Review: A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George
# Of book read so far this year: 16
Title: A Great Deliverance
Author: Elizabeth George
Narrator: N/A
Year Published: 1989
Rating (1-10): 10
Date Finished: 05/08/09
Genre: Mystery
# Of pages: 432
Where did the book come from: Amazon, Kindle
Series: Inspector Lynley
Note: Named one of the Century’s 100 favorite mysteries by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association
Blurb: To this day, the low, thin wail of an infant can be heard in Keldale's lush green valleys. Three hundred years ago, as legend goes, the frightened Yorkshire villagers smothered a crying babe in Keldale Abbey, where they'd hidden to escape the ravages of Cromwell's raiders.
Now into Keldale's pastoral web of old houses and older secrets comes Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth earl of Asherton. Along with the redoubtable Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, Lynley has been sent to solve a savage murder that has stunned the peaceful countryside. For fat, unlovely Roberta Teys has been found in her best dress, an axe in her lap, seated in the old stone barn beside her father's headless corpse. Her first and last words were "I did it. And I'm not sorry."
Yet as Lynley and Havers wind their way through Keldale's dark labyrinth of secret scandals and appalling crimes, they uncover a shattering series of revelations that will reverberate through this tranquil English valley—and in their own lives as well.
My Comments: My friend, Carole, is the one who recommended this British detective novel, and I am so glad that she did so! Though I found it a little slow at the beginning, it soon picked up pace. George has a wonderful way with descriptive scenes, and she certainly has a lot of them. I felt I was there when I was reading. Though I rather suspected who the killer was, and for the reason given, the red herrings took me on several trails and kept me guessing. I also love the character-building that this author does with her main characters. I can’t wait to second one in this series so I can be back with these people I’ve just come to know. I highly recommend this England-based whodunnit to anyone who loves a rousing good mystery.
Title: A Great Deliverance
Author: Elizabeth George
Narrator: N/A
Year Published: 1989
Rating (1-10): 10
Date Finished: 05/08/09
Genre: Mystery
# Of pages: 432
Where did the book come from: Amazon, Kindle
Series: Inspector Lynley
Note: Named one of the Century’s 100 favorite mysteries by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association
Blurb: To this day, the low, thin wail of an infant can be heard in Keldale's lush green valleys. Three hundred years ago, as legend goes, the frightened Yorkshire villagers smothered a crying babe in Keldale Abbey, where they'd hidden to escape the ravages of Cromwell's raiders.
Now into Keldale's pastoral web of old houses and older secrets comes Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth earl of Asherton. Along with the redoubtable Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, Lynley has been sent to solve a savage murder that has stunned the peaceful countryside. For fat, unlovely Roberta Teys has been found in her best dress, an axe in her lap, seated in the old stone barn beside her father's headless corpse. Her first and last words were "I did it. And I'm not sorry."
Yet as Lynley and Havers wind their way through Keldale's dark labyrinth of secret scandals and appalling crimes, they uncover a shattering series of revelations that will reverberate through this tranquil English valley—and in their own lives as well.
My Comments: My friend, Carole, is the one who recommended this British detective novel, and I am so glad that she did so! Though I found it a little slow at the beginning, it soon picked up pace. George has a wonderful way with descriptive scenes, and she certainly has a lot of them. I felt I was there when I was reading. Though I rather suspected who the killer was, and for the reason given, the red herrings took me on several trails and kept me guessing. I also love the character-building that this author does with her main characters. I can’t wait to second one in this series so I can be back with these people I’ve just come to know. I highly recommend this England-based whodunnit to anyone who loves a rousing good mystery.