Careless in Red (Inspector Lynley Series #14)

George "jumps the shark!"

When a tv series "jumps the shark," one can conclude it is on the downhill slope toward oblivion. When Elizabeth George killed off Helen, her wonderful Thomas Lynley series became so doomed. The spark disappeared from Tommy's life and from the plots that made this reader eagerly await each new volume. Careless in Red drowns in a sea of details about characters whom I couldn't care about as it slogs through an investigation that never gets off the ground. Barbara Havers' entrance amounts to "too little, too late" and can't save the book either. George was my favorite author. I would like to think she will not overlook the other characters readers have come to know and love and bring them back to help Tommy to recover and us to care about her work once again.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

When there is nothing else to read

Very boring and cumbersome. Lacks movement. Pure drudgery. It would put a hospital patient to sleep.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Such a Disapointment

I actually enjoyed 'What Came Before He Shot Her' quite a bit. Her characters can be a be overwrought, but they usually ring true in the end. 'Careless In Red' has our well known and well loved Lynley acting so unlike himself - it is as if the novel were written as fanfiction by the mysterious vet from Bristol. He ignores every calculated lie and omission - apparantly because he is constantly thinking about brushing her damn hair out of her face. Do we really need 5 scenes of her wayward tresses?

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Careless In Red

Elizabeth George has redeemed herself - a little - with her latest book, Careless In Red. All that bad press about her previous book, What Came Before He Shot Her, must have pierced her through and through. That novel, a departure from her usual sex, crime and gore series, minus all the wonderful characters in the Lynley books, was a bad exercise in social commentary: Society, Bad Genes and Bad Upbringing leads to senseless shooting. But fans who remember George's early books wouldn't be too happy with the latest Lynley novel either. Oh yes, she brought back the dishy Lord Lynley - this time, unkempt, gaunt, dishevelled but with posh accent intact. He is hoping to get his wife (the 'her' who got shot) out of his system by tramping the coastlines of Cornwall where, lo and behold, the ex-New Scotland Yard homicide detective stumbles on a dead body. It's a gorgeous 18-year-old who fell from a cliff while abseiling. The back-story is George-esque. Tangled families, deceitful histories, lies and more lies. And plenty of sex of the adulterous and illicit kind. What it lacked was a videotape. So Thomas Lynley gets roped into the investigation by a middle-aged divorcee who runs the investigation show over there in Cornwall. And, of course, sh has a backstory too - a dishy ex-husband who happens to e a cop as well. The middle-aged love gone sour and turning sweet is really a lot more interesting than the spark George tries so hard to light between Lynley and an intriguingly named Daidre Trahair. In fact, he goes unprofessionally ga-ga gooey over this prime suspect, and poor dead Lady Helen Clyde (the 'her' who got shot) finds herself retreating further and further from his mind as he gets shaved, dressed and elegant again. So what is it that fans will not like? The crimes tory itself has shades of incest, adultery, illegitimate children, cuckoolded husband and mad mother - all the usual ingredients of a great Lynley book. But it won't be too far into the book before any intelligent reader realises who the murderer is and why the murder was committed. That delicious surprise element of who and why - always the most outrageous of all explanation - is gone. More than that, George tries to make the Trahair character exude a sort of mystery - and fails. Let's hope the failure was intentional and that this character will be kept out of the next Lynley instalment, or killed off in it. It's a good thinking, therefore, that George resurrects Lynley's sidekick, Sergeant Barbara Havers, and her cloud of cigarette smoke. Havers remains true to form: rough and tough outside but tender at the core. She saved this book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Not the best, but still good

Contrary to quite a few of the reviewers, I liked the book quite a lot. Perhaps I'm just fond of the characters - or more to the point, I like being surprised sometimes at outcomes. Too predictable is boring - and could be that our author also chooses not to be rote and consistent in her characters and plots. That's probably not a crime - although from some of the comments, you'd think so. (betrayed!! too little of one's favorite characters!! a favorite person written out!!)

a postscript: I just loved the below succinct comment (even though I don't agree with him/her). Rez, you slay me.


Posted August 15, 2009, 7:41 AM EST: Very boring and cumbersome. Lacks movement. Pure drudgery. It would put a hospital patient to sleep.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

George Always Comes Through!

I never hesitate to buy a novel by Elizabeth George. They are always woven together beautifully with much detail as to the surroundings of the action, the characters (many are elegant, especially Inspector Lynley), and the plot.

I find that the characters develop a bit further in each book so that you come to know them more intimately--like old friends and their problems evolve as time passes also.

Cannot say enough. Enjoy!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Muddled and lacking climatic outcomes!

Too bad, yet another disappointment from Ms. George. Perhaps she needs to get back to 400-page (max.) books that focus on several, and not too many, aspects. Seems Lynley should be 'primed' to show off his expertise!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Way Off Her Game

I've read a number of George's books (including the 2 before this) and have generally been happy with them. However, she's way off her game here. Nothing happened for the first 300 pages. Way too many characters that never amounted to anything in the story. And as others have said, for Lynley to go from wandering the Cornish coast in misery and displair to an upbeat interest in a murder and a wierd relationship with a gypsy turned vet is way beyond fiction.
The ending might have been interesting if she had built it up more. And she threw in a plot twist of "age advancing" some kids' pictures but never tied that loop.
Very disappointing.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Elizabeth George does not disappoint.

