177 of 183 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Secrets and silence caused all this.", January 10, 2012
This review is from: Believing the Lie (Hardcover)
Elizabeth George, in "Believing the Lie," examines how base emotions--greed, jealously, vengefulness, and lust, to name a few--destroy relationships and lives. The story focuses on the dysfunctional Faircloughs, whose patriarch, Bernard, married a wealthy woman and has run a successful family business for years. When a member of the clan dies in an apparent accident, Bernard calls in a favor. At his behest, Assistant Commissioner Sir David Hillier dispatches Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley of New Scotland Yard to Cumbria to discreetly look into the matter. With the help of his old friends, forensic specialist Simon St. James and Simon's wife, Deborah, Tommy tries to determine if someone had the motive, means, and opportunity to orchestrate the victim's death.
"Believing the Lie" is a lengthy, complex, and melodramatic tale that picks up some of the threads left dangling in the previous installment. Tommy, a grieving widower, uncharacteristically throws himself into an imprudent love affair. Deborah and Simon are despondent over her inability to bear a child. In addition, the self-deprecating, lonely, and good-hearted DS Barbara Havers is once again involved in the ups and downs of her neighbor, Taymullah Azhar, his partner, Angelina Upman, and their adorable daughter, Hadiyyah. Tommy, Deborah, Simon, and Barbara join forces to uncover the secrets of the Fairclough clan. Unfortunately, their efforts may ultimately do more harm than good.
The author has created a large and juicy cast. Among them are: Bernard's squabbling adult children; an ambitious but inept reporter; a monstrous mother; a gorgeous but reticent Argentinean woman; and an impulsive fourteen-year-old boy who soothes his emotional pain by injuring himself and behaving recklessly. This is more soap opera than whodunit, since prurient revelations, not sleuthing, dominate the proceedings. Lynley and company spend a great deal of time asking repetitive questions and, in the case of Havers, conducting endless Internet searches.
Ms. George is a skilled writer who beautifully integrates setting and story (readers will be tempted to visit the Lake District thanks to her evocative descriptions of the gorgeous English countryside), and she includes some delightful moments of much-needed humor. Although "Believing the Lie" holds our attention, it is weakened by an over-the-top plot and a surplus of angst-ridden characters who make one foolish mistake after another. Fans will welcome the return of Lynley, Simon, Deborah, and Barbara, but "Believing the Lie" has too much sensationalism and too little depth to rank among George's best work. (Three and a half stars.)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Three and a half stars/a good read, January 17, 2012
This review is from: Believing the Lie (Hardcover)
I agree with other readers that the series is somewhat in decline, but I still enjoy the masterful writing skills employed by Elizabeth George. "Believing The Lie" is really more an exploration of the various ways that people deceive both themselves and others (and how that deceit comes back to haunt them) than it is a traditional mystery. If you are looking for a fast-paced whodunit and if you are not already familiar with the characters in the Lynley series than you probably won't like this book. If you enjoy George's writing style and her ability to spin a solid and engrossing tale, "Believing The Lie" delivers. I will continue to read Elizabeth George and she ends the book with a twist that will intrigue devoted fans of the series.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
122 of 144 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Implausible and homophobic, January 14, 2012
This review is from: Believing the Lie (Hardcover)
This dreary convoluted tome, Believing the Lie, stands as testament to the fact that the life went out of Elizabeth George's books about the time she killed off Helen. This follows the basic formula--many characters and many subplots--but the primary plot is completely implausible. Lynley is sent off on a "secret" mission to see if the accidental death of one of the Fairclough clan was really an accident. He blunders around for days--although the time frame is not very clear because how could Zed, the tabloid reporter (yet another subplot), meet and fall in love in those few day?? Lynley discovers what any half-way intelligent private detective could have discovered in half the time--and with far less fallout. Deborah and St. James go along to help--but since this whole thing is off the books, how they are going to submit expenses isn't clear. Maybe rich people just donate days of their time to solving imagined crimes by other rich people. Havers spends most of the novel having an anxiety attack over having her hair cut and getting new clothes. Really???? Isabelle, the super that Lynley is bonking, spends the entire novel pissed out of her mind because she doesn't know what Lynley is up to and Havers does. The poor dead guy was gay, a perfect opening for just about every tired homophobic cliche George could find. Good grief. The LGBT community seems responsible for family destruction, duplicity, and self-loathing--not to mention a little sprinkling of pedophilia and child pornography. Poor Deborah ends up with the worst role of all--a pregnancy/child-wanting obsessed nutcase chasing after another unfortunate woman who wants a child.
How does all this connect, you might ask? Well, believe me, by the time you get to the end of the book, you won't care.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
