cdsmock's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful addition to this great series featuring British sleuth Thomas Lynley and his right hand woman, Barbara Havers. Great characterizations, settings, and plot--a literary spin on a fun beach read!
thelaurasaurus's review against another edition
2.0
I hadn't read any of the Inspector Lynley books before, and I don't think I'll be bothering again. Aside from the various errors that the American author seems to have made with regards to the UK, it was just dull.
Why does every single person in this book have a Cornish (I presume) name???
Why does every single person in this book have a Cornish (I presume) name???
helenace13's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
I loved the way the book was written and the French is beautiful. But to me, the whole story doesn't make sense, the leads the police follows are paper-thin and it seems they are not motivated in finding the murderer. The book itself is absolutely massive because all of the different POV's, which I found to be more than a bit excessive.
pattieod's review against another edition
4.0
First-few-pages "spoiler" (not really a spoiler) Inspector Lynley is still devastated from the loss of his wife, and is walking the coast of England when he *gasp* comes a body! Imagine that!
In typical fashion, George weaves a web that involves most of the small coastal town, and both Lynley and Barbara Havers pitch in to find the murderer. You go in expecting a good read, and even though it took her a while, George doesn't disappoint - buy or check this one out for the beach.
And you might learn something interesting - like who knew that people in Cornwall surfed?
In typical fashion, George weaves a web that involves most of the small coastal town, and both Lynley and Barbara Havers pitch in to find the murderer. You go in expecting a good read, and even though it took her a while, George doesn't disappoint - buy or check this one out for the beach.
And you might learn something interesting - like who knew that people in Cornwall surfed?
elisala's review against another edition
3.0
L'amorce: un jeune homme est retrouvé mort au pied d'une falaise, avec son équipement d'escalade, ça ressemble à un meurtre, mais à y regarder de plus près, est-ce si sûr?
Comme d'hab, j'ai apprécié la manière dont l'auteur déroule l'intrigue, avec en parallèle un aperçu sur les vies des protagonistes, participant, ou non, à l'intrigue.
Par contre j'ai trouvé cette fois-ci que les à-côtés prenaient un peu trop de place et restaient un poil superflu. Comme si l'auteure n'avait rien trouvé de mieux pour garder le suspens que de le noyer dans des histoires, potentiellement des pistes. Les histoires en question sont par ailleurs souvent un peu trop moralisatrices : la famille, l'éducation, la filiation, la tromperie, un peu lourdingue au final. Ça ne m'étonnerait pas d'apprendre que Mme George a eu maille à partir avec des sujets équivalents, et pourquoi pas les intégrer dans ses livres? C'est de bonne guerre, mais ne pas en faire des tartines et des tartines eût été sans doute préférable...
Enfin, j'ai beau râler, c'est un livre que j'ai poursuivi presque avidemment afin de découvrir le dénouement, pas si décevant, finalement, contrairement à ce que je craignais...
Comme d'hab, j'ai apprécié la manière dont l'auteur déroule l'intrigue, avec en parallèle un aperçu sur les vies des protagonistes, participant, ou non, à l'intrigue.
Par contre j'ai trouvé cette fois-ci que les à-côtés prenaient un peu trop de place et restaient un poil superflu. Comme si l'auteure n'avait rien trouvé de mieux pour garder le suspens que de le noyer dans des histoires, potentiellement des pistes. Les histoires en question sont par ailleurs souvent un peu trop moralisatrices : la famille, l'éducation, la filiation, la tromperie, un peu lourdingue au final. Ça ne m'étonnerait pas d'apprendre que Mme George a eu maille à partir avec des sujets équivalents, et pourquoi pas les intégrer dans ses livres? C'est de bonne guerre, mais ne pas en faire des tartines et des tartines eût été sans doute préférable...
Enfin, j'ai beau râler, c'est un livre que j'ai poursuivi presque avidemment afin de découvrir le dénouement, pas si décevant, finalement, contrairement à ce que je craignais...
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
1.0
Finished reading: August 30th 2016
DNF at page 80
Spoiler
WARNING: upopopular opinion ahead!! Honestly, I've tried. I think this is only the second or third book I have ever DNFed and I still feel a bit guilty for doing so... I must have started reading Careless In Red at least four or five times before over the last two years, but I just can't bring myself to keep reading. There are too many storylines and the pace is slower than a sleeping snail. On top of that the descriptions are superlong, dull and the story itself just doesn't grab my attention either. It's honestly a shame because this book belongs to one of my favorite genres... And I'm aware Careless In Red is actually book nr. 15 in a series, but after this sample I don't think I want to read the first book after all. I know a lot of people seem to enjoy this series, but it definitely isn't for me.
