The Punishment She Deserves: A Lynley Novel Hardcover – March 20, 2018

I wasn't sure where this book was going, but it slowly unfolded aswe truly learned what was going on. The two mothers involvedin this book are pieces of work, but only one realizes that theyneed help. The other doesn't seem to realize that they are nothearing people. Good read. Worth a read.

I love Tommy and especially Barbara. Such an odd couple, but obviously each other’s best friend. I can’t wait for the next one.

I love this series of books. This one was especially good. It involves Barbara Havers more and I really like her character.

The plot, the character development, the relationships, the writing - all brilliant as ever. My only reason for four rather than five stars is, first, Ms George has set an amazingly high standard for her novels and, second, that she seems to me to have become a bit self-indulgent. In this case by making sure that every subplot thread is given equal space, leading to overlong and sometimes repetitive plot actions. She could have cut to the chase sooner rather than having every dead end be found twice.Of course, it is so pleasurable to read her prose that I almost didn't mind having to read so much of it.

After the awful tome that took Barbara Havers to Italy, I have been reluctant to pick up another Inspector Lynley book. I see on my Kindle that I purchased the 2015 book, but evidently never read it. I bought this one in great hope. It started off promisingly enough with the first chapter introducing several key characters, but then it quickly descended back into the same old tired storylines of our New Scotland Yard anti-heroes. Havers is still a bumbling dolt that smokes like a chimney, Lynley is still a purportedly handsome fellow with a posh voice and a fancy car who inexplicably continues to run interference for Havers, the loathsome Ardery is still an unnecessarily spiteful alcoholic. I am so. so, soooo tired of the subplots concerning internal machinations of New Scotland Yard and its apparently nefarious leadership, always more concerned with catching out its own employees than actually solving crimes.And speaking of subplots, this book is chock-full of them. We not only have Ardery's long-tedious alcoholism subplot, but we also have another subplot about an entirely different character's addiction to opioids, which adds exactly NOTHING to the narrative, and without which the character could still have accomplished his/her role in the book just fine. Seemed like a pointless attempt to grasp for social currency by throwing in "opioids" every so often. Similarly, there are countless pages devoted to another character's childhood trauma and the behavior that stems from it--again, none of which in any way has anything to do with the mystery at the heart of the narrative or the detectives' investigation of it. And, again, the character's role in the mystery is the same regardless of this subplot.Finally, this must be said, the series has been going on now for thirty years. The author seems to have chosen to ignore this and to moor the characters at loosely the same ages, maturity, and job roles they have been in for quite some time, whilst the decades have clearly passed around them, as evidence by their using smartphones in this book. I realize that each series author must make a choice about how to handle the passage of time, but it just JARRING for me at this point that for example (*** SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER***) we were first introduced to the child character Hadiyyah in a book published in 1994, yet in the 2013 Italy book she is still only nine years old; similarly, Helen died in a book published in 2005 and here we are 13 years later but it seems as if only a few years at most have passed in the characters' own time as Lynley's dalliance with Ardery has come and gone, and his relationship with Dairdre is still so new that she's not yet met his family. I so prefer series where the authors allow their detectives to age a bit more realistically (Ruth Rendell's Detective Wexford comes to mind). I think that's part of my frustration with the Lynley series, the detectives don't age perceptibly and thus they don't have very many life events, other than the death of Helen or Barbara's mom's alzheimer's, that we would expect to imbue them with more mature character attributes or insights. I feel that twenty years hence, I'll probably still not be able to resist Elizabeth George's books as I loved the earlier ones so much, but we'll still be reading about a thirty-something Havers stubbing out her cigarettes while wearing a slogan T-shirt in her tiny cottage while waiting for a self-driving electric car to take her to the transporter facility to join Lynley on a trip to Mars, where Lynley will pine sadly for Dairdre, who of course can't take time out for him as she must care for the zoo's hologram giraffes.

The Punishment She Deserves, the twentieth novel in the Inspector Lynley novel, was a much-needed step up in character development. After the death of Lynley’s wife (six books back), the stories became more about the effects of the trauma and healing of Lynley, and less about the mysteries themselves.This novel stepped back into the detective flair for which George’s fans love her.PlotAfter the apparent suicide of the local deacon, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers is sent to the historic town of Ludlow to investigate what should be a simple case of confirming the death was handled according to procedure. But instead, Barbara finds a case full or twist and turns where nothing is clear, not even if the deacon was guilty of the crime of child molestation of which he was accused or how he died while in police custody.Barbara is first accompanied by Detective Chief Superintendent Isabelle Ardery, but the DCS’s rush to return to London causes specific facts to be overlooked and concerns to be voiced. Returning again with Inspector Lynley, the dynamic duo get the job done in traditional Lynley-Havers fashion. Fans will not be disappointed.Give us our beloved charactersDetective Sergeant Barbara Havers takes center stage, both in the investigation and her tap shoes, and works hard to curb her usually wayward investigative style. Meanwhile, Detective Chief Superintendent Isabelle Ardery battles against the slippery slope of her alcoholism. Her character is portrayed in such a way that we feel an affinity for her, even if we don't want to.There were nice parallels drawn between the police force characters and those of the town of Ludlow, which added another level of depth to the story. And of course, Lynley can be depended on to keep a cool head in the investigation while solidly supporting both his partner, Barbara, as well as his boss and ex-lover, Isabelle. But in the end, they all must make a choice.Hats off to the author for authenticityThis is the twentieth Inspector Lynley novel I have read. Oddly, I never realized that Elizabeth George is an American, not British, author. Having lived overseas myself for over twenty years, spending ample time in the UK and being married to a Britt, I still didn’t realize that this series was written by a non-Britt.Hats off to George. Her depiction of the scenes, country life, intricacies of police work on the other side of the pond, and even her use of proper British English is impeccable and a joy to read.