I have read and enjoyed all of the Inspector Lynley novels and have loved every one.

After ordering this book I read a very unfavorable review and did not expect to enjoy it. Well the review was sooo wrong. It was great!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very Disappointed

I have loved Elizabeth George's writing for years; however, a few of her most recent books have been disappointing. With the most recent, she is no longer on the top of my list of favorite authors. I found this book to be tedious, uninteresting, and too densely worded. I didn't care about the characters, including Lynly and Havers (they were minor players)and, I fear, I have lost the will to keep in touch with them. It just took too much effort to trudge to the end of this book. The resolution was very anticlimactic and the whole female-vet-as-abandoned-gypsy-thing, beyond reality. As I read (and I only kept reading because I kept thinking that if I went on, at some point it would be worth it), it occurred to me that perhaps Miss George wrote this book in an effort to use every descriptive word, plot line, character, metaphor and simile she had ever had in mind in order to dazzle of us with her literary prowess. And yet, somehow, I feel as though I just tried to enjoy a lemon popcicle with the wrapper in tact - very unsatisfying.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wandering

I felt like I was the one plowing along the rocky coasts. Two very tedious books in a row. Sadly, Elizabeth George is off my 'A' list

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Diappointing and Way Too Long

I could not wait for this book to come out and what a bust. One minute Lynley is mourning the loss of Helen,'not eating, sleeping, walking etc.'the next minute he has sunk himself into a murder mystery and going ga ga over the vet. There were too many characters that I did not care about and really did not even make me think they were suspects.The investigation never really took off and the clues were weak. I figured this one out way before the ending. Did we really need to know that Bea did internet dating? It really wasn't necessary to wrap up the stories on all those people and their dysfunctional lives. All I want as a big fan is the stuff we love, Tommy,Barbara and the rest of the gang.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not one of my favorite Elizabeth George mysteries

I had trouble following the characters in this book. I've read all of Ms. George's books, especially like Inspector Lynley books, but this one disappointed me somewhat. I had to keep looking back to see who was who.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Two thumbs down

Ugh! This book was so disappointing. I dutifully trudged through hoping it would redeem itself in the end, but, alas, it did not. The ending fell very flat. It felt as though most of the characters just disappeared off the pages with little or no resolution. I wish Elizabeth George would write more novels like her previous one, 'What Came Before He Shot Her'. That was fabulous!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I usually like George's books, but...

there are so many better ways to spend your time than reading this one, including petting your dog 'or cat, if the cat's willing', washing your car, walking, or even staring mindlessly into the distance. This book is a huge disappointment, and at over 600 pages, it's disappointing for a long time. George desperately needs an editor who will reign her in. Can we dispense with the in-depth reporting of every turn a car makes every time a character gets in one? Do even the most minor of characters have to be described from birth on? The length of the novel would have been acceptable if there were any sort of pay-off in the end. Alas, if you choose to read it, don't get your hopes up. It doesn't so much wrap up as simply end. Yes, George reveals the killer's identity, but it's astonishingly unbelievable. To reinforce my point about the need for more editing, let me say that the novel goes on for some 30 or 40 pages after the killer is revealed. So that George can pull some trick out of her hat that explains the unbelievability of the killer's identity? No, not at all. There's nothing more there.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not worth the time

I was really disappointed by this long awaited tale of Thomas Linley's life. I agree with others that the book sort of just ended as if she had grown tired of writing it. I have long been a major fan of George's writing and hope that the next installment of the Linley series will be more in line with the excellent writing for which it is known.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Needs a hard-headed editor

The good news is that Lynley and Havers are back. The bad news is that they are mired in 623 pages of bloated, portentous prose and almost obliterated by numerous subplots. The subplots, all involving unlovable characters with unfamiliar (presumably Cornish) names, unfold in disconnected fragments, each revelation ending in a teaser about dark-doings-in-the-past. The past situation that I really wanted updated, the relationship between Havers and her south Asian neighbors, wasn't mentioned at all.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Too out of character....

I was disappointed in this book....I found it too out of character for both Lynley and Barbara. Inspector Lynley wasn't the objective professional he usually is and the lack of interaction with Barbara where they share their ideas and thoughts in order to process the motives of the suspects was gone. The whole idea that he could be forced to participate in the investigation was just too unbelievable.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not up to Snuff

I eagerly looked forward to discovering what George would do following the non-Lynley novel. I found Careless in Red tedious--too many characters, too many red herrings. I did enjoy the interaction between Lynley and Havers and hope that George's next novel concentrates on the pair.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I Love Her Books

I've read many of her books and have really liked every one of them. I was disappointed in this book and it didn't hold my interest like usual. It seemed dragged out and the ending was disappointing.