Careless in Red: A Novel

Despite the shock and disappointment many George fans endured throughout No One as Witness and What Came Before He Shot Her, both of those books were better than Careless in Red. While George certainly continues to craft her skill at character development and aptly describes presence, personality and English landscapes, in this book she has picked up a terrible habit most notable in Kellerman novels - everything is described with a taint and ugliness that is almost offensive. In this book we get a very good glimpse of Lynley's grieving as he is forced back into the criminal mire. Havers, sadly, is left behind and the reader is still left unresolved on all levels with her own personal struggle in her relationships with Lynley and the fallen Helen. There is so much dysfunction in all the families in this story that one wonders how they ever managed to survive at all. Is the book worthy of reading? Certainly. Is it her best? Certainly not. The George promise of opening up new avenues in the series by the murder of Helen is not played out in this novel and readers may have to wait another year to find any kind of relief. Sorry, Havers, we do miss you.

The author has explained her execution of Helen Clyde as part of her plan to keep her characters evolving. I can accept this; however, this next "Lynley" mystery has Lynley and Havers as almost incidental characters and does not reward the readers with the promised development. Ms. George: Get back to Lynley, Havers, Deborah and St. James and the heart of the series. You want us to care about the key people but you have strayed too far into areas and plots which are mainly of interest only to you. You may feel that your writing brings your readers back to you, but you are not Tolstoy. You are a good writer who created characters and plots that drew in a readership. Remember us.

I've read every one of the Lynley series and all I can say is they keep getting better and better. Each one leaves you wanting more. After the last book: What Came Before He Shot Her, I thought I surely would never want to pick up another ever again. It was a totally devastating turn of events, and I was more than a little miffed that Helen should be the victim of such useless violence; but, Elizabeth George's books are nothing if not thought-provoking and so by the time Careless In Red was released, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

It is a thoroughly good read. Take your time. Savor the new Lynley and Havers. The story grabs you from the start. The descriptions of Cornwall and the countryside are so visual you want to go there, you can almost smell the cold salt air.

I loved it! A truly wonderful read!

Iris Smith

After eagerly awaiting the return of Inspector Linley, I was very
disappointed by the end of "Careless in Red". Too much purple prose,
with several character descriptions too long and unnecessary. The
murder and its resolution(?) were just okay, but the writing was
really embarrassing at times. The 600-odd pages could have been cut
by a third, but still, in the end, I love Havers and Lindley, and will
always come back for more.

Elizabeth George is well-known for her lengthy series of excellent mysteries involving Scotland Yard detective Thomas Lynley. Her novel "With None as Witness" ended with the random murder of Lynley's pregnant wife by a black child and Lynley's resignation from the police force, leading me to think the series was at an end. But since then George has published two more "Lynley" novels. They are being marketed as mysteries, which they are not. In fact, both are mainstream novels about damaged lives.
The unfortunately titled "What Came Before He Shot Her" is about the damaged life that turned a twelve-year-old boy into a murderer. I started it but found it unreadable, with its heavyhanded social consciousness. George's latest, "Careless in Red", is partly about Lynley's effort to put his life back together, but mostly it is about a number of damaged individuals in a Cornish village who seek redemption and/or forgiveness for a variety of transgressions. Solving the murder of a teenager is only a peripheral part of the novel.
I finished the book, but I cannot recommend it. It was less than enthralling, it was difficult to keep the characters straight, and I found the resolutions of all the plot lines to be contrived and unconvincing.
George has shown herself to be an excellent mystery writer. If she is, in fact, burned out on Lynley, perhaps she should start over with a new protagonist, as John Harvey has done so successfully in his Frank Elder novels.