A review by erinequalspeace
Playing for the Ashes by Elizabeth George
5.0
Beware of Spoilers (also applies to Missing Joseph)
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I appreciate the complexity and skill of intertwining another character's voice into the storytelling of this novel. While Olivia is unlikable in many instances, her story is interesting and develops in ways I didn't expect. In addition to the central mystery of the whodunnit, the story is propelled along by the mystery of her past and how she connects to the crime.
Also I realized after the sixth book, Missing Joseph, that I actively dislike Deborah. Since she is not in Playing for the Ashes, I enjoyed the book a lot more. At first in the series, I was interested in how Deborah was connected to Lynley and Simon, but once that was explained, I had a hard time understanding or sympathizing with her feelings about motherhood. Each time George delved into Deborah's personal drama in Missing Joseph, I was uncomfortably reminded that she is 24--so young and, despite being married, so immature. I still feel squicky about how her relationship with her "brother-uncle" Simon became a romantic relationship. Reminders of her continued immaturity do not dispel the squickiness, but only reinforce it. I'll take 10 books of Havers over another 10 pages about Deborah. I've gotten off topic, but that is a major part of why I prefer Playing for the Ashes over Missing Joseph (if only it had been called Missing Deborah).
Feelings about Deborah aside, I like the balance between Havers' and Lynley's personal lives and the mysteries large and small in Playing for the Ashes.
***
***
I appreciate the complexity and skill of intertwining another character's voice into the storytelling of this novel. While Olivia is unlikable in many instances, her story is interesting and develops in ways I didn't expect. In addition to the central mystery of the whodunnit, the story is propelled along by the mystery of her past and how she connects to the crime.
Also I realized after the sixth book, Missing Joseph, that I actively dislike Deborah. Since she is not in Playing for the Ashes, I enjoyed the book a lot more. At first in the series, I was interested in how Deborah was connected to Lynley and Simon, but once that was explained, I had a hard time understanding or sympathizing with her feelings about motherhood. Each time George delved into Deborah's personal drama in Missing Joseph, I was uncomfortably reminded that she is 24--so young and, despite being married, so immature. I still feel squicky about how her relationship with her "brother-uncle" Simon became a romantic relationship. Reminders of her continued immaturity do not dispel the squickiness, but only reinforce it. I'll take 10 books of Havers over another 10 pages about Deborah. I've gotten off topic, but that is a major part of why I prefer Playing for the Ashes over Missing Joseph (if only it had been called Missing Deborah).
Feelings about Deborah aside, I like the balance between Havers' and Lynley's personal lives and the mysteries large and small in Playing for the Ashes.