A Banquet of Consequences: A Lynley Novel (Inspector Lynley Book 19)

As I closed this lengthy (573 pages) new book in the Lynley/Havers series I breathed a sigh of relief. Oh my goodness, I think Elizabeth George is back on track. This was actually a good installment in the series. After George killed off Lynley's wife and unborn child on their own doorstep, the series went amok. She followed that incident with a book that was truly, in my opinion, horrible "What Came Before Her" and then issued four very mediocre novels with Lynley and Havers behaving very uncharacteristically. I had really about given up but thought that I'll give it one more try. I am glad I did. This book goes back to the tried and true formula of being about an actual crime. Clare Abbott, a renowned feminist writer, is found dead in her hotel suite while on a speaking tour. At first it is thought to be a heart attack but after further investigation it turns out she was poisoned. Attention turns to her assistant ,Caroline Goldacre, and she is quite a piece of work. Caroline has one of the most dysfunctional families around. One son commits suicide and her employer builds a monument for him. What is the relationship between these two women? Havers is still walking a thin line with her boss, Isabelle Ardery, who desperately wants her gone. With the real threat of transfer hanging over her head, Havers must walk a very disciplined line and that is so hard for her. Dorthea Harriman, the department secretary, tries to befriend her and this is hysterical. Harriman is such a fashion plate and Havers is, well, not. Harriman tries to take her shopping and then they try speed dating which is funny. It's Havers taste in clothes that brings her in touch with Claire Abbott, the murder victim. Lynley meanwhile is continuing his relationship with Daidre, the zoo veterinarian. I think this thread is still a troubling part of the book. It just doesn't fit and I find the relationship awkward. It is just so unlikely. I don't know why George keeps trying to make a square peg fit into a round hole. No matter how many times you pound that peg, you just can't make it work. It doesn't work. Stop it. I have a lot of time invested in this series. I have read all the books as they come out. They require an investment of time as they are all over 550 pages. I have stuck to it through the very rough times when it appeared George had lost control of the series. I am glad it's back on track with a very readable book. The plot was interesting. The characters were interesting. Havers was back in form. Now if she could only stop trying to force the Lynley relationship, things would be great. Even so, I can recommend this book to all those readers who have stuck with George. It is possible to read this as a stand alone and enjoy it but for long standing fans, it is a breath of fresh air.

Now I have been a rabid Elizabeth George fan since the very first book, For the Love of Elena, and I have a hard time waiting for the next book each time. But that is close to ending. The last two books have gone on for a hundred pages too many, and alright already, so Barbara dresses like a slob and is always in trouble with her bosses!!! Can we please either move on, because some things we can't change, or can we just fire her and be done with it, because it has gotten OLD. I mean, this may be the last George I read, because I have finally gotten bored with it.Now for the plot. I was turning in circles, because every character was beyond damaged, from Rory after the murder of her lover, to Caroline's children who were tortured psychologically by her, to Lily who was given short shrift by the storyline, to Lynley's veterinarian girlfriend who is reduced to nothing but a petsitting lump of neuroses, to the henpecked husband and his smarmy lover, to India who can't break away from Charlie, to the feminist author who turns out to be......whatever, to Isabelle who is the worst manager in the world, to Lynley himself who has lost his aplomb. I WANT MY OLD CHARACTERS BACK!!!!!!! Deborah and St. James, the valets, the visits to Yorkshire! Where have they gone? Has Elizabeth George jumped the shark, so to speak? Who will fill her old shoes? Someone? Anyone?

As in her previous books, Ms George convincingly delves into her characters' psyche to create an interesting story, albeit very dark and depressing. The antagonist in this book is so vile in herself that, whether or not she is actually the murderer, you hope that something dreadful happens to her regardless of the source. That being said, there are no other characters worthy of the time invested to read this book. Reoccurring character, Barbara Havers, is even more obdurate and smut-mouthed (if possible) than in previous books. Thomas Lynley is as bland as mushy peas, and dialog for Winston Nkata is almost unintelligible which is unfortunate as he is one of the few interesting on-going characters. No one is happy, everyone is a martyr except Lily and we're never told what became of her. Besides uncompelling characters, and an unconvincing motive-for-blackmail plot-line, the redundancies of certain words will drive you bonkers: twig, kip and, as noted by a previous reviewer, use of a variation of the word reckon which, according to my Kindle word counter, appears in the book 211 times; often as many as 3 times on a page. Ms George, people in the UK DO use a wide variety of synonyms for reckon such as: surmise, consider, suppose, judge and, yes, even guess. This will be the last book by Elizabeth George in which I'll invest money or time reading. Although an exceptionally skilled and intelligent writer, her plots have become convoluted and her characters oppressive. When I want a good British mystery written by an American author I'll choose Martha Grimes, I reckon.