Detective Superintendent Thomas Lynley retreated to Cornwall after his wife was murdered. There he spends six solitary weeks hiking the coastline, but he cannot seem to escape his memories. On the forty-third day of his walk, Lynley discovers the body of a young man who seems to have fallen to his death. He has no choice but to abandon his solitary life and has to ask for reinforcements. While the closest town seems to be an unlikely place for murder, it soon becomes clear that a killer is indeed at work. And this time, Lynley is not a detective but a witness, and even a possible suspect...
I always enjoy reading a good mystery/detective story, but somehow I never managed to read but a few pages at the time of this fifteenth book in the Inspector Lynley series. The pace is so slow and the descriptions are so long that it's really hard to stay focused, and I also found that it had way too many storylines going on. That said, I've only managed to read the first 80 pages, so things might improve later on. I guess I will never know...
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
lazygal's review against another edition
5.0
I wondered how George would get the series out of the previous "incident" - would we have a Havers/Nkata book? Deborah and Simon? Here, George treads some of P.D. James' path, with the interior glimpses of Lynley struggling to return to life after Helen.
The mystery itself wasn't that difficult to figure out, even with all the false leads and the red herrings George provided.
The mystery itself wasn't that difficult to figure out, even with all the false leads and the red herrings George provided.
asteroidbuckle's review against another edition
3.0
Thomas Lynley, mired deeply in his grief, comes across the body of a young man at the bottom of a cliff during his hike along the South-West Coastal Trail. Soon enough, he gets involved in the investigation into the boy's death, which, of course, has been determined to be a murder.
Enter Ben and Kerra and Daidre and Santo and Dellen and Aldara and Jago and Selevan and Madlyn and Max and Lew and Cadan and Bea and Ray and Pete and Alan and Will and Tammy and yes, Sergeant Havers, too.
Phew.
The biggest problem I found with this book is, as you may have guessed, there are too many characters. Not all of them are necessary to the plot and many of them are simply there to help Tommy find his way back to his life. To me, Elizabeth George was trying to do too many things at once.
The story was good enough - a young man killed, but not for the reason you think, with suspects aplenty. Who did it? Was it the scorned girlfriend? Her dad? The boy's dad? His sister? The young man who had a thing for the boy's girlfriend? They all had a reason to kill him, of course.
The local Inspector is a hard woman (why are all female cops borderline masculine, huh?) with personal issues that she allows to cloud her judgment. She's in charge and wants things done her way or no way at all. She forces Lynley to become involved in the investigation even though he tries to explain he's not a cop, not anymore at least. He's given it up. She, of course, wants none of it, because she plans to use him to get close to the woman she considers the prime suspect.
In the end, the killer is revealed, but there is no real justice. Tommy is still trying to find a reason to go on, but there are hopeful signs of life. He promises Havers he'll make his way back to London after he's finished his journey up the Cornish coast.
When I saw this book at the store, I was so excited. I had been dying to see what happened to Tommy after the deaths of his wife and son. And while it was great to "see" Tommy again and heartwrenching to discover what he's been going through, the book failed to reach my expectations.
However, to be fair to Ms. George, those expectations were exceedingly high and probably unattainable anyway.
A good book, not a great one, but I still can't wait for the next installment of this terrific series.
Enter Ben and Kerra and Daidre and Santo and Dellen and Aldara and Jago and Selevan and Madlyn and Max and Lew and Cadan and Bea and Ray and Pete and Alan and Will and Tammy and yes, Sergeant Havers, too.
Phew.
The biggest problem I found with this book is, as you may have guessed, there are too many characters. Not all of them are necessary to the plot and many of them are simply there to help Tommy find his way back to his life. To me, Elizabeth George was trying to do too many things at once.
The story was good enough - a young man killed, but not for the reason you think, with suspects aplenty. Who did it? Was it the scorned girlfriend? Her dad? The boy's dad? His sister? The young man who had a thing for the boy's girlfriend? They all had a reason to kill him, of course.
The local Inspector is a hard woman (why are all female cops borderline masculine, huh?) with personal issues that she allows to cloud her judgment. She's in charge and wants things done her way or no way at all. She forces Lynley to become involved in the investigation even though he tries to explain he's not a cop, not anymore at least. He's given it up. She, of course, wants none of it, because she plans to use him to get close to the woman she considers the prime suspect.
In the end, the killer is revealed, but there is no real justice. Tommy is still trying to find a reason to go on, but there are hopeful signs of life. He promises Havers he'll make his way back to London after he's finished his journey up the Cornish coast.
When I saw this book at the store, I was so excited. I had been dying to see what happened to Tommy after the deaths of his wife and son. And while it was great to "see" Tommy again and heartwrenching to discover what he's been going through, the book failed to reach my expectations.
However, to be fair to Ms. George, those expectations were exceedingly high and probably unattainable anyway.
A good book, not a great one, but I still can't wait for the next installment of this terrific series.
quietdomino's review against another edition
2.0
This series has gotten so boring. Especially this installment, which contains hardly any Barbara Havers. The fact that I forgot I had read it immediately after reading it can't be a good sign.