Having read every Elizabeth George Inspector Lynley books I could not resist. It IS a long read and slow paced which may put some people off but it's quality writing and I have now purchased her most recent Inspector Lynley thriller. The key characters are so real and continue to develop. If you have the time to indulge, it's worth it.

I am glad that I wasn’t deterred by the reviews and read this book. This story does two things very well against the backdrop of another mystery solved. One, it sheds light on what drives the alcoholic to keep drinking even when they know that the disease has cost them so much. I don’t think I have read as good a depiction as this one. As the child of an alcoholic, I felt that it was well done and made me feel some, just some, sympathy for Isabelle. Bob and Sandra, Isabelle’s Ex and new wife reminded me of my family and how angrily we often responded to my mother and it made me feel ashamed so I think it was very realistic . Secondly, I loved seeing the difference between Isabelle and Tommy’s leadership skills and their impact on Havers. She is a nightmare, it has to be said, but so lovable too. The second part of this novel was perhaps 30% too long and the same outcome could have been achieved with less detail and development however I really enjoyed it. I would encourage people not to be put off by the naysayers. Are there really that many bad eggs in the police force? It is probably naive of me to hope not.

Le pongo dos estrellas por comparación, porque la autora tiene títulos como Just one evil act, que son aún peores. Me da mucha pena, porque he disfrutado enormemente con muchos de sus libros anteriores y, en mi opinión, Elizabeth George tenía un talento y una maestría admirables, pero sus últimos libros ponen de manifiesto que ha perdido el toque. He seguido comprando, y leyendo, sus libros con la esperanza de que recuperase el pulso, pero este último ni siquiera lo voy a terminar. La trama no avanza hacia ningún sitio, se estanca y aburre. Ha perdido aquella habilidad notable para caracterizar personajes y hacerlos humanos, creíbles e interesantes. El personaje de Barbara Havers (mi favorito) se le ha ido de las manos hace tiempo, y se ha convertido en una mera caricatura irritante. El otro punto fuerte, Thomas Lynley (reemplazado por una Isabella Ardery tan falta de credibilidad como de atractivo) apenas aparece en lo que llevo leído y me temo que no me voy a quedar a comprobar si vuelve a aparecer. Me contentaré con releer títulos anteriores.

This is a long book. George takes her time with the set up. It pays off though. Before long, the story becomes deeply engrossing. This time, we’re in Ludlow, in Shropshire. Detectives from New Scotland Yard are sent up to check on an investigation into the suicide while in custody of a church deacon. The deacon’s father packs clout. He’s denying that his son was a paedophile, or a suicide. The investigators’ only mission is to determine whether the investigation was handled correctly.Of course, things go awry. DCI Isabelle Audery has a drinking problem. DS Barbara Havers is there to put her feet wrong so they can transfer her away from the Met. Havers starts to uncover things. Audery insists that Havers leave some information out of the report. Hmm. DI Thomas Linley is sent back there with Havers (who is desperately wanting to avoid her tap dancing show - don’t ask). We’re introduced to a fascinating set of characters whose psychology George portrays brilliantly. They range from the savvy septuagenarian, to the drunken students, to the classy senior policewoman (who’s good at sex games), to the Indian paediatrician cut off from her family to the PCSO who might not be as clean and affable as he seems. There are more. It becomes very convoluted as Linley and Havers disentangle a sad sequence of events. Justice is finally achieved, of course, but not without a great deal of toing and froing. Meanwhile, there’s pressure to get results fast and keep the MP and Home Secretary happy. Audery’s drinking gets worse. Her ex wants to take their sons to New Zealand. The classy senior policewoman is set upon directing and preserving her son’s life, even though she suspects him of rape.It’s as though George has written three books in one, so dense is the material. The psychology between the classy policewoman and her husband is particularly good, as is everything to do with the Lomax family (which contains the savvy septuagenarian and the Indian paediatrician). The clues are well-sorted, though they should have established just when the CCTV angle was changed and what the duty log showed, for comparison. The stuff about the stole colours was good. Just shows you need to know everything when you try to solve a crime. Including how to launch an air glider. As usual with a Linley book, it’s incredible that an American can write so well about England. The sad fact of defunding the police (like the NHS) doesn’t go unnoticed. Begone, civil society!

Wow what an outstanding book! Unlike many other reviewers, I am not bothered by the length of a book. From my perspective if you love an author's writing and the characters, then you just want the story to go on and on. For me that's certainly always been the case with most of Elizabeth George's books with one exception when she chose to terminate a character we'd all grown to love so much. It took me two years to give in and give her books another shot....but then, how could I not....I'm a captive fan. There's no other author I've come across in this genre that continually keeps you on the edge of your seat as you turn the page to a new discovery not just in the plot but about the characters. Yes the plot in this book is convoluted and there are numerous blind alleys, but isn't that the nature of a truly good yarn. Reviewers who complained about the beginning chapters of the book and Lynley's absence therein have missed a very important element in this book. It gave us an opportunity to watch a character's downward spirals into alcoholism and served as a counterpoint to the many weaknesses and failures of the other characters. The interaction between Lynley and Havers is as always both a source of amusement and enlightenment. Neither seems to recognize their respective weaknesses or how important they've become to each other and grown as a result of their personal and professional relationship. I don't think a book review should offer details about a book....it should serve to encourage people to pick a book up for themselves and read it. All I can say is....this particular book will not disappoint. I won't say it's the best in the series because every one of Elizabeth George's books has something special to offer....but this installment is definitely up there as one of my favorites. I can hardly wait for the next !!