I've loved this series but I found this book rather frustrating. Elizabeth George gives Ardery way too much vindictive power over Havers. If she so concerned about her ability to do the job she should have gone down the disciplinary/capability route, not resentfully turn Haver's life into a living hell. (Workplace bullying comes to mind). I realise Havers overstepped the mark in the last book, but there are processes for dealing with it that do not involve an individual senior person behaving like Ardery. Lynley isn't really helping, just fence sitting, trying to have his cake and eat it. Police are seriously scrutinised and HR issues are dealt with professionally and systematically. The Ardery/Havers thing is nonsense. As for the story - it was rather convoluted and narratives about minor characters and their relationships made the book very long. Poor Lily gets quite a bit of story time at the start of the book but fades away to nothing. Caroline Goldacre is pretty hard to get a handle on. Clearly very disturbed (probably psychiatrically ill) and obsessed with sex but still able to hold down a job and manage day to day relationships. She's more a stereotype than a real character.Overall it was an interesting read and if you've read other Elizabeth Georges you know what you getting. I just found it too long, too many extraneous characters and I'm fed up with Ardery. Just as a side comment: Why does the author write the dialogue in some weird dialect? They speak English for goodness sake! C'n is NOT Can!!

Although I have been a fan of the Inspector Lynley novels, there has always been something about them that has marred my reading enjoyment. Elizabeth George has failed to observe how over time, in the Britain where she places her characters, there have been considerable changes in language and behaviour. Much of her dialogue now unfortunately makes me want to laugh out loud and I am reminded, when her characters speak their supposedly authentic English, of the terrible caricature of Dick Van Dyke playing a cockney in the film of Mary Poppins. This is particularly true in any dialogue which features Winston Nkita. Has she actually ever met any black people living in London?She's written a rather good story which unfolds with satisfying tension but her main characters have now become stuck in a past which no longer exists. This makes them and their actions less than credible. Are we really to believe that an intelligent, determined woman such as Barbara Havers is so unwilling to make the slightest concession in her life and work and will never be able to move forward?I actually found the book extremely irritating despite the ingenious plot because of her rather inept mastery of the English language. What is this strange patois that she has her characters speak. ? Why is almost every word of dialogue abbreviated ? Sorry, but no more Elizabeth George for me. The formula has become overworked and hackneyed.

Possibly the most difficult review to write.I was torn between hurling the book through the nearest window and not being able to put it down!I did read to the end but like others I'm now wondering why!The prose, abbreviations and language is intensely irritating (c'n; 'innit; p'rhaps........) , outdated and totally unnecessary.It's been years since I read one of Elizabeth Georges novels and it will be longer till I read another.The book (paperback) was a gift. I'm a out and out Kindle reader and I have no hesitation in saying the book would have been deleted far from the end had I been reading it in my usual electronic format.

Ok, let's get the niggles out of the way first: George has some very odd linguistic tics as she tries unsuccessfully to capture the speech of what she deems 'lower class' characters (cos, c'n, 'xplain) which is hugely patronising and just plain irritating for the reader. She also can't hide her American view of the English (who talks about a person's 'digs' as opposed to their flat or home?) and refers to characters by labels: 'the feminist', 'the black' (just as, in the last book, we had that constant reiteration of 'the Pakistani'). That said, there's less of her love affair with the aristocracy though Lynley's agonising over whether his vintage car will get vandalised in Streatham had me secretly wishing it would...With that off my chest, I can heartily recommend this to fans of George's convoluted, character-centred crime. There's a strong theme that runs though the book of just how difficult personal relationships can be: we have broken marriages, extra-marital affairs, love triangles, unrequited love, the strange and awkward relationship between Lynley and Dairdre, and even Dorothea Harriman's comic attempts to get Havers paired off, while a key character has written a book exposing the fairytale myth of marriage.At the heart of the story is a murder, of course, but the book is as much concerned with the unravelling of how we carry our pasts into future relationships as it is in solving the crime. Havers plays a key role with Winston Nkata while Lynley is back in London covering their backs with their boss.I can see how fans of the straightforward crime novel might get frustrated with this: it's long, it's diversionary, there are some holes in the plot (no spoilers but the 'delivery device' used for the murder is barely credible). Me, though, I enjoyed it hugely. Despite the niggles, when George is on top of her material she is excellent and there are some blistering emotional moments that she judges well. I also like the fact that she's been bold enough to put her characters into situations that aren't crowd-pleasers: Lynley's new relationship is one example. And she's created a wonderfully monstrous character in Caroline.Anyone new to George really shouldn't start here, and fans of her early books which were shorter, more focused, more typical crime novels, may not get what they're looking for. If you've enjoyed her recent more complex, convoluted stories, though, and are following the long-term character arcs, then this is a good episode in the series. Stock up the fridge, turn off the phone and book yourself a duvet day - enjoy!

Oh, I would really like to shake Barbara! She is irritating beyond belief now. Poor Lynley, please let him be really swept off his feet by someone who deserves him. As to the plot, it is actually quite a good story. Full of human emotions, good, bad & ugly. However, American writers almost always, eventually, let themselves down to an English audience. Whether it is accent, class, address, they all need an English editor who is themselves cognisant of all that applies. This is a long story, with several different strands. Some characters are given a lot of 'air time', eg. Rory. Whether this depth was necessarily required is a moot point. Also there are some quite unbelievable scenarios - police taking over a murder victims home to live in? The threat hanging over Havers' head seems not to be following normal disciplinary procedures. Dorothea? Mmmmm, not sure if I can believe in her actions or not. Will wait to see what comes after the tap dancing classes.