A Traitor to Memory (Inspector Lynley Book 11)

There are no bad books in this series. I am re-reading them and they still shine on second encounter. This book is set early in Lynley's marriage to Helen. The plot revolves around Gideon Raines a young man, who is a pre-eminent violinist, who was a child prodigy, beginning his public performances at seven. Now in his late 20's , he is surrounded by some of the same people who have marshalled his training and career -- including his controlling father, Richard, and Rafael Robson, his early instructor and consistent supporter. His mother, Eugenie, exited his life early on. We meet her and the people of the village where she has lived for the last 20 years. His father's finance' Jill is part of the cast. Gordon's "girlfriend" Libby is a companion and counter arguing advocate for Gideon to have a more "normal" existence. Gideon has experienced a potentially career-ending episode in concert and the book traces everyone's efforts to move past that traumatic event. Robson has recommended a psychiatrist, Dr Rose, to whom much of the story is told. Of course Lynley and Havers are part of Scotland Yard's Murder Squad, so murders must happen. And they do. Lynley involved his old friends the forensic scientist Simon St James and his wife Deborah. Constable Winston Nkata lends his charming presence to one of the subplots. The balance between personal events and police procedural are as ever.in George books, simply perfect. Little more can be said about the plot without spoilers, but, suffice it to say, one's pick for the perpetrator changes throughout the narrative and the ending is unforeseen.

This book was a reread for me. I first read it when it was published, but I think I was just too young to really appreciate it, because I remember not liking it too much. But, I'm older now, and my rereading showed me that this book is nothing short of a masterpiece. It may be Elizabeth George's second best, next to PLAYING FOR THE ASHES. Still, even though the book is so good and so well written, I think a lot of Ms. George's readers, especially her younger readers, aren't going to like it.To be fair, those who read the "Inspector Lynley" novels for Lynley and Havers are going to be disappointed. Yes, they do make an appearance in this book, and are assigned to solve the primary murder (of Eugenie Davies). There are several chapters devoted to them, but the bulk of the book belongs to the murdered woman's oldest child, Gideon, a child prodigy violinist, who is now an adult who has simply "forgotten" how to play. His chapters, which are interspersed with Lynley's and Havers', are really his journal entries to his psychiatrist, Dr. Rose.On my first read, I was a little disappointed by the large amount of space devoted to Gideon. During my recent reread, I found Gideon and the people who interact with him to be fascinating. I do have to admit that I missed reading more about Lynley and Havers (and Nkata) and their interactions, but that was a quibble. I knew the constables and detectives would be featured heavily in future books.The two timelines featured in the book, i.e., Gideon's and New Scotland Yard's do intertwine to some extent, if intertwine is the correct word, but, they are not running on the exact same timeline. Readers should take note of the dates in order to get the most out of the story.It was pretty easy to figure out the villain in this novel, at least one of them (and I'm bad at guessing the villain), but this isn't due to any failing of Ms. George. Indeed, I don't think Ms. George can fail. She's such a good writer. What is much more difficult to ferret out is why the murder took place. That often kept me reading far, far into the night, long after I should have been asleep. (I never rush through an Elizabeth George book, though; I want to savor them and make them last as long as possible.)All of Ms. George's books are dark, but this book is even darker and more depressing than most, and Barbara Havers doesn't add her usual comedic touches. Instead, she seems as worn and weary as the other characters do. The characters are, for the most part, quite unlikeable. I admit to growing very fond of Major Wiley, and I really wish we could have learned more about him, especially after Eugenie Davies' death. He was one of the sweetest characters in any Elizabeth George novel.Those readers who dislike the book, or who don't feel pulled in at the beginning should, I think, stick with it. It's not long until it becomes totally engrossing, and, though Gideon never becomes a sympathetic character, his story does become fascinating. We really want to know why Gideon can no longer play his beloved violin, why his baby sister, Sonia, died, why his father is so involved in Gideon's career, why Katja Wolff, who actually went to prison for Sonia's murder never spoke to defend herself, and why Eugenie Davies, Gideon's mother, was killed in such a barbaric fashion. All of those questions, and more, will be answered by the book's end.Like this book or not, it's a masterpiece of psychological suspense. I loved every minute I spent with it, but I also look forward to more of Lynley and Havers, my two favorite friends in fiction.

I really like Elizabeth George’s books. But this one was grueling. Bronte used a 3rd person to tell the story in Wuthering Heights. A masterful design of how to get perspectives through a third eye. However, this book revealed much of the story through Gideon, a child prodigy, with his writing to the Psychiatrist. I tended to skip over pages of this grueling perspective, because most of it was pure boring. Although technically the writing is as always, good. But this one left me completely flat. The story begins with a silly story of the psychiatrist, who previously helped obese people. She added nothing to the story, except as the person on the recipient of Gideon’s journaling. I’d say to any reader, skip this one.

2.5 is a more accurate rating. The pacing was excruciatingly slow throughoutthis entry in the heretofore enjoyable Lynley/Havers series. The characters were uninteresting and unlikable. The plot was dull, too many loose ends were left untied, and the resolution was hurried but by then, I didn't much care who'd done it. I'm not sure why I finished this other than I paid twelve bucks for it. Had I but known it was a feeble addition, I probably would have saved my money, skipped this, and gone onto the next book in the series.

In many ways, the best of the 11 I've read. Long and ambitious, it combines the full Lynley investigation and most of the characters with a whole second book, about one of the characters at the center of the possible suspects. He conducts a parallel search for answers but to a different question. The two paths shed light on each other, but only inform the reader. They don't much help Lynley's team or Gideon Davies. I'm not satisfied with the ending, but it hasn't been 24 hours since I finished it; perhaps I'll change my mind.

Elizabeth George writes marvellous stories. The Linley series has gripped me from the first book. This is quite a few titles into the series. One or two of her stories are a little less convincing. This - I loved it!We are presented with the problem early on - a violinist's sudden inability to play and perform - and we are then moved back and forth in time (all shifts in time are clearly signposted, no confusion) to understand his upbringing and career path - chosen for him, not by him since he was a child prodigy - until we are ultimately guided painlessly to the shocking resolutions of the final chapters.There is no sudden 'reveal' which can be so unsatisfactory for the reader, but rather we are led to the awful truth.All the characters are so well drawn, described, delineated; conversations, dialogue, monologues are all always convincing. Despite the horrible nature of some of the characters, they remain absolutely plausible. I can believe their behaviour because I (we?) have seen precisely such people.Somehow Ms. George makes me hear each character: personality, upbringing, accent.Sit back and immerse yourself. A wonderful read.

Too many irrelevancies (the American girl Libby for instance), a jumpng around in the storu, and I didn't like the ending either. I've read better Eliz George novels.

I normally really enjoy Elizabeth George's novels, but not this one. I found it very disjointed in the way it constantly switched between the story narrative and Gideon's personal narrative. It was also far too long and became tedious to read. Nevertheless, I kept on to the end as I had guessed the perpetrators of the crimes early on and wanted to see if I was right! A disappointment after her other novels.?

This book is up there with one of the best, the characters and the plots are truly awesome, the view into Gideon's mind, thoughts and memories.It is definitely a page turner and well worth reading.

Am slowly working my way through the Inspector Linley series.