far enough to get a real understanding of the original dynamics that led every character to that last point in time in that previous book.

Although written in third-person, the primary POV in this novel is that of Simon St. James. A brilliant move on Ms George’s part, Simon is practically the only character, major or minor, who does not wish “a suitable vengeance” on someone. Quite frankly, he hates himself too much to hate anyone else.

As for the others, Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth Earl of Asherton, has sought and achieved vengeance against his mother for fifteen years. At the age of 17, he caught her “in flagrante delicto” with his father’s doctor in the room next door to the dying man. For well over a decade, as the Earl, he has controlled both the property and the purse strings of the extremely large estate in Cornwall. Punishing her with long silences, few visits and absolutely no physical touch, Lynley will not even allow a single portrait or photograph of his father to be displayed at the estate as long as his mother chooses to reside there. Oh, yes – vengeance is mine, sayeth Lynley!

Deborah Cotter has, in her mind and her heart, declared vengeance against Simon St. James. Even though Deborah is eleven years younger than Simon, they basically grew up together as her father was a highly placed employee in the wealthy St. James household. Deborah’s mother died when she was seven and Simon was critically injured and severely disabled in a car accident with Lynley shortly after the mother’s death. Despite their age difference, these circumstances bonded them together tightly. However, when Deborah was seventeen, Simon sent her to America to finish her college studies in photography, despite the fact that he loved her and she had professed her love for him. And for the last three years, Deborah has heard not one word from him, not a letter, not a phone call, nothing. But she has heard from Lynley, Simon’s best friend. He has called her often and has visited her in America multiple times. He has courted her slowly and dearly. She is no longer a woman scorned. She has become Lynley’s lover and she has accepted his proposal of marriage. Now, at age 21, she is returning to London and has made very specific plans as to how she will make Simon pay for the hurt he laid on her. Oh, yes – vengeance is mine, sayeth Deborah!

Peter Lynley is Thomas Lynley’s younger brother. When their mother betrayed their father and then the father died, Thomas, in his hate and his grief, essentially abandoned his pre-teen little brother. With no one to guide him during these critical years of youth, Peter eventually descended through self-pity and depression into an addiction to cocaine. Thomas has the title, the estate, the money, the Bentley, the rank with Scotland Yard. And Peter hasn’t enough for his next fix. Hearing that Lynley is bringing Deborah to Cornwall to celebrate his engagement, Peter heads there too, with plans and announcements of his own. Peter is determined that Thomas will pay for all those years of abandonment, and not all the payment will be in money. Oh, yes – vengeance is mine, sayeth Peter!

And let’s not forget Sergeant Barbara Havers. She is not yet Thomas Lynley’s partner. In fact, she does not even personally know him at this point. She just knows him by reputation – his title, his wealth, his position in the Yard, his purported sexual conquests. And for this, she despises him. When Peter Lynley falls afoul of the law in relation to a murder and her boss is assigned to the case, Barbara is ecstatic. She looks Thomas Lynley straight in the face and telegraphs her glee and her intentions. Oh, yes – vengeance is mine, sayeth Havers!

Unfortunately, the dance card of hate is still not yet filled. One other character feels that he has been humiliated at the hands of his peers. And the plans for vengeance he sets in motion even transcend death.

So where is the murder in all this soap opera? On or about page 115 of the mass-market paperback edition, we find the body of Mick Cambrey, with a fractured skull and sexually mutilated. He is a journalist, son of the Cornwall paper’s owner, the son-in-law of Lynley’s estate manager and reputedly a notorious womanizer. Thus, the sexual mutilation comes across as yet another instance of “a suitable vengeance.”

Mick is just the first of four people who will die within one week, that same week that Lynley has taken Deborah, Simon and Lady Helen Clyde to Cornwall for the engagement festivities. Lynley is out of his jurisdiction from a police standpoint, although he and Simon investigate anyway. However, almost everyone involved is either related to Lynley by blood, employment or emotion. He is really not at the top of his game and he knows it. Simon’s ability to compartmentalize in the face of physical and emotional pain pulls the investigation together. But, basically, Lady Helen is the only principle character without a dog in this fight, so to speak. So she does what she does best, she mediates, she coordinates, and she uses both her high society skills and her acting ability to gain information for Lynley.

Elizabeth George’s writing throughout this novel is rich, full and expressive. Her characters are, for the most part, high born and/or well educated and she writes a vocabulary to match. Her physical descriptions of people and locations are crisp and clear. Her characters are multi-dimensional and she does not paint them by description or dialogue with any particular society’s morality brush. They are who they are, they think and say what they will, and they live with the consequences.

The entries in this series are usually classified as British police procedurals specializing in murder investigations. But this book, in particular, and the series is general, is not really about murder. It is about five intertwined characters: Lynley, Simon, Deborah, Lady Helen and Havers. Murder is only the catalyst that effects changes in these characters’ lives and affects the dynamics between them. This series is about people’s lives, not about people’s deaths.

Even being about people’s lives, these entries, particularly this one, are not capable of being classified as romantic suspense either. Even if there are intimate relationships involved and there are mysteries and murders, the emotional, as well as the investigative, content is dark and sometimes quite stressful to absorb. There are no overt or erotic sexual scenarios. While much is alluded to or implied, nothing is gratuitous or sensationalized. And, if you need an HEA at the end, don’t look here. In this particular entry, Prince Charming does not get Cinderella, justice is not served, and every one of our characters reaches the last page grappling with some form of a personal living hell.

Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series has built a large following and no wonder. Her plots are complex,and the characters personalities are revealed and deepened with each novel. (It is best to read them in order, if you can.) Inspector Lynley, wealthy and titled, is assisted by his distinctly working class colleague, Barbara Havers. The series takes you into both the high and the low levels of English society. Always a good read.